Karma-Dharma-Bhutadaya

The Curious Case of Cape Hatteras and the Name of Hindu God Shiva as He Presides Over "The Underworld" Realms of Patala, Lord Hāṭakeśvara . . .

2026-07-01T13:33:33.265-06:00

It is my general contention that Hindu tellings of "Patala," "The Underworld," is an ancient rendering of the continents currently called "the Americas," the "underside" of the world if your perspective is Eurasia or Africa, sorta like how Australia is nowadays called the "Land Down Under."

Naraka Loka is mentioned in Vedic texts, and it is believed that there are 28 different types of hell within this plane. The Bhagavata Purana describes Naraka Loka as residing at the bottom of the universe, below earth, but above Patala, otherwise known as the 'Seven Realms of the Underworld.'[i]

Thus Naraka Loka "Hell" is underground, i.e., the cavernous "Hell," but Patala is under the Earth, a place where the sun doth also shine.

In the following I provide a snippet of clues taken from my book, To Be or Not To Be...brahman or Abrahman / The World Turned Upside-Down, that the seven realms of Patala (Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talātala, Mahātala, Rasātala and Patala) may have directly corresponded to the historical geographic distribution of peoples in the ancient Americas, North-to-South.

[i] “Naraka Loka,” Yogapedia, December 21, 2023, https://www.yogapedia.com/definition/10469/naraka-loka#:~:text=The%20Bhagavata%20Purana%20describes%20Naraka,Seven%20Realms%20of%20the%20Underworld.

From To Be or Not To Be...brahman or Abrahman / The World Turned Upside-Down, Chapter 8, "Migrations to the East":

The form of Shiva who reigns over and is worshipped in Patala and who resides in Vitala is called Hāṭakeśvara, a name perhaps echoed be the placename Hatteras, North Carolina. Hatteras was named after the Hatterask tribe, one of the Croatoan tribes of the Outer Banks. The Croatoan word for “God” is Kew’as. One of Shiva’s names in Tamil is kavAli or kAvAli.[i]

Sanskrit “Hāṭakeśvara is the Sanskrit name of a deity presiding over Pātāla…Hāṭakeśvara Name of a form of Śiva…Hāṭakeśvara The name as the Lord enshrined in Vitala.”[ii] Hāṭakeśvara also and specifically means “Lord of the Hataka people.”

A southeastern tribe whose name is very close to Hāṭakeśvara is the “Atakapa-Ishak Nation” of the southeastern United States. “Atakapa people, also spelled Attakapa, Attakapas, or Attacapa, called themselves the Ishak, pronounced ‘ee-SHAK,’ which meant “The People.’”[iii] The name Atakapa is purportedly derived from the Choctaw word Hattak which means “person” or “male person” and Choctaw “apa” which means “eat,” and thus this appellation means “people-eater.” The Choctaw called the Ishak “Atakapa” because of that tribe’s purported ritual cannibalism.[iv] If there was any verity to the etymology of this Choctaw appellation applied to the Ishak people, bear in mind that some sects of tantric Shivites practice ritual cannibalism to this day.

Choctaw hattak person or male person

apa to eat

Sanskrit hATaka N. of a country and people MBh. ; a partic. magical drink BhP. ; (%{I}) f. N. of a river in the lower world …

hATaka m. sgl. & pl. N. of a country & its inhabitants[v] [said to be north of the Himalayas—and perhaps so far north as “the Underworld” realm Patala, beyond the North Pole, as the establishment has recently acknowledged that some of the Hataka people did venture across the ocean, likely via a coastal route to the Patala, “the Underworld,” the Americas]

apyad to eat off S3Br. xiv: Caus. %{-Adayati}, to give more (food) to eat[vi]

Hataka (Sanskrit: हाटक, Hāṭaka) is an ancient mythical region or country described in the Indian epic Mahabharata, situated north of the Himalayas and inhabited by the Guhyakas, a class of semi-divine beings akin to yakshas known for their supernatural powers and guardianship of treasures.[vii]

Hatakaranda Odisha, India; Hatakata Odisha, India; Hatakeswaram Temple, Andhra Pradesh, India

The Ghuyakas, a people who inhabited Hataka, at the time of the Mahabharata touted to be “north of the Himalayas,” may be echoed in a name of the Nivkh people of Sakhalin Island, who are also known as Gilyak or Gilyaks. Some of the Nivkh/Gilyak people are touted to be among the first people to migrate along the kelp highway to the northwestern United States. Indeed, many of the Native American peoples of the United States did likely cross the ocean via seagoing canoes along the coastal route as well as later via the land bridge, and also possibly earlier than both via the transoceanic passage accomplished with ships upon the movement of King Bali’s people to Sutala, the third land “down” of the seven lands of Patala, i.e., somewhere in Mexico.

I certainly don’t claim that the conventional theories about the peopling of “the Americas” are false, I am merely contending that there were pre-Columbian passages by ship across the Pacific that may have predated the northern island-hopping and land bridge routes, transoceanic passages facilitated by ancient Tamil nautical prowess and large ships, as evinced by the 50-100 meters deep sunken port of Poompuhar, with submerged stone docks for berthing 70-80 large ships at once that would have been above sea level about 15000 YBP and before.

One Choctaw word for God or Lord is Chitokaka,[viii] not too far a stretch from Hāṭakeśvara considering the way pronunciations change from one people or place to another. The Choctaw name for their tribe is “Chahta,” not unlikely from the Sanskrit “chaTA f. a mass, lump, assemblage, number … a collection of rays, lustre.”[ix] One of the two main clan groups of the Seminole tribe was called Hataka. The other was the Chiloki.

There were two larger groups of clans called the "Hataka" and the "Chiloki" [emphasis added]. Persons belonging to the first had responsibility for most civic and religious functions, while members of the second presided over military affairs.[x]

The Hataka were obviously the Seminole high caste, corresponding to the Hindu brahmins. The Chiloki would then correspond to the Kshatriya caste of Hinduism, the warrior caste.

The Chiloki were probably in South Carolina, when visited by Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in 1540. At the time, they were much more primitive than other tribes. The word “Chiloki” is actually a Totonac word from Mexico, which means “primitive or barbarian.”[xi] [emphases added]

Tamil ciluki quarrelsome woman; cilukiTu-tal 1. to become disorderly, confused; 2. to quarrel; cilukkan troublesome or quarrelsome man; cilukku quarrel, trouble; ciluku 1. trouble, affliction; 2. perplexity; 3. quarrel; 4. hue and cry; 5. mischief; 6. obstacle, impediment; 7. Failure[xii]

Chiloki is also the name of a village in Uttar Pradesh, India.

Thus it seems likely enough that Vitala, the second land “down” (to the south) of the lands of Patala, would have been located in what is now the southern United States, with Atala likely towards the northern US into Canada. If the seven realms of Patala were indeed on the underside of the world (to Eurasia and Africa), lands now called “the Americas,” the next realm “down” from Vitala, Sutala, would be just to the north of Mayan lands and to the south of Vitala, i.e., somewhere in northern or central Mexico.

[i] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “kavali,” accessed September 26, 2026, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[ii] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “Hatakeshvara,” accessed May 16, 2026, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/hatakeshvara.

[iii] “Atakapa Tribe,” Legends of America, accessed May 16, 2026, https://www.legendsofamerica.com/atakapa-tribe/.

[iv] “Atakapa,” Wikipedia, last edited February 17, 2026, accessed May 17, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atakapa.

[v] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “hataka,” accessed April 22, 2025, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[vi] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “apyad,” accessed May 17, 2026, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[vii] “Hataka,” Grokipedia Vol. 2, accessed May 17, 2026, https://grokipedia.com/page/hataka.

[viii] “Choctaw 2: Chapter Nine: Lesson 5,” Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, accessed July 5, 2026, https://www.choctawnation.com/lessons/choctaw-2/chapter-9/lesson-5/.

[ix] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “chata,” accessed April 22, 2025, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[x] “Seminole Nation Clans,” Seminole Nation, I. T.

'The Land Between The Rivers', accessed May 17, 2026, http://www.seminolenation-indianterritory.org/seminole_nation_clans.htm

[xi] “Native American History of Seminole County, Georgia,” AccessGenealogy, accessed May 17, 2026, https://accessgenealogy.com/georgia/native-american-history-of-seminole-county-georgia.htm#google_vignette.

[xii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “cil,” accessed May 17, 2026, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

"Dualism and the Dark Age" Chapter 2 of To Be or Not To Be . . . brahman or Abrahman / The World Turned Upside-Down

2026-02-28T13:54:00.001-07:00

Dualism and the Dark Age

The narrow-minded think

“This person is mine, and this one is not.”

For those of noble conduct the whole world is one family.

Maha Upanishad 6.72

Dualism. Dvaita. The bane of good souls and the people generally in the Kali Yuga (“the Dark Age”). “Us vs. Them,” “God vs. the Devil” or “God vs. humanity” and divisions into binary dualisms generally are, I dare say, the great cause of suffering in this Age. The proclivity to create “the Enemy/enemies” else to manufacture a scapegoat is at the social, cultural and cognitive level perhaps the primary problem proffered humanity in this Dark Age, the Kali Yuga. The Abrahamic religions, all three, have proven to fall prey to the bane of dualistic delusion, and are in fact very much responsible for spreading said self-destructive and life-denying way of thinking to nearly the whole world in this Dark Age, the Kali Yuga.

dvaita n. (fr. 1. %{dvi-tA}) duality, duplicity, dualism (cf. %{-vAda}) , doubt (Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon)[i]

The Hebrews created a succinct dualism by calling themselves “God's chosen people,” more than implying that the rest of the world was “not-chosen.” The Hebrews designated all who were not Jewish as Gentiles, “Samaritan” designating those Israelites who had split off from Judaism early in the history of Israel and who were generally hated by Hebrews. In their father Abraham’s break with his ancestors' and their religion and exemplified by the Hebrew people's historic practice of killing every man, woman, child and animal amongst their conquered foes, such as when they returned to Palestine after the “Exodus,” the Hebrew construction of reality is very much based on a rejection of anyone “not-us.”

Christians separate themselves from “God” by their notion of the “sin nature,” and from the rest of the world by the dichotomy of “the saved” vs. “the lost”—this, despite the fact that their own scriptures tell that Jesus Himself said He came to minister to the Jews, not the “Gentiles,” not the rest of the world's people, as He said “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24, New International Version). His supposed followers are the ones who decided that Jesus came to save the whole world, AFTER Jesus had parted from their company. Not unrelatedly, Christianity contends that only Christians have “the Spirit of God/the Holy Spirit” in their hearts, whereas according to the ancient teachings that Jesus certainly came to understand during His studies and practice in India (something I am assuming throughout the course of this work), Atman, “God’s Spirit,” is extant in everyone’s heart, “a flame about the size of your thumb” according to the Upanishads. I dare say, when Jesus mentioned “the Holy Spirit,” He was talking about Atman as He had learned of such in India during His “missing years,” and was not referring to something exclusive to His followers. This is clearly evinced by Jesus’s saying, “Whatever you do to the least of these, you do to me,” and “Whatever you don’t do to the least of these, you don’t do to me,” from the “Parable of the Sheep and Goats” (Matthew 25:31-46). In other words, Jesus was acknowledging that the “Spirit of God”/Atman is extant in everyone, regardless of their religion or faith, and proclaiming that our action towards any other is an action done to “God,” the True Self of all. Thus “Love thy neighbor as thyself,” because they are “thyself”/your own True Self, i.e., beyond the illusion of time and space, beyond the illusion of maya, we are all That Eternal One.

It also seems many Christians (though not all, mind you) seem to have more faith in the existence of evil and “the Devil,” in “the Enemy,” “the Satan,” than in the integrity and compassion of whatever or whoever is “God,” and in fact thus empower and give license to much veritable evil and to a great many injustices by their faith in “the Evil One” and by their animosity towards the rest of the world/non-Christians, as well as by narrowly prejudiced judgments of any perspective that disagrees with their own particular dogma. The word satan is a Hebrew word that means “accuser” or “adversary” (not unlikely derived from the Sanskrit sapatna m. a rival, adversary, enemy RV.) and satan is used in the Old Testament on many occasions to describe adversaries who are not supernatural, and who were not identified as or with the person later rendered “the Devil.” As already much noted, “the Devil” was in fact derived from an inversion of or polemic against the Vedic/Hindu “Deva” (“God”), as per Zoroastrianism’s opposition to the Vedic Divine/Vedic tribes, as daeva came to mean “demon” in their scripture the Avesta, and thus in the Avestan language usage generally.

In the book of Numbers an “angel of Yahweh” is said to act as a “satan” (an adversary) to the donkey of Balaam who was on a journey to curse the Israelites (Numbers 22:22). In other words, the “Angel of Yahweh” was a satan to the donkey who was a satan to the Israelites. The definition and use of the Hebrew word satan as “adversary” (and Arabic word shaytan as “tempter”), and later rhetoric against “the Devil” as well as against whatever foe/satan (who is often as not one of the other Abrahamic religions) betrays the fact that all three of the Abrahamic religions are built on and too often maintain their faiths more by their opposition to whatever “adversary” than by their devotion to the compassion and unity of the Divine. The Abrahamic religions often seem to define themselves as much by whoever is their “satan” as they do by whoever is their “God.” Consider the Muslim Jihadist “Great Satan” to refer to the United States, “Little Satan” as Israel, and “Lesser Satan” as an epithet for the Soviet Union, a la the late ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran.

The Hebrews did not believe in an “Evil One” or “Devil” in Abraham’s time, though there were various satans as “adversaries” variously mentioned in the Old Testament, and their later construction of Satan/The Devil was essentially derived from anti-Vedic Zoroastrian dualism and their evil god Angra Manyu/Ahriman. Christians (and the Abrahamic/Abrahman-ic religions generally) do eat heartily of “the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil,” and have spread that mind of “sin” across the span of the globe, fomenting dualistic delusion, arbitrary hatred, and separation from the Divine, from Nature and any number of “others” (non-Christians, “pagans,” “heretics,” etc.) and from what they call “the World” generally, clearly missing the point of Jesus’s sayings, “Love thy neighbor as thyself,” and “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand,” i.e., here and now. By their very discursive constructions, God/us vs. “the satan”/i.e., whatever adversary, the Abrahamic religions show themselves very much dependent upon having an enemy, a far cry from Jesus’s legitimate teachings and likewise far from the teachings of the Upanishads—the which very likely influenced Jesus’s teachings from His time in India.

Upon the conversion of Constantine, Christianity spread across Europe by the sword and the power of the Roman Empire, and then after the fall of Rome, by the Roman Catholic Church, efforts which nigh utterly exterminated the practitioners of the Old Ways else forced them underground, including the remnant Druids the Romans had not slain and other “Pagans” who would not convert. Charlemagne continued the persecution of the people of the Old Ways, meeting a peak of brutality in 782 as he ordered the death of 4,500 Saxon “pagans” during what has become known as the Massacre of Dresden. In 1054, the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church split from each other, though this division among the Christians did not lead to any immediate nor general wars. Then came the Crusades, with Christians attacking the Muslim “others” of the Middle East in their endeavor to conquer “the holy land,” and thus picking a fight with Islam that has lasted to this day. During the Fourth Crusade Roman Christians were diverted from their original goal of retaking Jerusalem and sacked Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern church, instead. Though this action did not have a papal sanction, this offence solidified the break of the Western and Eastern churches.

Then came the Inquisition, designed to weed out heretics, “witches” and others who defied the patriarchal authority of the church. Heretics began to be executed as early as the 4^th century once Rome was Christianized, with the Inquisition beginning in the 12^th century, with an estimated 5-10,000 killed for being “heretics,” and witch hunts in full swing by the 15^th century, with upwards of 100,000 “witches” executed or dying in prison. Displaying yet further penchant for dualistic divisions and propensities to bifurcate, Christians soon enough began to fight against other Christians as Catholic versus “heretical” Christians and as Catholic versus Protestant, with 6.5 to 18 million slain on all sides in the “European Wars of Religion.” Once Protestants had won their liberty from the Catholic church, the dominant Protestant church in whatever region of Europe began to attack other Protestants (as well as minority Catholics), such as the Anglican persecutions of Puritans in England and Lutheran persecutions of groups of the “Radical Reformation,” including anabaptists, Mennonites, etc., in continental Europe.

Upon fleeing Europe and attaining the liberty to practice their religion without persecution in the American colonies, the Puritans soon began to persecute other Christians including Baptists, Quakers and Catholics, as well as rendering any who might practice vestiges of the Old Ways as “witches” to be burned at the stake. These days Baptists (and other “Evangelicals”), who were among the most persecuted groups of Christians in Europe and then in the American colonies, are among the most dualistically divisive of Christian sects, fervently fomenting the dichotomy of “the saved vs. the lost” and doctrine of “God vs. The Devil,” contending that all religions other than Christianity are “of the Devil,” sometimes even including Catholicism and Mormonism, and in the most extreme cases even all other Christian sects as “of the Devil” in their stark and harsh dualistic judgements and condemnations.

Among the most recent Christian groups to dualistically divide themselves from other Christians, the “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints,” i.e., the Mormons, continued the “us vs. them” practice of Christianity generally in their break with other Christians, rendered all non-Mormons as “Gentiles,” and represented themselves as “the Chosen people,” mimicking the Hebrew construction of exclusivism. Persecuted by other Christians and sometimes violently provoking “the Gentiles,” the Mormons were forced to leave their homes back East to escape conflicts with other Christians, chased from New York to Missouri to Illinois to Iowa by mobs and assassinations, finally settling in the lands well into the Rocky Mountains to so far away as Salt Lake to escape other Christians. The Mormons then showed their own penchant for dualistic violence during “the Mormon War” at the “Meadow Mountains Massacre,” during which the Utah Territorial Militia and their Native allies—imitating the Hebrews’ post-Exodus conquest of Palestine—killed every man, woman and child (old enough to testify) amongst the Fancher Party, a group of settlers from Arkansas traveling west through Utah.[ii]

The play of dualistic violence is rife throughout the history of Christianity, obviously from its inception, as the religion was founded on an act of violence. Christians rapidly went from persecuted minority to persecutors of minorities in the matter of a few centuries, and are quite caught up in constructing all sorts of “us vs. them” divisions that have led them to exact innumerable violences against whatever “others,” all “in the name of God.”

From their initial conquests, Muslims separated themselves (and to some degree, the “people of the book,” Jews and Christians) from “the infidels,” and from all (including Jews and Christians) who do not accept “the kalima,” the Muslims’ all-important confession of faith in Allah and Mohammad. Though the Hebrews eradicated their conquered foes and the Christians try to “save them” (else eradicate them), the early Muslim conquests only attempted to eradicate those who would not convert (other than Jews and Christians) amongst those they conquered. Jewish or Christian cities that the Muslims had conquered who chose not to convert were granted “djimi” status, levied a one-percent poll tax and otherwise granted self-rule. Regardless, Islam is still based on a distinct dichotomy of “us vs. them,” “the faithful” vs. “the infidels,” despite the less succinct separation they originally placed between themselves and “the people of the book” (i.e., until the Crusades, European colonialism, and the establishment of the modern state of Israel in what was Palestine, that is). Muslims continued their dualistic divisions by splitting into Sunni vs. Shia and various other “us vs. them” dichotomies, shedding the blood of millions over their internal “us vs. them” divisions.

The Abrahamic religions are all three too much caught up in the fear or pride-based division/delusion of “us vs. them,” and are thus blinded to the beautiful Oneness of God, who is certainly transcendent to religion and is all that truly Is. They “can’t see the forest for the trees,” blind to the reality that beyond the illusion of time and space, humanity and all beings are Advaita, literally “not-second,” not other than the First, the Eternal, brahman, “God,” Nature manifest and unmanifest, Being Itself/Herself/Himself, ignorant of the religious and scientific truth that each and all are “quantumly entangled,” so to speak, with every other and Other, that all else is illusion and delusion, forgetfulness of our true Nature as One with the Divine, according to sanAtana dharma. In terms of the purported sayings of Jesus, this would be realizing that “the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2, Matthew 4:17, Mark 1:15), is right here, right now, if we would but learn to “Love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31), as Atman, to realize that whatever you do or don’t do to the least of these, you do or don’t do to “God,” to your own true Self (Matthew 25:31-46). An account that Ram Dass recounted somewhere (if I’m not mistaken as to the source) said a Sikh saint once replied, upon being chastened for pointing the bottom of his feet towards the altar at a temple, “Where might I point the soles of my feet where God is not?”

advaita mfn. destitute of duality, having no duplicate S3Br. xiv, &c.; peerless; sole, unique; epithet of Vishnu; (%{am}) n. non-duality; identity of Brahman or of the Paramatman or supreme soul with the Jivatman or human soul; identity of spirit and matter; the ultimate truth; title of an Upanishad; (%{ena}) ind. solely.[iii]

The Abrahamic/Abrahmanic religions, all three, thus set about, at or shortly after their respective inceptions, to construct any number of “us vs. them” dichotomies and to destroy or hide all evidences of the religious devotions and philosophies that came before them, else to modify the preexistent religious practices to fit their new religions. Thus, a researcher seeking to understand the ancient religion, devotion to the Horned God/Bull God and the Mother, Vishnu and the Vedic Gods, etc., is left with very few resources and accepted sources, at least outside of the religions of “the East.” Merlin Stone notes in the introduction to her book, When God Was A Woman,

In the difficulties I encountered gathering material, I could not help thinking of the ancient writing and statuary that must have been intentionally destroyed. Accounts of the antagonistic attitudes of Judaism, Christianity and Mohammedanism (Islam) toward the sacred artifacts of the religions that preceded them revealed that this was so . . .[iv]

Stephen Knapp, recent recipient of the Padma Shree, the fourth-highest civilian award granted by the government of India, is an American researcher who has embraced Hinduism and has authored several books which generally agree with the theories herein presented. Knapp likewise contends that the Abrahamic religions, by their very nature, are prone to destroy evidences of the ancient ways to bolster their spin. Knapp notes that Christianity and Islam, in their dualistic fervor and historic practice of conquering to convert, display the same proclivities of those religions to destroy the truth of the past that Stone notes of the Abrahamic/Abrahman-ic religions generally.

Another reason why many portions of history have been forgotten or buried is that it was typical of the conquering religions that make converts through military force for them to destroy any historical evidence of the previous culture. Especially when it displays loftier principles and more advanced levels of consciousness. So rampaging Roman Christian and Arab Muslim armies destroyed as much of any remaining Vedic culture [as] they could. This, unfortunately, also helped plunge the world into what has been called the Dark Ages, which included terrible crusades, witch burnings of thousands of innocent women, and intense torture of any so called infidels.^{^[v]}

The Zoroastrian religion that developed in Persia somewhere around 600-1200 BCE was similarly constructed in opposition to the pre-existing religion of Iran, which has been called Iranian Vedism, i.e., the regional practices of sanAtana dharma as were anciently observed in Persia. The concept of “the Devil” is derived from the Zoroastrian bastardization of the Devas, the Vedic Gods, and by their starkly dualistic understanding that the Universe is the battleground for a good god vs. a bad god, a continuous conflict that lasts until the very end. As noted by one researcher regarding the obvious dualistic opposition of Zoroastrianism to the preexistent Iranian Vedism (or as he posits, in opposition to a rival tribe of Aryans),

In the field of religion there are some interesting contrasts. Words such as devá [that] have the meaning of god in the Vedas have the meaning of devil in the Avesta. Likewise some names for Vedic gods show up in the Avesta as evil spirits.[vi]

Quite like the Abrahamic endeavor to invert or challenge the order of brahman, the Zoroastrian religion is exemplary of a paradigm that from the outset was constructed as an antithesis to the preexistent order of the Vedas/brahman in a very succinct dualistic opposition of “us vs. them,” rejecting the unified and unifying principle of brahman by their division of Being into a good god and an evil god, thereby essentially codifying dualism/dvaita as doctrine. Zoroastrianism constructed a Universal dualistic conflict with good god Ahura Mazda (from Sanskrit “Asura,” beings once worshipped alongside the Devas who were later figured as “demons,” according to the renderings of Hindu mythology) vs. bad god Angra Mainyu, essentially rendering the nature of Being as conflict, a dualism readily rendered by later Manichaeans as Spiritual vs. Material, and thus Zoroastrian dualism stands against the concept of brahman, which does not maintain a veritable opposite at all, and which does not readily lend itself to the demonization of material reality.

I might here duly note, however, the demonization of the Asuras in India as well as the demonization of the Devas in Persia are both emblematic of the spell of dualism, of dvaita, of the proclivity to find an enemy or scapegoat in this Dark Age, to miss the integral unity of Being, though such name-callings and essentializations were not the most ancient recorded renderings of “the other” in either tradition. The fact still remains that the Zoroastrian cosmology gives great license to “evil” by granting tangible power to “the adversary” in the cosmic battle between Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu, rendering the essence of reality as conflict, whereas the Hindu myths generally tell of already vanquished demons and celebrate those victories over whatever threats once-upon-a-time endangered the world, and Hinduism generally focuses on peace, good practice, and “knowing Thy Self” rather than fixating on conflict. Zoroastrian dualism essentially rendered their version of reality in opposition to the Old Ways’ recognition of the Unity of Nature and Being, of the integrity of the cycles of life and death, matter and mind, Soul and Spirit, Dark and Light, and of the authenticity of the whole world as One Family.

The “Evil God” of Zoroastrianism, Angra Mainyu, was also known as “Ahriman,” certainly a derivative of else otherwise discursively related to the manufactured dichotomy brahman and Abrahman in some guise or other, a certain statement in this play of words and dance of discourse telling that Zoroastrianism was very much involved in this grand lila of the Age, brahman or Abrahman, “To Be or Not To Be,” despite the remnant of that religion, Parsi, today constituting a tiny minority in India, Iran and the United States. Zoroastrianism essentially inverted the Deva vs. Asura dichotomy that had developed in Hinduism, demonizing Devas like Indra and Rudra (rendered as the demon “Saurva,” not unlikely disparaging Rudra as Shiva) whilst adopting other Devas such as Mitra (who was originally an Asura), rendered as Mithra, and thus following the Abrahamic/Abrahman-ic pattern of adopting what is useful of the Old Ways and otherwise demonizing most of the ancientmost Gods and the Vedic religion—the which was in fact the original religion of Persia, too, before Zoroaster.

The discursive deployal of “Ahriman” as an opposite to the good/creative divine is something of a sanctification of the oxymoronic dichotomy Abrahman vs. brahman, and in fact grants figurative embodiment to Ahriman as an Evil Entity able to harm souls. Ahriman is very likely derived from or is otherwise related to the Sanskrit Abrahman, rather than, as some have posited, derived from a demonization of Deva Aryaman, a Vedic solar deity. Regardless, the Zoroastrian religion did indeed create a “Devil” (from Avestan daeva, “demon,” an inversion of the Hindu Sanskrit deva, “God”) when the ancients knew of no such, thus empowering evil by giving existence to an imagined great and malevolent enemy rendered as Angra Manyu or “Ahriman.” “Ahriman,” denoting an arch-evil entity that has the power and desire to do harm to souls and a want to trap them in suffering, is closely enough related to the Sanskrit Abrahman.as denoting “not-brahman”/“no-God.” However, by the Zoroastrian rendering of “Ahriman” as an evil being with veritable existence and hordes of demons to do his evil bidding, essentially granting cosmic substance to evil, is thus very not like the Sanskrit Abrahman, a term merely indicating a lack of the knowledge of and devotion to the Unity of Existence and Being, brahman, as the Old Ways would have it. And thus, Zoroastrianism essentially gave birth to “the Devil.” Abrahman as per the Sanskrit designation is not an evil entity, but merely a designation denoting one who is not properly devoted to the Divine. Though I have been unable to locate the exact quote, the which I believe is from the Upanishads, it is noted, “That which is Abrahman is also brahman,” discursively shortcutting the error of dvaita by disempowering any imagined challenge or opposite to brahman, to True Being, Bliss, Purity, to the fundamental Unity of Being and Eternity, from the get-go.

Zoroastrianism was thus pivotal in the construction of a starkly dualistic paradigm, providing the Jews, Christians and Muslims “the Devil” from the Avestan “daeva,” a Zoroastrian inversion of the Sanskrit “Deva,” “God.” Thus and quite ironically, deva has been rendered into quite a number of European words for “God” via those peoples’ ancient connections with “Hinduism,” such as Latvian Dievs, Lithuanian Dievas, Latin Deus, Italian Dio, Spanish Dios, Portuguese Deus, French Dieu, Corsican Diu, Catalan Deu, Welsh Duw, Irish Dia, Old Irish Dé and Greek Theos, as well as deva being root to many European words for “Devil,” such as German "Teufel," Spanish “Diablo,” Italian "Diavolo," Portuguese "Diabo," Dutch "Duivel," Danish "Djævel," Swedish: "Djävul," Polish "Diabel," as well as English “Devil,” etc. “Deva” is therefore root to European names for both “God” and for “the Devil,” as if the Abrahman-ic religions were attempting to discursively divide and conquer the Divine.

Indeed, Zoroastrianism shows itself as yet another response to or to whatever degree inversion of the Vedic brahman in favor of a stark dualism, choosing the Abrahman side of the question much like Abraham seems to have done, according to the Abrahamic tellings, upon rejecting the religion of his ancestors and becoming “Abrahman.” This, despite the Zoroastrians’ seeming equivocation via their designation of “Ahriman” as the “bad god,” a transcendent designation that ends up empowering that which is not-brahman, and thus providing an excuse for bad behavior that is not unlike the Christian saying “the Devil made me do it.” Yet as in any dance of binaries, in any play of “self” and “other,” the very dance or play or bout itself blurs the distinctions and in fact shows the curious and integral unity of said supposed opposites. Hindu philosophy generally posits the Unity of Being, brahman, and that the Divine is inside and out of each and all. Nonetheless, even Hinduism’s Puranic tradition has been shown prone to such dualistic thinking as is displayed in Zoroastrianism and the Abrahamic/Abrahman-ic religions, as the dualistic proclivities of the Kali Yuga do sully even clear views. As Subhash Kak notes, “The Vedic view is to see the world in triple categories. Later Puranic gloss simplified this into dichotomies like that of deva versus asura (including rakshasa).”[vii]

I might also mention, whilst discussing religions devised as antitheses to a preexisting thesis, the most obvious antithetical response to the Christian religion, i.e., Satanism, does not solve the issue of the Abrahamic antithetical response to the preexisting worship of the Horned God and the Great Mother, of Nature, but in fact merely replicates the discursive ploy, an inversion of an inversion that doesn’t quite land things to back where they started, previous to the Abrahamic/Abrahman-ic inversion. The Satanic “Black Mass” is a rather farcical upending of Catholic rituals, for example, and does nothing to fix the Judeo-Christian inversion of the ancient ways. “Paganism,” as is known in today’s popular culture, is certainly less prone to dichotomizing, largely as Paganism largely endeavors to hearken to the ancient pre-Christian devotions to the Horned God and The Mother, etc., and thus is not (so-much) just playing as against another religion. “Paganism” is (mostly) not merely endeavoring to be an antithesis to another thesis, but rather seems to genuinely seek a return to the natural flow of the ancient ways, to the pre-Christian devotions to Nature, The Mother and the Wildman God.

According to sanAtana dharma, in this last Age of a cycle of four Ages, the Kali Yuga, the “Dark Age,” our most dumbed-down state, most forgetful of the intrinsic Unity of All with the Divine (one's True Self/True Nature), a base response to trauma or suffering is to blame someone or something “other,” forgetting that in truth there is no real “other,” and certainly no “Other.” People in this Age generally are rather prone to creating quite terrible and nasty enemies for themselves out of whatever “other” is available, and too often in the name of “God.”

I ought note, the political division constructed as the binary opposition “right vs. left” is a very nasty dualistic manipulation of the people, a spell designed to give favor to those who are “on the right” or “right-wing” over whatever political perspective is designated as “left,” “leftist,” “left-wing,” etc., confusing right as in righteous or correct with a hemispheric designation, “as opposed to left.” The Sanskrit root Rta means right as in correct or righteous, not as in “not or against left.” Dualistic delusion and collusion and confusion play only too well into the hands of the oppressors’ desire to divide and conquer. Nonetheless, the people often well enough see through those spells, as exemplified by the adage, “the right wing and the left wing belong to the same bird.” Though the spell of Dualism has much blurred peoples’ vision in this Age, at our Core, we all really know better.

Sanskrit dvidha a. twofold, divided or split in two.

dvidhA adv. in two parts, in twain; double.

English divide

The easiest division to make cognitively is a bifurcation, to split things into whatever “this vs. that,” “self vs. other” or “us vs. them” is at hand, the which is nigh always an error, an error that in most cases leads to suffering and injustice. In this Age when we're at our stupidest (compared to the last three Ages, so it is said) such easy constructions as a simple binary offers are too often the choice of people when facing conflict, rather than to consider the intricacy and multiplicity of factors involved in any such scenario, process or set of relationships, and the intrinsic connectedness if not unity of all things. This is largely the criticism post-structuralism makes of structuralism in the social sciences generally, that binary opposition does not properly describe the intricacies of human behavior, culture and society. As Ram Dass put it, as told in a 2018 GQ article:

“I know many of you will feel uncomfortable when I say this, but the hippies create the police as much as the police create the hippies,” he said, his Kennedy-esque Boston accent still intact. “That the liberals create the conservatives. The protesters create the John Birchers just as much as the John Birchers create the protesters. That as long as you are attached to whatever pole you are representing, the vibrations which you are sending out are creating its polar opposite around you. If you can do whatever is your karma—which may be walking in a protest march or fighting in Vietnam, or being a conservative or a liberal or being a housewife or being a yogi—and can do it without attachment, and do it fully and thoroughly but without attachment, then you do not create that karma. You do not create the polar opposite.[viii]

Inclined to think in binaries in response to conflict, most in this Dark Age cannot clearly discern what the Isa Upanishad means by the assertion that “He who sees all beings in his Self, and the Self in all beings, what fear does he have?” At least a base symptom of the malady of the Kali Yuga is the proclivity to blame someone else, to construct an “other” as the enemy or scapegoat or as “the one/ones who need to change,” rather than recognizing the supposed “other” as like you and even another expression of the same Divine Being, another player in the Grand Play of life on Earth on a like pilgrimage through the lila of eternity, another expression of the Guru, the Teacher. What one has the certain power and right to change in any given lifetime lived is his or her own self in relation to the compassionate and eternal Divine that exists both inside and out, that is Nature/the Nature of Being Him/Her/Itself, and the right to change one's own life practices and to live compassionately, or no. As Jesus is touted to have said, “Judge not that ye be not judged.”

Now mind you, I do recognize that in this presentation of the play of these religious perspectives I am myself thus constructing a division of us vs. them, “them” being those who promote the Abrahamic/Abrahman-ic religious discourse as opposed to “us” who can perceive the delusion of dualism. I suppose I must clarify by noting that as I am referring to these various religious groups, I am speaking of the general discourses these groups proffer in general terms, and do not mean to essentialize all practitioners as fitting within those generalities. There are within all peoples and among all groups of religious practitioners (and even amongst atheists and agnostics) some Self-aware individuals, and conversely some Hindus and Buddhists who are prone to stupid “us vs. them” delusions, despite the very clear precepts of both religions that teach otherwise, that teach a recognition of the oneness that binds even enemies, that tout such concepts as ahimsa (non-injury) and satyagraha (non-violent resistance), and that both believe in compassionate restraint as the proper response to conflict with supposed “others” presented us in the midst of this Grand Illusion, the matrix of smoke and mirrors that is maya, as those others are in truth expressions of the same Self, or at least the same Divine Nature/Sacredness/Buddha Nature.

To reify, I do not wish to imply that among the practitioners of the Abrahamic faiths there are none who are Self-Aware individuals, nor that they should renounce their religions, nor that those religions are in essence “bad” or “evil.” I only mean that those constructions are prone to dualistic renderings of conflicts and interactions and reality generally, whereas constructions that do not create such stark and arbitrary separations between “us and them,” “God” and humanity, Nature and civilization, nor between self and other generally do indeed prove more harmonious and in concert with what really Is. Reality is in fact and by any reasonable scientific viewpoint never truly a binary function of off/on, us/them, self/not self, saved/lost, the faithful/infidels, black/white, nor even of male/female, and such integrous worldviews as those which do not promote such ignorant dualistic thinking are more prone to fomenting peace and genuine prosperity and harmony with nature, both amongst their own and in the world generally, and are naturally inclined toward maintaining good relations with the truth of eternity as well as of the here and now.

The complexity and intricacy of reality and Being cannot ever quite be fitted to within the base dichotomy of black and white, save perhaps by tandava. The closest the teachings of sanAtana dharma seem to come to a black/white or dark/light dichotomy in terms of cosmology, insofar as I have determined, is in the Dance, the Tandava, of Shiva and Kali Ma, wherein an Effulgent (though not necessarily “white”) Dude is dancing with The Black Mama, the two always in motion and thus not ever quite merely two, but existentially both Many and One. The Great Mama, Dark like the depths of the Womb and the darkness of space, conveying all the Sensuality and Beauty and Potency and Nurture of the Feminine, of all mothers and of The Mother, of the Yoni (Source/Womb), in a passionate dance with the Great Papa, Pasupati Shiva, the Protector of Souls and Animals and the Source of Light, the Linga (Phallus, “Cosmic Ray of Light”), together in constant Motion conveying Devotion and Passion and Playfulness and indeed, Desire, Linga-Yoni, but never quite presenting merely Two, and never in truth other than One.

Shiva Kali Ma Tandava,[ix] the Dance of Shiva and Kali Ma (public domain).

Linga-Yoni sculpture in Nepal,[x] illustration of a black hole and the ray of light that issues therefrom,[xi] and photo from the Hubble Space Telescope showing galaxy M87 and a 3,000 lightyear long illuminated plasma jet coming from the galaxy’s supermassive black hole (NASA, ESA, A. Lessing (Stanford University), E. Baltz (Stanford University), M. Shara (AMNH), J. DePasquale (STScI)).[xii] Shiva lingam is anciently described as the Cosmic Pillar or Ray of Light.[xiii] The center of every galaxy is a linga-yoni.

According to the telling of the Shakta tradition, which focusses on devotion to the Mother, to Shakti, the Divine Feminine:

Accordingly, as Bhairava teaches the Goddess about his inner state: “[...] There in the centre [i.e., within the foundation], O daughter of the mountains, is the supreme light between the two, being and nonbeing. Within that centre my (energy) abides in accord with (her supreme) state of being. (She is) Kālī who generates (kalanī) time, she who is the cause of cogitation (kalpanā). Then that supreme goddess who devours time issued forth, absorbed in the bliss of her own (innate) bliss, powerful with the contemplation of (her) own nature. Established on the plane of consciousness and the unconscious, she is between the plane of consciousness and the unconscious. (She is) the goddess who is the Great Void, the Transmental who devours time.”

Indeed as these various groups, faiths, peoples and lifeways have developed to be significant factors in this world at this or any given time in this Age, they are each certainly variously cast to play particular roles in the lila of this Kali Yuga (or to be more specific, the Gauri Yuga of this Kali Yuga), roles that coalesce rather naturally to balance threats to the integrity of the whole show—even as a biological imperative, let alone as an expression of something like the “collective unconscious” or even “connected consciousness,” or brahman. The recognition of a grand play that is tens and hundreds of thousands and even millions and billions of years in the playing out grants much more room for all the players, whatever their particular delusions of “self” and “other,” to become self-aware, and Self-aware, aware of the Unity and interconnected integrity of Nature and of all which abides in this world and Universe, and of their own soul with Soul, Oneness with the very Source of Being, in fact, an awareness to be learned or remembered over the course of however many lives lived. Those who are caught up in dualistic delusion in any given lifetime almost certainly have many more lifetimes to live in which they might overcome those misconceptions of reality and Being, many roles to be played during which they might finally find Unity with “God,” with Being Itself, and release from the cycles of birth and death. Moksha. Liberation from the illusion of dvaita/duality. As told by the Katha Upanishad, “Who sees the many and not the ONE, wanders on from death to death.” (Katha Upanishad 2.1.10)

I feel it vital to foment this awareness as these are supposed to be Golden times compared to what awaits as the dualistic, “us vs. them,” darkness that is characteristic of this Dark Age continues and takes further hold, after the Golden Age part. If we are to adopt an apocalyptic mythology, after all, is it not best to believe in one that touts we are in the best part of the Age? one that encourages a recognition of the unity of all peoples and all beings and Being in a grand Divine Play, for that matter? an apocalypse that doesn't happen until a very long time from now, rather than one that keeps people in fear and distrust of others and with a constant worry that the “end is nigh?” If a “God” exists that is involved in the story of humanity, certainly such a “God” doesn't get off by making people unduly afraid.

Nature, “God,” and in fact human nature for that matter, are by all accounts interested in the survival of species, dharma, “keeping things together,” and thus Nature, “God” and human nature do naturally manifest integrity from apparent disparity and conflict, and betray an abiding unity behind the veils of disunity. Otherwise, society at the level we know and have known it would not exist. This “Divine Love” is what holds things together, even at a quantum level, it might be said. Dharma is a biological as well as a “spiritual” imperative, and indeed the Gods are at play, only they are not-not us.

The various religious constructions of this world, and in fact all of the broad arrayals of paradigms and peoples, can be seen as strategically deployed to create means of transforming the self-destructive impetuses of this Age of Ignorance, to distribute the cognitive malaise and confusion of reality caused by the dualistically debased state of human cognition in such ways as such dimwittedness might cause the least sorrow and suffering, all without violating the freedom of individual souls and peoples, cultures and societies (nor whatever “Prime Directive” a la Star Trek, perhaps), almost or exactly as if by conscious intention, “the Mind of God.” Dharma, “keeping things together.”

It is not unlike a board game played with the planet as the field of play, with the Players being Devas and Devis and other orders of evolved (and less evolved) beings at play, and by the ancient accounts of many traditions globally, extra-terrestrials from various star systems that have likewise been players in many of the acts and scenes across the Ages and play cycles played out via humans and their tribes and civilizations, nations and religions and philosophical disputations, at least according to the ancient teachings of Hinduism and many other (mostly more recent, if still) ancient mythologies that, sometimes despite themselves, are also expressions of sanAtana dharma. One indisputable evidence that “the gods” are involved in the nowadays very dangerous politics and play of nations here on planet Earth, on multiple occasions during tense moments between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. and since, many former Air Force personnel and others claim to have witnessed UFOs hovering over nuclear missile silos and temporarily deactivating the missiles, both in the U.S. and in Russia/the U.S.S.R., a little reminder that “the gods” are still involved with the play of humanity and planet Earth.[xiv] [xv]

Indeed, when seen true, the Play and Plays of life on earth are merely a game God/True Self is playing with HerSelf/HimSelf in this Illusion born of Desire, and we are That. tat tvam asi. The arrangements and rearrangements of peoples designed to foment peace and find good balance to the diversity of peoples and lifeways can be discerned in the Grand Narrative if one shifts one's focus to include the span of eternity, of forever, and to the entirety and integrity of the show here and now, and not merely one's own or one's own people's seeming separate story, but the whole show and all the nata (actors, players/dancers) integrously dancing towards and as the perfect bliss and synchronicity that is in truth all that Exists, a Unified Theory that includes more than just an understanding of the physical properties of the Universe. Yoga. A “yolk” to “God,” to the true and blissful Nature of Being, to health both physical and spiritual, to Nature.

Herein is Yoga:

Yoga is the alteration of sense vibration

That therein Pure Consciousness might abide.

Introduction to The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali (author’s memory from some unknown translation)

One clear ancient mythical example of the above theory, of “the Gods” engineering the development of human civilization, would be the aforementioned movement of King Bali's Kingdom to across the Pacific at the firm request of Vaman (Dwarf Avatar of Vishnu), who granted land in “the Underworld”/Patala (the Americas?) to King Bali to replace his lands lost in a boon he granted Vaman, that Lord Indra could reign unhindered across Eurasia, i.e., not unlikely to prevent war between two powerful kings,[xvi] as well as certainly to fulfill so many subtle intentions of the script of the Grand lila at play and to set the stage for now, the Gauri Yuga (Golden Age) of the Kali Yuga (Dark/Black Age). Traces of Lord Indra's rulership are to be found in the figurations of very analogous gods like Woden (Sanskrit vendhan, “king”), Zeus, Thor, etc., and traces of Bali's kingdom in Patala are well enough evinced by the Saksaywaman Temple in Peru, clearly built to honor Deva (God) Vaman (Vishnu's fifth Avatar of Ten, DashAvatar), by the place name Bogota (from Muisca language bacata), as King Bali’s capital in “the Underworld” was called Bhogavati, “Place of Snakes” or “delightful,” [xvii] evocative of the local Muisca ancestor/snake cult, by the name of the Andes mountains, Quechua andi “high crest”, very likely derived from Sanskrit adri (mountain), and many more Quechua words that are clearly derived from Sanskrit. A list of dozens of words from the Quechua language that are derived from if not exact cognates to Sanskrit words is included in chapter 8, “Migrations to the East,” quoted from Chaman Lal’s groundbreaking work, Hindu America. There are indeed a plethora of linguistic, written and cultural clues that tell of at least one mass migration across the Pacific to the Americas many centuries and even many millennia ago, when an entire kingdom was moved at the behest of God Vishnu as Vaman.

“Queller of Beasts” Indus seal[xviii] and “Queller of Beasts” petroglyph in Albuquerque, New Mexico.[xix] Note the stripes on the petroglyph cat to the left. The only striped big cat in the world is the Asian tiger.

We are the playthings of the Gods and We are the Gods—if forgetful ones, mind you, or at least so it seems to me. And more importantly, we are God, according to sanAtana dharma. Not our individual selves/jiva/souls/egos else ids, mind you, caught up in karma (action) and kama (desire) as nigh all are to whatever degree, but our True Self, the Eternal One that resides in and outside each and every, that resides as a flame in everyone's heart, a flame about the size of your thumb, the Upanishads do tout (Katha Upanishad 2.1.12), or as the quiescent bird on our respective branch or tree as told in the Rig Veda Samhita (1.164.20), the “Spirit of God,” the Source of Being and of our own selves, already extant in each and all whether they “invited” such to be there or not; sat cit Ananda, “righteous mind bliss” as what is Natural and is Nature.

The striving of all the scholars of Vedanta was, after having learnt to pronounce with their lips, really to assimilate in their minds this grandest of all thoughts. Again, the mystics of many centuries, independently, yet in perfect harmony with each other (somewhat like particles in an ideal gas) have described, each of them, the unique experience of his or her life in terms that can be condensed in the phrase: DEUS FACTUS SUM (I have become God).

Erwin Schrödinger, “What is Life?”[xx]

“Sin Nature” is not natural, nor veritable. The notion that we are all definitively tainted by a nature that prefers “sin” is a terrible lie, a cop-out, a crutch to enable or attempt to justify wrongdoings, and in fact as such “the sin nature” would have certainly already led to the extinction of humanity, as any real “sin” is that which is against Nature Itself/Herself/Himself. People in this Age are, however, quite prone to stupid “self-other” dichotomies that are likely to cause them to wrong others and to ignore the Divine within each and all, but are not by any means bound to a nature that is “sin.” The “sin nature” becomes a ready scapegoat, a handy clause used to justify actions that those folk know well enough in their hearts are wrong—not to mention that such is a powerful fear tactic used to convince others to convert. The Christians’ all-encompassing answer and justification for their own misactions, “it’s God’s will,” else “Jesus died for all my sins (i.e., “not yours” if you're not “saved”), so I'm already forgiven for the wrongs I have and will do,” as their patsies so they might further make pretense that they are not to be held responsible for their ill doings.

Indeed, even the Judeo-Christian understanding that the beginning of sin was “the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil” betrays that in fact dualism, the propensity to dichotomize, is the real root of sin. Thus, “the knowledge of good and evil” can be equated to a cognitive shift toward dualistic thinking, accepting binary constructions of thought and action such as “self vs. other,” “God vs. the Devil” or “God vs. humanity,” “us vs. them,” “friend vs. enemy,” “male vs. female,” etc., without simultaneous awareness of the Unity of Being and of the very artificial and arbitrary constructedness of those binary categories. Thus it was that Adam and Eve “were ashamed at their nakedness,” as they had begun to think dualistically and not Naturally. Even as the Hebrews were playing Abrahman vs. brahman, it seems they were themselves well enough aware of the nature of the inversion they were playing as emblematic of a “fall” from a state of unity with Nature and God. Thus read, it is Dualism that was the “fall of man.”

In these dimwitted days of the Kali Yuga, many ifn't most are prone to miss the beautiful complexity and multifaceted and integrous Nature of what is real and eternal, and instead are sadly prone to lump things into stupid binaries and thus to heap sufferings and sorrows upon themselves and others. It's easy to make a scapegoat, but such never truly serves the abiding good of the people or the planet.

My wish for the Abrahamic religions, and any crew inclined towards binary stupidity in an Age beset by said malady (which I should note, too often includes Hindus and Buddhists and sometimes even scientists, and certainly computer programmers—if I might digress in jest) is that they become respectfully aware of the many respective roles to be filled in this Age-long Play that has scarce begun and that is under the sway of the Divine Director, of Nature, of Being Her/Him/ It-Self. I would that they become duly aware that though some of their own presumptions and dogmas are likely wrong and mistaken, as are some of those of other peoples and religions, all do fit in the Divine Play or Plan at hand, and all peoples and their lifeways and religions do contain at least the seed of righteousness, of the Compassionate and Eternal Divine. Truly, diversity is vital to life lived, and everyone's own place and conditions of birth and the practices of their people do somehow fit into the Grand Play integrously and do provide possible pathways to Divine bliss, compassion and peace, as it is with all peoples and good practice and well-kept tellings of the ancient and abiding Story and Stories. To “love thy neighbor as thy Self” is natural and is Nature, even from the perspective of science and evolution and the “survival of species.”

This world of ours is a world of opposites. There is light and shade, there is heat and cold, there is good and evil, there is God and the Devil. The dualistic conception of nature has been a necessary phase in the evolution of human thought . . . Monotheism and Monodiabolism . . . together constitute a Dualism which to many is still the most acceptable world-conception. Nevertheless, it is not the final goal of human philosophy. As soon as the thinkers of mankind become aware of the Dualism implied in this interpretation of the world, the tendency is again manifested towards a higher conception...[xxi]

Paul Carus, History of the Devil and the Idea of Evil: From the Earliest Times to the Present Day (first published 1899)

Requisite for a well-developed play are variously arrayed characters and groups, factions and factors well woven together, preferably in such concert as to compliment rather than to compete or to delve into suffering-filled conflicts, a dance rather than a battle, though alas, in this Dark Age people are rather more often inclined towards drama than towards dharma. If one can learn to see the Divine in and through the whole show, dharma at play in and through the drama, and that when seen true, other peoples and their gods are true too, all Players in a Game that includes all people and peoples and times that is already and always under the sway of the Nature of Being Divine; if one can accept that the Truly Divine, Compassionate and Great, in whatever varied forms sometimes certainly maintains Presence(s) by many names and amongst various peoples, and even amongst the fold of your “enemies”—beyond the “us vs. them”—then, Religion can be true.

Ekam sat vipra bahudha vadanti

The Truth is One, the Sages speak of it variously

[i] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “dvaita,” accessed May 3, 2021, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[ii] “The Mountain Meadows Massacre,” American Experience, PBS: WGBH Educational Foundation, accessed April 21, 2023, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/mormons-massacre/.

[iii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “advaita,” accessed May 13, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[iv] Merlin Stone, When God Was A Woman (New York: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1978), xvii.

[v] Stephen Knapp, “Vedic culture is the original ancestor of all religions (Part 1),” Decoding Hinduism: The Vedas and the Birth of Science, https://www.decodinghinduism.com/2016/02/vedic-culture-original-ancestor-of-all.html.

[vi] Thayer Watkins, “The Relationship of Vedic Sanskrit and Avestan (Old Persian),” San Jose State University, accessed February 28, 2021, https://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/sanskritavestan.htm.

[vii] Ibid.

[viii] Will Welch, “The Unified Theory of Ram Dass,” GQ Magazine, November 27, 2018, https://www.gq.com/story/the-unified-theory-of-ram-dass.

[ix] mountain dreams, “Dance of Shiva and Kali Ma,” PIXELS, public domain, May 1, 2023, accessed September 17, 2025, https://pixels.com/featured/dance-of-shiva-and-kali-unknown.html.

[x] Suraj Belbase, “Shivalinga and shakti yoni statue,” Wikimedia, CC 4.0, September 7, 2016, accessed November 26, 2022, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shivalinga_and_shakti_yoni_statue.jpg.

[xi] NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, “Swift J1644+57 black hole illustration,” cropped and adjusted, Wikimedia, CC 4.0, August 2, 2012, accessed November 26, 2022, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Swift_J1644%2B57_black_hole_illustration.jpg.

[xii] NASA, ESA, A. Lessing (Stanford University), E. Baltz (Stanford University), M. Shara (AMNH), J. DePasquale (STScI), NASA/ESA Hubble, CC 4.0 International, Septebmer 26, 2024, https://esahubble.org/images/heic2411b/.

[xiii] Ca Brij Bhushan Dubey, “SHIVA LINGA MEANS COSMIC PILLAR OR RAY OF LIGHT OR STAMBH,” Speakingtree, 2022 Times Internet Limited, November 22, 2014, https://www.speakingtree.in/blog/transformation-of-shiva-linga#:~:text=Rishi%20Atharvana%20described%20that%20God,common%20language%20gender%20and%20sex.

[xiv] “Ex-Air Force Personnel: UFOs Deactivated Nukes,” CBS News, September 28, 2010, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ex-air-force-personnel-ufos-deactivated-nukes/.

[xv] Sascha Brodsky, “The Pentagon Is Investigating UFOs That Possibly Turned Off Warheads,” Popular Mechanics, February 23, 2023, https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/research/a43033115/pentagon-investigating-ufos-nuclear-warheads/.

[xvi] “King Mahabali went to Patala Loka (South America),” Booksfact, January 21, 2015, https://www.booksfact.com/puranas/king-mahabali-went-patala-loka-south-america.html.

[xvii] “Bhogavati,” Wikipedia, accessed March 11, 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhogavati.

[xviii] Ismoon, “Indus valley civilization "Gilgamesh" seal (2500-1500 BC),” CC0, via Wikimedia Commons, March 26, 2019, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indus_valley_civilization_%22Gilgamesh%22_seal_(2500-1500_BC).jpg

[xix] Jeffrey Charles Archer, “Queller of Beasts Petroglyph,” Petroglyph National Monument, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 2020.

[xx] Erwin Schrödinger, “What is life? The Physical Aspect of the Living Cell. Based on lectures delivered under the auspices of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies at Trinity College, Dublin, in February 1943,” accessed April 28, 2022, http://www.whatislife.ie/downloads/What-is-Life.pdf.

[xxi] Paul Carus, History of the Devil and the Idea of Evil: From the Earliest Times to the Present Day (United Kingdom: Dover Publications, 2008), Overview.

Excerpt from the Introduction to To Be or Not To Be...brahman or Abrahman / The World Turned Upside-Down

2026-02-21T12:46:00.003-07:00

Imagine living in a world where many “Theists” look to someone who was called “Atheist” as their “Father,” and who worship a god who their ancestors knew as the Lord of Death and Hell. Imagine a religious construction that endeavors to make the world believe that the God of Nature, the God of the ancient ancestors, is “the Evil One,” the supposed source of all evil. Imagine a system that is based on a rejection and sometimes even intentional inversion of the wisdoms and knowledges and even rituals of the ancestors, a novel system that was thus, at its inception, based on presenting something of an antithesis of those ancient knowledges passed down over the ages. Imagine a view of the world which sees everyone who is not of their particular way of belief or practice (or do not convert to their group) as a lesser sort of being than those of their own group, as not “chosen,” and perhaps even bound to go to “Hell” else to some lesser eternal destination than the self-entitled so-called “chosen” do. This revolt against the ancient order then proceeded to obscure or destroy all evidences of what understandings and teachings came before them which could not be readily incorporated into their new system of belief, obviously out of a profound insecurity at their rebellion against the ancient ways, an endeavor that sought to literally flip the paradigm and faith of the ancient ancestors upside-down.

Over the course of centuries, this paradigm based on the systematic rejection and symbolic opposition to the ancient ways ironically developed rather as would be predicted by the old paradigm, and in fact over time developed into multiple religions which, perhaps despite themselves, very much seem in some guise or other to mirror or mimic the constructions of the ancient ancestors which were rejected by their patriarch so long before. These religions that developed from an opposition to and inversion of the ancient ways became so bound to playing the role of “the opposition” that they soon began to seek other opponents, to view so many “others” as enemies, and even to create divisions amongst their own and then to fight against one another, as their base modus operandi was rooted in being against something or someone. Identities constructed via conflict tend to continue to understand themselves in terms of opposition, certainly to the detriment of their own well-being and to the well-being of others and not unlikely to their own self-destruction.

If it isn't obvious, the patriarch I am referring to is Abraham, who a number of ancient and recent historians and thinkers including Aristotle, Megasthenes, Flavius Josephus, Clearchus of Soli, Voltaire and Godfrey Higgins believed was originally a “Hindu” or “of the philosophers of India,” and the religions I am referring to are the “Abrahamic religions,” Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It seems very likely thus, assuming the aforementioned assertions of those thinkers is valid, that Abraham's name is derived from the Sanskrit word Abrahman which translates as “unfaithful one” or literally as “atheist,” corresponding to the tellings of the Old Testament which clearly acknowledge that Abraham's father “worshiped other gods,” and that thus Abraham was an “unfaithful one” to his ancestral religion, an “atheist” to his father’s Gods.

If indeed Abraham was an apostate “Hindu”—as again and to reiterate, the Torah/Old Testament acknowledges that Abraham's father/ancestors worshiped other gods—it seems very likely that the original name given Abram by his god “Yahweh” was actually “Abrahman,” a Sanskrit word meaning “unfaithful one,” or literally “atheist.” In Sanskrit, Abrahma means “ind. up to or including Brahman [“God”],”[i] likely indicating Abram was originally of the brahmin (priestly) caste. Abrahman means “one who does not know or rejects brahman/the Universal Divine.” The Hebrew “Yahweh” is thus very likely in actuality (else was at least derived from) him who Hinduism and much of Asia figure as Deva (God/god) Yama, the Lord of Death and Hell and Judge of the Dead, in concert with his priest and friend Lord Agni the God of Fire, who is called “Yahva” in the Rig Veda, the oldest scriptures of any extant religion, as Yama is put in charge of those who are “Abrahman.”

According to the teachings of sanAtana dharma, those who do not know or who reject brahman (the Universal Divine Self/Nature/“God”/the Oneness of Being), i.e., those who are “Abrahman,” therefore place themselves under the authority of Deva (god) Yama. Lord Yama was himself a mortal who was “the first to have died,” and thus the Devas made him to be one of Them, gave him title as the “Lord of Death and Hell and Judge of the Dead,” and charge over those mortals who do not know or reject brahman/the Guru/“God”/Nature/Being, over those who are Abrahman. For someone who was mortal, “a human,” to be made the Judge of deceased mortals exhibits the equity of the Devas, who chose one who had lived a mortal life to fairly judge other mortals’ actions. Yama also presides over the hell realm known as Naraka-Loka and over the heaven realm called Pitṛah Loka (“Fathers/Ancestors-Location,” the heaven realm of the ancestors). Again, Yama’s friend and priest, Deva Agni, the god of fire, is called “yahva” (“active”) in the Rig Veda, a collection of sacred songs intoned for thousands of years before inscribed in writing and from long before Abraham’s lifetime—despite Eurocentric scholarship endeavoring to deny the genuine antiquity of “Hinduism” by claiming a rather recent date to the introduction of the Vedas.

Sanskrit yahva mf(%{I4}) n. restless, swift, active (applied to Agni, Indra and Soma) RV.; continually moving or flowing (applied to the waters) ib. (= %{mahat} Sa1y.); m. = %{yajamAna}, a sacrificer Un2. i, 134 Sch.; (%{I}) f. du. heaven and earth RV.; pl. the flowing waters (with %{sapta}, `\" the seven great rivers \"\')

Yahva (यह्व).—a. Ved. 1) Great, powerful. 2) Active, restless, continually moving. -m. An employer of priests for sacrifices

Yahva (यह्व).—m. (-hvaḥ) A sacrificer, an institutor of sacrifices.[ii]

Exemplary of the Abrahamic/Abrahmanic religions’ propensity for and addiction to conflict, the Hebrew word satan translates as “adversary,” and though at first did not refer to a supernatural entity, became an overarching evil being hundreds of years after Abraham’s time via a Zoroastrian influence. The elevation of “the adversary” to a transcendent evil enemy is emblematic of the dualistic basis and proclivities of the Abrahamic religions, of their quite sick need for an enemy, as an addiction or crutch. “The Devil” is derived from the Zoroastrian daeva (“demon”), an inversion of the Sanskrit/Hindu designation Deva/Devi (“God/Goddess”), as the Zoroastrian religion had developed in opposition to the Vedic religion and the Devas, as the Abrahamic religions did. Rather ironically, Deva is in fact root else closely related to a number of European names for “God” (Latvian Dievs, Lithuanian Dievas, Latin Deus, Italian Dio, Spanish Dios, Portuguese Deus, French Dieu, Corsican Diu, Catalan Deu, Welsh Duw, Irish Dia, Old Irish Dé and Greek Theos), as well as being root to the term “Devil” via the Zoroastrian daeva.

That the Hebrew language and tradition changed the pronunciation and meaning and even the supposed etymology of the names/designations Abrahman to “Abraham,” Yama/yahva Agni to “Yahweh,” satan as a general term for “accuser or adversary” (likely from/related to the Sanskrit sapatna m. a rival, adversary, enemy RV[iii] [Rig Veda]) to a proper name designating “The Evil One,” and Deva (“God”) to “the Devil” is scarce a stretch at all. Consider the Hebrew word babel. Though originally derived from the Akkadian bab-ili, “the Gate of God,” the Hebrew language claims the word babel as designating “confusion,” conflated with the similar sounding Hebrew word balal.[iv] Often as words from other tongues are incorporated into a given language the original meaning is changed to suit the new context and mythology, sometimes only leaving a phonetic skeleton of the original word—something to keep in mind as I examine European, African and American placenames and terms in relation to Sanskrit and other ancient Indian languages and placenames in later pages.

Also of note, the Hebrew name for their god “El” is cognate to the Tamil word el. The Hebrew word El (אל) comes from a Semitic root word meaning "might, strength, power"[v] or “god.” Though not a “Semitic” language, the Tamil usage is not unlikely the most ancient rendering of the word “el” in said guise: Tamil “el 1. lustre, splendour, light; 2. sun; 3. sunshine; 4. day time; 5. day of 24 hours; 6. vehemence; strength.”[vi] The term “Jew” comes from the Hebrew word Yehudhi, as the tribe of “Judah” is pronounced “Yĕhūdhī” ("thanksgiving" or "praise") in Hebrew, and is thus likely derived from the Sanskrit juhoti (“burnt oblations, sacrifice, a wish to sacrifice”[vii]). Fire sacrifice was central to the Hebrew religion before their temples were destroyed. The Hebrew and specifically the Kabalistic tradition attributes the feminine aspects of the divine to “Shekinah,” rather obviously related to and however directly derived from the Sanskrit Shakti, the Feminine Divine/Goddess/“Power.” And to reiterate, the Hebrew “Yahweh” is almost certainly derived from or closely related to the Sanskrit yahva. And thus the Jewish people are shown to be directly related to—or even apostate to—the more ancient and abiding traditions of sanAtana dharma, aka “Hinduism.”

Regardless of the particulars of his break with the ways of his father and ancestors, Abraham's move to Palestine was part of a greater migration of the people out of Indus Valley/Saraswati Civilization and its periphery generally during that period of time, a civilization that more and more evidence indicates was Vedic, i.e., “Hindu.” Abraham and his tribe were likely part of a community of Indus Valley/Sarasvati/Indian merchants that had lived in “Ur of the Chaldees” for generations, and were almost certainly of the brahmins, the priestly and scholarly caste, whether or not “Ur of the Chaldese” is the Ur in Mesopotamia or no. Mesopotamian Civilization had at most 1.5 million inhabitants at the time of Abraham, whereas Indus/Sarasvati Civilization had a population of over 5 million people at its peak, many of whom migrated out of the Sarasvati region from around 2000 BCE and thereafter, about the time Abraham and his tribe went west to Palestine.

There are indeed some rather strong indications that the Ur mentioned in the Hebrew scriptures/Old Testament was not the Ur of the Euphrates delta, as the site identified as Ur in southeastern Iraq is in fact not “beyond the Euphrates” as touted in the Old Testament of “Ur of the Chaldees,” but is in fact on the same side of the Euphrates River as Palestine. The name or prefix “Ur” was not uncommon in the place names of Asia at the time, and thus the Biblical “Ur of the Chaldees” might well have been a place called “Ur” that lay within the expanse of Indus Valley/Sarasvati Civilization or thereabout, somewhere actually “beyond the Euphrates.” There is a city in northern Iran called Ur, actually “beyond the Euphrates,” that is inhabited to this day. “Ur” in Tamil is defined as “1.going, riding; 2.village, town, city; 3.place; 4.resident population,”[viii] and is found in Sanskrit, Prakrit and Dravidian language inscriptions, often denoting placenames. From the Tamil language definition:

Ūr.—(ASLV), the assembly of a non-Brāhmaṇa village, that of a Brāhmaṇa village being called sabhā or mahāsabhā. Note: ūr is defined in the “Indian epigraphical glossary” as it can be found on ancient inscriptions commonly written in Sanskrit, Prakrit or Dravidian languages.[ix]

Nonetheless, regarding the place called Ur in modern-day Iraq (whether or not the Ur that was the original home of Abraham), the Seven Sages that the Sumerians touted brought them knowledge and science, the Apkallu, are quite analogous to the ancient Saptarishi (“Seven Sages”) of the Hindus. The Sumerian myth tells that the Apkallu came to them from the sea, and thus by their use of “Ur” for the name of a number of cities in Mesopotamia (Ur, Uruk, Ura, Urayj, Ur Nasiriyah) it seems not unlikely that their “Seven Sages” were from a Tamil speaking region, i.e., South India or perhaps Sri Lanka. Traditions of ancient India and the Sangams of South India are the only claims of an ancient civilization which might have existed before Akkadian and Sumerian civilization and would have been found anywhere in proximity to Mesopotamia’s only seashore, the Euphrates Delta, where that river’s flow meets the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. Indicative of the antiquity of Tamil nautical prowess, teak, sandalwood, spices and peacocks, all products from India or Southeast Asia, are mentioned in the Old Testament since the time of Solomon, and would likely have been conveyed to the Levant by Tamil merchant fleets.

The Sumerian word apkallu means “wise, sage or expert,” likely related to the Tamil apicatan (Tamil apicAtan 1. worthy person; 2. wise man[x]). The first of the Apkallu, him who emerged from the waters of the sea to teach the Mesopotamian people science and civilization, was known as Oannes/Uanna. If the name Oannes/Uanna were by chance from an Indian language, the Sanskrit unmiS is phonetically quite close and would be a likely candidate (Sanskrit unmiS … to open the eyes, draw up the eyelids … to open (as eyes or buds) … to come forth, rise, originate … to shine forth, become brilliant[xi]).

Western scholarship has acknowledged that there is indeed some certain connection or affiliation between Tamil and the Mesopotamian languages, though most often claim the Mesopotamian as the more ancient source, as yet again, academia generally endeavors to claim the origins of civilization and culture to somewhere closer to Europe, and further from the dark-skinned, “polytheist” peoples of India. Another example of this propensity to figure the source of good things to nearer to Europe is the case of “Damascus steel,” a high-quality steel that was actually manufactured in India as ukku or wootz since before 500 BCE, then shipped to Damascus to be fashioned into the legendary “Damascus steel” blades that were so coveted in Europe.

Just this year, 2025, an excavation at a site nigh the tip of South India called Sivagali, Tamil Nadu, India uncovered a number of iron objects including knives, arrowheads, rings, chisels, axes, and swords, as well as various other evidences of iron smelting that date to 3,345 BCE, well over 5,000 years ago!![xii] This means the Iron Age started in India over two-thousand years before the Hittites were touted to have first worked with iron in Anatolia!! Though as yet little acknowledged by the academy, a number of apparent gold-tipped ink pen pendants and kernoi ink wells were discovered at various Indus/Sarasvati Civilization sites from around 2500 BCE, only preceded by the rather primitive reed pens of Egypt which date to 3200 BCE, according to Dr. Srinivasan Kalyanaraman, the Chair of the Taksha Indic Sarasvati-Sindhu Civilization (TISSC) Center.[xiii] How slow “the West” is in acknowledging that “the East,” and especially Indian civilization, are very much our elders, if not our progenitors!

Indus/Sarasvati ink pen pendant with Indus/Sarasvati script written thereupon with colored paint, and partial kernoi found at Mohenjo Dara with traces of iron oxide, a substance used as ink.[xiv] Thanks to Srinivasan Kalyanaraman for granting rights to reproduce the images above. See Kalyanaraman’s voluminous work on the Indus/Sarasvati Civilization script at Academia.com for more insights on that ancient and mysterious civilizations’ script.

As a glimmer of light in the academic study of Indian languages, despite the dark and dim colonialist past, a 12-volume etymological dictionary soon to be published by Oxford University Press is currently being composed to include some of the obvious Tamil contributions to the Indo-European languages, contributions that have heretofore been overlooked or rejected, largely as British colonialism sought to divide and conquer India by fomenting the dichotomy of Sanskrit (and thus North India) vs Tamil (South India and the so-called “Dravidian languages”). In light of the history of “divide and conquer” colonialism as pressed upon India and upon the academic study of India, I see this acknowledgement of Tamil as a significant contributor to the Indo-European languages as evidence that the good fruits of “critical theory” are at least beginning to influence the still Eurocentric academic establishment towards a more balanced and less colonialist and racist view of history and language, etc.

Mesopotamian sages were later rendered as human and were called Ummanu[xv] (wise, expert, craftsman or scholar[xvi]), very close to the Sanskrit sandhi (word combination) of um (Sanskrit um “a particle implying assent” or Tamil “um 1. connective particle implying … speciality whether of superiority or inferiority[xvii]) plus manu (Sanskrit “manu mfn. thinking, wise, intelligent … m. `\" the thinking creature(?) \"\', man, mankind,”[xviii] root to the English word “man,” and is the name of the author of the “Code of Manu” who was also Hinduism’s “Noah”). The name given the ancient Sumerian overlords/gods, the “Anunnaki” (also called “Anunna”), is very likely a sandhi (word combination) of the Sanskrit anUna (Sanskrit “anUna mf(%{A}) n. or %{an-Unaka} [L.] mfn. not less, not inferior to (abl) Ragh.; whole, entire; having full power”[xix]) and nakin (Sanskrit nakin m. `\" having (i.e. dwelling in) heaven \"\', a god”[xx]). Thus the Anunnaki/Anunna are touted as “Not inferior to those who dwell in heaven/the Gods.”

There are indeed many clues it may have been South Indians who anciently brought civilization to Mesopotamia, such as the Saptarishi “Seven Sages” rendered as the Apkallu “Seven Sages,” etc., else at least that their respective myths and cultures were closely related.[xxi] Variations of the Saptarishi, “The Seven Sages,” are also found in Chinese, Greek and Roman myths, as well as being likely root to the “Seven Archangels” of Judeo-Christian lore, the Seven Buddhas of Antiquity (Sanskrit saptatathāgata, one of which is called Kassapa, obviously derived from Kashyapa, among the most noted of the Hindu saptarishi) and very possibly echoed in Native American “Teachings of the Seven Grandfathers.”

Hindu Goddess Durga (also known as Isvari, “Goddess”) with lion,[xxii] Sumerian Goddess Ishtar with lion[xxiii] and Goddess Mother with two lions found at Çatalhöyük, Turkey (6000 BCE).[xxiv]

[i] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “abrahm,” accessed June 2, 2024, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[ii] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “yahva,” accessed July 29, 2025, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/yahva.

[iii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “sapatna,” accessed June 2, 2024, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[iv] Jeff A. Benner, “Babel,” Ancient Hebrew Research Center, Jeff A. Benner, accessed 2/2/2021, https://www.ancient-hebrew.org/names/Babel.htm.

[v] John J. Parsons, “Hebrew Names of God, El and El Constructs given in Tanakh,” Hebrew for Christians, accessed June 2, 2024, https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Names_of_G-d/El/el.html#loaded.

[vi] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “el,” accessed June 2, 2024, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[vii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “juhoti,” accessed December 8, 2024, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[viii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “ur,” accessed May 7, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[ix] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “ur,” accessed February 20,2024, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/ur.

[x] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “apicatan,” accessed July 4, 2024, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[xi] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “unmis,” accessed March 6, 2025, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[xii] “Where Did the Iron Age Begin?” Archaeology Magazine, January 27, 2025, https://archaeology.org/news/2025/01/27/where-did-the-iron-age-begin/

[xiii] Srinivasan Kalyanaraman, “World’s oldest inkstands & gold-pen nibs of Sarasvati-Sindhu Civilization, ca. 2500 BCE,” Bharatkalyan97 A homage to Hindu civilization, accessed July 30, 2025, Permission granted September 13, 2025, https://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.com/2022/05/worlds-oldest-inkstands-gold-pen-nibs.html.

[xiv] Ibid.

[xv] “Apkallu,” Wikipedia, last edited April 16,2024, accessed July 4, 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apkallu.

[xvi] “Category: Ummanu,” Samizdat, Blog, August 23, 2015, https://therealsamizdat.com/category/ummanu-2/.

[xvii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “um,” accessed July 4, 2024, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[xviii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “manu,” accessed June 23, 2024, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[xix] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “anu,” accessed December 2, 2024, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[xx] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “nak,” accessed May 7, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[xxi] London Swaminathan, “Mysterious Fish Gods around the World,” Tamil and Vedas, October 27, 2012, https://tamilandvedas.com/tag/oannes/.

[xxii] Renju George, “Is this Goddess Durga?” Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, February 27, 2007, https://www.flickr.com/photos/randompiks/404311961/.

[xxiii] Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin, “Terracotta plaque showing the Goddess Ishtar standing on a lion. From Iraq. 18th-17th century BCE. Pergamon Museum,” Wikimedia Commons, CC 4.0 International, September 10, 2020, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Terracotta_plaque_showing_the_Goddess_Ishtar_standing_on_a_lion._From_Iraq._18th-17th_century_BCE._Pergamon_Museum.jpg.

[xxiv] Nevit Dilmen, “Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük on black background,” Wikimedia Commons, CC Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic, March 27, 2014, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Seated_Woman_of_%C3%87atalh%C3%B6y%C3%BCk_on_black_background.jpg.

"The True Identity of Jesus Revealed: Avatar of Aadhi Maha Shasta, the Protector of Created Beings" Chapter 4 from To Be or Not to Be ... brahman or Abrahman / The World Turned Upside-Down

2026-02-14T13:06:00.000-07:00

The True Identity of Jesus Revealed:

Avatar of Aadhi Maha Shasta, the Protector of Created Beings

Shiva, Mohini (Vishnu as a Woman) and Aadhi Maha Shasta as an infant (public domain)[i]

As this is at least the second most important issue I have determined to address in this treatise, I decided I ought pen (er, type) a more complete and pleasantly penned composition than my previous published writings addressing this issue, detailing why I have become convinced of such a paradigm shattering theory. So here I present to you seekers of truth a more detailed telling of why I have come to believe that Jesus Christ, more properly known as Jeshua ben Joseph, was in fact an Avatar (embodiment of the Divine) of Deva (God) Shasta, also anciently known as Ayyanar or Ayyappanar, as Lakshmanapranadata, Cattan, Ayyappa, Manikandan, Karuppan, Veeran, Kathavarayan and by other names/Avatars, some likely not recorded in any scripture nor any extant myth, anciently born as the Son of Mahadeva (Great God) Shiva and Deva Vishnu as Mohini (Female Form of Vishnu) after the “churning of the sea of milk,” according to the Brahmanda Purana, and is referred to in the Puranas as anciently teaching “a galaxy of gods.”[ii]

Though I do intend to back up this rather astounding assertion, that Jesus who is called Christ was an incarnation of Aadhi Maha Shasta, very anciently synonymous to Buddha and known in south India as Ayyanar or Ayyanappan and later, according to academy accepted datings of the extant evidences, writ and inscribed, as Ayyappa or Manikandan, the Son of God Shiva and Goddess Mohini (God Vishnu when He was temporarily a She), with a fair amount of academy-acceptable evidence utilizing the tools offered by the disciplines of history and anthropology and religious studies, the claim that someone's soul reincarnated as another particular individual cannot, at least with the current tools and technologies proffered by the sciences, be other than a “faith” proposition. Though in the previous chapter I approached the issue at hand with only the weight of solid evidences that fit within the bounds of the academy-approved methods of the study of religion, history, anthropology and critical theory, obviously I must take a somewhat different tack in this chapter, as I am claiming more than similarities of words, names or mythemes and correlations of well enough dated events or other well-documented facts and analogous artifacts.

I am supposing a transmigrational reality in this portion of this work, something that must be acknowledged as speculation into “the mystical,” and not as an inquiry strictly suited to the social sciences nor to the hard sciences at this juncture, as with current methods and technologies one cannot determine aught of the paths of disembodied souls, alas. Though there are many historically veritable evidences indicating that Jesus did venture to the lands where Vishnu and Shiva were worshipped, and where Ayyanar, also known as Cattan and Aadhi Maha Shasta was almost certainly known, and where Shasta was very anciently considered synonymous with Buddha (4^th century BCE),[iii] both before and after His ministry in Palestine, and indeed many analogies and odd coincidences between the respective mythologies of Jesus and Shasta, to suppose two separate mythical/historical individuals to be the same soul reincarnated cannot be other than a statement of “religious faith.” That acknowledged, the following are some of the evidences, both academically acceptable (if in some cases controversial) and well enough documented historical evidences, likenesses and analogous mythemes as well as experiential/“spiritual” clues or revelations granted that have convinced me that Jeshua ben Joseph, aka “Jesus Christ,” was an incarnation of Aadhi Maha Shasta/Ayyanar, also known as Ayyappa and Manikandan, and as Hari-Hara Putra or Hari-Hara Tanaya (putra and tanaya both mean “son of”), the Only Begotten Son of God Hari-Hara, God Vishnu and God Shiva, anciently born to Shiva and Mohini (Vishnu as a fertile Transsexual, Mohini means “Goddess Enchantress”) after the “churning of the Sea of Milk,” according to Hindu mythology.

It has been well enough noted and touted that there are many uncanny similarities between the Persons of Krishna and Christ. A Quaker named Kersey Graves (1813-1883) compiled a list of some 346 elements in common between Krishna's story and Christ's story.[iv] Indeed, none can reasonably deny that some of the analogies are quite convincing, not the least of which is the phonetic similarity of the names, as analogous names can indicate either an historical connection else at least an esoteric resonance. Nonetheless, to me something never seemed quite right with that attempt to identify those two purported Godmen as the same Person. Though I believed that these connections were not without merit in some guise or other, I somehow similarly had a sense they were NOT the same Dude. For one, Krishna is not the “Son of God,” as according to Hinduism He is God Himself—or in the case of Mohini, Herself.

Only fairly recently in my own spiritual pilgrimage did I come across accounts of the Deva known as Ayyanar, Aadhi Maha Shasta, Lakshmanapranadata and Ayyappa, among other appellations, the Son of Shiva and Krishna/Vishnu as Mohini when Vishnu did manifest as a Goddess. Shasta is the Only Begotten Son of God the Destroyer and God the Maintainer when the latter was a fertile transsexual! Almost immediately something in my intuition else rational faculties told me that Shasta, the Protector of Created Beings, more anciently known (according to the extant historical and archaeological evidences) as Shasta or Ayyanar or Catan, recorded on a “hero stone” in Tamil Nadu with the inscription, "Ayyanappan; a shrine to Cattan" (3^rd Century CE), was a very likely candidate for the abiding identity of the person/Person called Jeshua ben Joseph, aka Jesus Christ. I believe that the Divine does take form amongst many ifn’t most ifn’t all peoples, that “They are among us” is true, oft enough born as our children, as “human,” and that often enough veritable Avatars of the ancient Devas and Devis, Gods and Goddesses, go scarce noticed as they complete their dharma among whatever people in whatever part of the world, as these Avatars and other celestial beings do their part in the “keeping things together,” as do so many lesser touted players living lives of whatever fame or obscurity as they do their dharma, too. The beliefs of the Celts and other European “pagans” included the understanding that the gods sometimes take birth among the people, as the Hindus believe of “Avatars.”

At a regional Rainbow Gathering[v] (a rendezvous of hippies in the forest) in Colorado in September of 2001, I was having a conversation with some random hippies in the meadow about Hinduism and Christianity, and one of those tie-dye clad kids randomly claimed that Jesus was the Son of Shiva and Vishnu. I immediately objected, noting that Shiva and Vishnu are both Male. I then asked said hippy in the meadow where he had heard the idea that he had posited, to which he replied, “You told us.” I was rather puzzled by his response, but assumed dude was just trippin'. Shortly thereafter we received word from “Babylon” that the World Trade Center Towers had been destroyed. A kid in cut-off denim overalls came bounding up the hill from towards the parking area yelling as he was running and skipping through the forest towards Main Meadow, “They blew up the Towers!! They blew up the Two Towers!!”

A couple of years later I was visiting Mount Shasta in California with Meghan, a girlfriend who I met at a party at a polyamorous intentional community in Santa Fe, New Mexico called “The Island,” and who had been traveling with me in “The Beast Mama,” my 4-wheel drive truck with camper atop and dreamy-eyed orange sunshine face painted on the passenger door, since shortly thereafter. We were talking about the purported sacredness of the grand mountain filling the horizon to the east and Meghan exclaimed, “It's Jesus Mountain.” I asked her where she had heard such, as Meghan was not a Christian and was more into theories about Nibiru and the Anunnaki from Sumerian mythology than any conventional religious stuff. Like the hippy kid at the Rainbow Gathering, Meghan claimed I had given her said information, though I could not imagine when or why I would have made such a claim, and for whatever reason I did not pursue the question to ask her when or how it was I had said such a thing. Meghan was rather into “dream work,” so I suppose I may have conveyed that information to her in a dream, i.e., that Jesus and Shasta are the same Dude, else perhaps by some other occulted means.

Considering the significant place positings about Jesus and Aadhi Maha Shasta, born as the Son of Shiva and Vishnu as Mohini, have become since those days, since I discovered that Shiva and Vishnu did indeed have a Son together when Vishnu was temporarily a Female, I have to wonder how such seeming prescient(?) information came to said hippy in the meadow and to my erstwhile girlfriend Meghan. Regardless, these strange synchronicities have only further convinced me that I am correct in my assessment of who Jesus who is called Christ really was: the “Only Begotten Son” of God Shiva and God Vishnu (as Mohini), the only Son of Deva Hari-Hara, Hari-Hara Putra (putra mean “son of” the preceding name), Aadhi Maha Shasta. The Sanskrit name or term Shasta means “the one who rules or preaches.”

Shasta (IAST Śāstā) is a Hindu deity, venerated with Shiva and Vishnu. Shasta is a generic Sanskrit term for a ruler, i.e. the one who rules/preaches . . . He is identified with many deities like Aiyanar, Ayyappa and Revantha. He is also called as Brahma Shastha, preacher of Pranav am.[vi]

Jesus’s name to the Muslims, and according to the purported Hindu and Buddhist accounts of His visits to India and the Himalayas, is/was “Isa.” In Sanskrit Isa means “Lord,” among other similar derivations, and is almost certainly the original linguistic root of the Hebrew “Jeshua,” as well as to the Arabic Isa, as Jesus is called “Isa” by Muslims to this day.

Sanskrit Īśa (ईश). —a. [īś-ka] 1) Owning, possessing, sharing, master or lord of; see below. 2) One who is completely master of anything. 3) Capable of (with gen.) 4) Powerful, supreme. -śaḥ 1 A lord, master … 2) A husband. 3) A Rudra. 4) The number 11 (derived from the eleven Rudras). 5) Name of Śiva … 6) The Supreme god (parameśvara … -śā 1 Supremacy, power, dominion, greatness … 2) A servant of Śiva.[vii]

Consider as you continue, especially if you are reading this from a Christian perspective, Jesus is touted to have said to his/His disciples, “I have sheep in other pastures.” Indeed, Shasta/Ayyappa/Ayyanar is one of the most popular Devas in many parts of India and other Hindu lands, and as Shasta has been noted since before the time of Christ, according to the Ramayana’s account of Lord Rama’s meeting Shasta, and by my reckoning is almost certainly namesake to Mount Shasta and the Shasta Indians of California. According to the written records Shasta was known as early as when Buddhism entered South India in the 3^rd century BCE, as Ayyanar not unlikely for thousands of years amongst the South Indian peoples,[viii] and as Shasta in the Ramayana, many thousands of years BCE, despite “Western” scholarship claiming a later date for the inception of said deity as they often do with Hindu Gods and scriptures and sources generally.

As per Ramayana, during the time of Lord Rama’s exile, he went to the present place of Sabari Mala, and there he met Mata Sabari, who had offered fruits as food items to Rama. After some time, when Rama was passing through the Sabari Mala forest, there he saw a divine person doing meditation. On seeing him, Lord Rama had enquired. The divine person had said that he is Shasta, and then, both of them were discussed about spiritual matters, and after some time, Lord Rama had left that place.[ix]

The Makaravilakku celebration is an annual event that draws a half-million devotees of Shasta/Ayyappa to Sabarimala, Kerala, India to commemorate the meeting of Lord Rama with Shasta.[x] Also of note in this telling from the Ramayana, an account that unequivocally predates Christianity and even Judaism, the ashram Rama visited was the ashram of Mata Sabari, a female guru, ignoring all the other ashrams in the area. Even anciently in Hinduism, women held a revered and sacred place, with some saintly women serving as Gurus to many even in very ancient India. I might also note, Manikandan, an Avatar of Aadhi Maha Shasta who lived about a thousand years ago, had a close friend who was a Muslim named Vavar. The Vavar Mosque is part of the Hindu pilgrimage circuit to Sabarimala, whereupon the Hindu pilgrims circumambulate the Vavar Mosque, even whilst Muslims are praying in the mosque. This is very analogous to Jesus/Isa being revered by Muslims, if not as an Avatar but as a Prophet.

Manikandan, an incarnation of Lord Ayyappa, rediscovered the temple in the 12th century. Manikandan was a prince of the Pandalam dynasty. He was found by the king on the bank of a river.

Just because there are not physical evidences of devotion to a Deva or Devi previous to the given academy-acknowledged textual or iconographic reference does not mean that an oral tradition of hymns and mantra and puja (ritual devotion) did not precede the written evidence thereof, perhaps by thousands of years, nor does such mean that said Being didn’t exist previous to or otherwise outside of the extant historical records. Even Max Muller, who lambasted Hinduism generally and posited a very recent date for the advent of the Vedas early in his career, very much in line with the Abrahamic program’s attempt to discredit a “rival religion,” late in his life praised the Vedas whether they were relatively recent in origin or many thousands of years ancient.

Scholarly understanding of Hinduism as a systematic religion is likewise shaped by endeavors to construct a uniform, coherent system of beliefs and religious practices. However, the Hinduism of the scriptures is different from the vernacular forms of the religion that are expressed, practiced, and narrated by ordinary people, the majority of whom live in the countryside.[xi]

Assuming that Avatars do sometimes live among the people of this world, and not necessarily living lives of particular renown and perhaps not even known by “their own people” as Divine or particularly special, it should not be especially surprising that Jesus “had sheep in other pastures” and lived lives and accomplished feats that were recorded by other peoples. It would also stand to reason that said Person would be at least somewhere acknowledged by the most ancient and abiding religious tradition in the world, i.e., “Hinduism," or more properly “sanAtana dharma.”

It is more than noteworthy that some Christians have posited that Jesus may have been a reincarnation of the prophet Elisha, as Jesus did clearly claim that John the Baptist was a reincarnation of Elisha’s teacher Elijah, who is claimed by Hebrews as the greatest of the prophets. Belief in reincarnation was almost certainly extant among Hebrews at the time of Christ, as such beliefs were later explicated in Kabbala (Jewish mysticism), and if Jesus spent time in India previous to His ministry in Palestine He had certainly been exposed to the concept.

10 The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?” 11 Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist. (Matthew 17:10-13 New International Version)

As Elijah left the world after he and Elisha crossed the Jordan River, and thereupon granting a “double portion” of his spirit to Elisha at Elisha’s request, John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the Jordan River, transferring to Jesus John’s place in that lineage.[xii] It would not be outside that sequence of probable reincarnational possibilities, then, to posit that if Jesus was a reincarnation of Elisha, that the same Person was also adored by “sheep in other pastures” as Aiyanar, Cattan and Shasta, that all these incarnations were Avatars of Aadhi Maha Shasta, anciently born as the Son of Shiva and Vishnu when Vishnu meditated on the Divine Feminine to be enabled to manifest as a (fertile) transsexual named Mohini. Vishnu is paramatma, and thus the Soul of Atman, the “Spirit of God” abiding in everyone. The Gospel of the Hebrews (early 2^nd century, CE) touts that the “Holy Spirit” was Jesus’s “Divine Mother,” very much analogous to Mohini as the Goddess Mother who gave birth to Shasta.

To reiterate and enunciate, the New Testament record acknowledges that Jesus may well have lived other lifetimes before being Jeshua ben Joseph, as some have noted the implied reincarnation of the greatest of the Old Testament prophets, Elijah, as John the Baptist, and some have even gone so far as to posit Jesus as a reincarnation of Elijah’s disciple Elisha, who was granted a “double-portion” of Elijah’s spirit.[xiii] Elisha, like Jesus and like Aadhi Maha Shasta as Lakshmanapranadata and as Manikandan, raised someone from the dead and healed people. Elisha and Jesus were both touted to have evinced the siddhi (power of mind and matter) of multiplying food,[xiv] as was likewise demonstrated by Neem Karoli Baba (a purported Avatar of Hindu God Hanuman) in recent times, as mentioned in the preface.

Assuming Jesus was a reincarnation of Elisha (El-Isa, evocative of the name Jesus was purportedly called in India and Tibet during His “missing years” and by Muslims generally, Isa, Sanskrit for “Lord”), it would not be outrageous to claim that this same person/Person was an Avatar of Aadhi Maha Shasta, who as Lakshmanapranadata (“He who restored Lakshman’s life,” a name attributed to Shasta and also to Hanuman) raised Lakshman from the dead thousands of years before, as recounted in the Ramayana, then lived as Ayyappa/Manikandan, who healed His guru’s deaf and blind son by laying His hands upon him. Indeed, the pieces fit quite well in such an understanding of who Jesus really was, an Avatar of Shasta, revered by both Hindus and Buddhists.

Elisha

Jesus

Shasta/Ayyanar/Ayyappa

-Elijah gave Elisha his mantle as prophet and a double portion of his spirit on the banks of the Jordan River.[xv]

-Raised Shunammite woman’s son from the dead.[xvi]

-Healed Naaman the Syrian from leprosy.[xvii]

-John the Baptist baptized Jesus and thus handing over his mantle to Jesus in the Jordan River.

-Raised Lazarus from the dead.

-Healed lepers and the blind.

-Was left by Shiva and Vishnu to be found by King Rajashekhara on the banks of the Pampa River.

-Raised Laksmana from the dead during the Ramayana war.

-Healed His guru’s deaf and blind son.

Again, this chapter is mostly meant as mystical positings and not necessarily as something might be proven according to the standards of the social sciences or the academy generally, though certain evidences considered acceptable by those disciplines of inquiry might well be employed to offer strong suggestions that these positings are more than mere fancy. A fair number of reasonably trustworthy and well enough verified sources say that Jesus spent time learning and teaching in India, Tibet and Nepal and elsewhere during His “missing years," certainly a paradigm-altering factor if true. Some Muslim scholars have called Jesus “the King of Travelers,”[xviii] obviously indicating they believe He visited many places not recorded in the New Testament.

The name on a tomb in Srinagar, Kashmir, dating to the second century, “Yusa Asaph” (Yusa is the Persian pronunciation of “Isa”) is at least evocative of the name Ayyappa, indicating He had perhaps figured out His abiding identity by the time He retired to Kashmir, before finally leaving His life lived as Jeshua/Isa/Yusa Asaph, around 100 years after His crucifixion according to some tellings. There are a set of footprints embedded in stone outside of the shrine said to belong to this teacher who came from the west that clearly show the scars of crucifixion, indicating Jesus may well have gone to India after His crucifixion and resurrection as well as during “the missing years,” and at some level tying the stories of Jeshua/Jesus/Isa/Yusa Asaph to Sastha/Ayyanappan /Manikandan and the ancient traditions of sanAtana dharma, the religion of Jesus’s ancient ancestors before Abraham. Fida Hussnain notes that the direction of the burial of Yuza Asaph is in an east-west direction, thus indicating the person buried there was not Muslim, and was very likely Jewish.[xix]

Carved Footprints of Yusa Asaph at the Rosebal Shrine of Srinagar, Kashmir, India, displaying the anatomically correct scars from crucifixion. “The carved Footprints: It has always been the custom and practice of worshippers to place candles around the tombstones. When the century-old layers of wax were removed in 1975 from an elevated stone in the inner chamber of the tomb, a sensational discovery was made: ‘A pair of footprints was carved into the stone and beside them lay a wooden crucifix and a rosary.’”[xx]

The Bhavishya Purana, one of the 18 Principle Upanishads (of uncertain dating), part of which is understood as a book of prophecies, purportedly contains a prophecy about Jesus coming to India. According to Stephen Knapp, this text

describes the future appearance of Isha putra, the son (putra) of God (Isha)(Jesus Christ), born of an unmarried woman named Kumari (Mary) Garbha Sambhava. He would visit India at the age of thirteen and go to the Himalayan Mountains and do tapas or penance to acquire spiritual maturity under the guidance of rishis and siddha-yogis before going back to Palestine to preach to his people. So, if Jesus was trained by the sages of India, this would explain why he was able to perform various miracles (siddhas).[xxi]

Though this is somewhat contested in terms of the antiquity of the prophecy, as European and American critics are quite loathe to accept the Hindus datings of their own scriptures, it nonetheless adds to the evidences that indicate Jesus may well have travelled to India and Tibet. Another account in the Bhavishya Purana tells of Yuza Asaph meeting with Emperor Shalivahana (1^st century CE) in the Himalayas. It is indeed difficult to determine whether this was indeed a prophecy, i.e., was from before the time of Jesus, or was a later rendering describing an actual historical encounter, else was a fabrication as some critics have contended. Nonetheless, this evidence, along with so many more traces, indicate a likelihood that Jesus did indeed spend time in India during His “missing years.” Below is the passage in question from the Bhavishya Purana, from Stephen Knapp’s “Jesus Predicted in the Vedic Literature?”

Once upon a time the subduer of the Sakas went towards Himatunga and in the middle of the Huna country (Hunadesh – the area near Manasa Sarovara or Kailash mountain in Western Tibet), the powerful king saw an auspicious man who was living on a mountain. The man’s complexion was golden and his clothes were white.

The king asked, ‘Who are you sir?’ ‘You should know that I am Isha Putra, the Son of God’, he replied blissfully, and ‘am born of a virgin.’

‘I am the expounder of the religion of the mlecchas and I strictly adhere to the Absolute Truth.’ Hearing this the king enquired, ‘What are the religious principles according to your opinion?’

Hearing this questions of Shalivahana, Isha putra said, ‘O king, when the destruction of the truth occurred, I, Masiha the prophet, came to this country of degraded people where there are no rules and regulations. Finding that fearful irreligious condition of the barbarians spreading from Mleccha-Desha, I have taken to prophethood’.

Please hear, Oh king, which religious principles I have established among the mlecchas. The living entity is subject to good and bad contaminations. The mind should be purified by taking recourse of proper conduct and performance of japa [meditation on the chanting of the holy names of God]. By chanting the holy names one attains the highest purity. Just as the immovable sun attracts, from all directions, the elements of all living beings, the Lord of the Surya Mandala [solar planet], who is fixed and all-attractive, and attracts the hearts of all living creatures. Thus by following rules, speaking truthful words, by mental harmony and by meditation, Oh descendant of Manu, one should worship that immovable Lord’.

Having placed the eternally pure and auspicious form of the Supreme Lord in my heart, O protector of the earth planet, I preached these principles through the mlecchas’ own faith and thus my name became ‘isha-masiha’ (Jesus the Messiah).

After hearing these words and paying obeisances to that person who is worshiped by the wicked, the king humbly requested him to stay there in the dreadful land of mlecchas.”

King Shalivahana, after leaving his kingdom performed an asvamedha yajna and after ruling for sixty years, went to heaven. Now please hear what happened when the king went to (the heavenly region of) svargaloka. (Bhavishya Purana, Chaturyuga Khanda Dvitiyadhyayah 19.22-32)[xxii]

During my undergraduate studies I was for a time a Southern Baptist preacher. Though to many, this might not seem a good starting place for a seeker of truth, as said group is known to be rather narrowly dogmatic, it was in fact somewhat due to clues proffered by the mostly Southern Baptist professors at Oklahoma Baptist University that I began to question the dogmas of that faith and to open my mind to many ideas outside the bounds of Southern Baptist beliefs, and outside the paradigm of American society generally. It was well-educated Christians who were in fact those who had inadvertently led me to experiment with a Bohemian lifestyle and to take a Kierkegaardian “leap of faith” into unhindered self- (and Self-) discovery.

Years later, after I was introduced to and embraced the teachings of sanAtana dharma, I still felt that somehow Jesus was a legitimate expression of “God" and one who well enough presented and practiced the teachings of eternity (quite literally, “sanAtana dharma”). Aadhi Maha Shasta was the Person I was eventually drawn to that seemed to present a likely connection between those first religious impulses and practices I was exposed to (other than devotion to and adoration of Nature, the mountains, wilderness and women) and the abiding truth I found so succinctly and abidingly expressed as sanAtana dharma/“Hinduism.”

Shasta is indeed a unique Son of God, as the Christian title, “the only begotten Son of God,” does tout of Jeshua. Vishnu (God the Maintainer, known as Krishna in His most popular form, when He makes love to 10,000 milkmaids just as each wished to be made love to, all at the same time...) this one time did manifest on earth as a Woman by meditating intensely upon Shakti, the Divine Feminine, the Goddess, in order to deal with a particular menace, a dangerous demon named Bhasmasura. After Vishnu as Mohini had defeated Bhasmasura and returned to His normal Male form, Shiva asked Him to show Himself again as Mohini, His Female form. Well, as Shiva is the essence of male virility, He ends up desiring the lovely and seductive Mohini—Who is actually Shiva’s Consort Parvati’s Brother under normal circumstances! They end up hooking up and Shiva impregnated Mohini (Vishnu) with an Avatar of Aadhi Maha Shasta, the Protector of Created Beings. This certainly seems to fulfill the “only 'begotten' Son” scenario proffered by the Christian religion, and in fact does fit rather well with the “Father, Son and Holy Spirit” trinity of Christianity, as Jesus's Divine Mother, Vishnu as Mohini, is Paramatma, the Soul of Atman, God's “Spirit” extant in all beings. Shasta does have Divine Brothers and Sisters, though none of Them were given birth to by Vishnu, God the Maintainer, as a Divine Transsexual!

I mean, if your Divine Mom is generally a Dude, and One who exists in everyone's heart, how might you refer to Her/Him? As Vishnu is the paramatma, the aspect of God which dwells in everyone as Atman, God indwelling, then how would Jesus refer to this Being to people not directly exposed to the teachings of Abraham's forefathers, if not as “the Holy Spirit?” The non-canonical Gospel of the Hebrews, which dates to as early as the Gospels that did make it into the Bible, designates the Holy Spirit as Jesus’s “Divine Mother,”[xxiii] matching quite succinctly my assertion that the “Holy Spirit” is indeed Mohini/Vishnu as paramatma. This little clue, by the way, seems very likely to likewise help explain the rather confused misogynistic tendencies of Christians that certainly exist—despite the New Testament statement that “there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, neither man nor woman, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Likely most responsible for the misogyny promoted by the Abrahamic religions, however, is the lack of any significant mention of the Feminine Divine, conspicuously absent in all three, with the exception of the non-canonical (not included in “The Bible”) Gospel of the Hebrews, and perhaps a few other scarce and apocryphal sources, else the metaphor of God wishing to gather his children “as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings” (Luke 13:34 NIV). I might also note, the metaphor of a hen gathering her chicks nicely corresponds to the identification of the Hebrew Yahweh with Lord Yama, as in the Vedas Lord Yama “is called a king or . . . `" the gatherer of men"', and presides over the departed fathers in heaven [the Pitṛloka/Father’s realm] . . .”[xxiv]

This theory about the true identity of Jesus Christ touches upon a very “modern” issue, with transsexual mothers/fathers being a very current topic in the global discourse of the 2020s—yet another reason I am anxious to have this book available to the public as soon as I might. Indeed, if Jesus was an Avatar of Aadhi Maha Shasta, called Ayyappa in the Brahmanda Purana, Only Begotten Son of Shiva and Vishnu when Vishnu was a Divine Transsexual named Mohini, “the narrow path” suddenly becomes rather broader and indeed more inclusive.

Thus and to reiterate, assuming my identification of said Persons as the same Being is legitimate, Jesus's (Shasta’s) real Mom/Divine Mother (again, Mary was a surrogate mom) is generally a Fellow, a Dude Who many millions of Gopis (“milkmaids”), both female and male, religiously-sexually desire, and is the Person to whom Jesus was referring when He talked about “the Holy Spirit”—i.e., Vishnu in His role as paramatma. Though I do not believe that Jesus was necessarily overtly aware of His true identity as Avatar of Shasta throughout the entire course of His life, I am supposing that at some level He understood the role He was playing in the Grand lila of this Age. Again, the name He purportedly took in Kashmir after the resurrection, the name on a tomb in Srinagar that is attended to and revered to this day, is “Yusa Asaph.” “Yusa” is the Persian rendering of “Jesus”/Jeshua/Isa (and again, Isa, Sanskrit for Lord, was the name Jesus was purportedly called during His earlier “missing years,” a name or title that is indeed the ancient linguistic root to “Jesus,” Jeshua” and “Joshua”), and “Asaph” is rather phonetically close to “Ayyappa,” and thus might indicates He had figured out who He really was by that point, and who He would be in His next incarnation. Even if the name Jeshua took in Kashmir preceded the name Ayyappa in the historical record does not mean they were not incarnations of the same Person, as the understanding of Aadhi Maha Shasta as “The Protector of Created Beings” would indicate His presence is not limited to any particular Avatar. There are in fact eight acknowledged primary Avatars of Shasta:

The Ashta-Shasta (eight Shastas) are Aadhi Maha Shasta, Dharma Shasta (Ayyappan), Gnana Shasta, Kalyana Varadha Shasta, Sammohana Shasta, Santhana Prapti Shasta, Veda Shasta and Veera Shasta.” Aadhi Maha Shasta is the Prime form of Shasta, as adhi means “as a prefix to verbs and nouns, expresses above, over and above,”[xxv]

“Maha” means “great” (and is in fact anciently related to if not direct progenitor of the English “much” and prefix “mega-”). Though certainly not admissible as academic evidence, the pronunciation of “Aadhi” is evocative of “A.D.” denoting the supposed birth date of Jesus, perhaps yet another esoteric clue that might hint that Jeshua was indeed an Avatar of Aadhi Maha Shasta. It seems likely thus that Jesus came to better understand His proper role in this Grand lila, the Play of the Gauri Yuga (Golden Age) of the Kali Yuga (Dark Age), after having died and having risen from the dead.

Unlike most who tout that Jesus retired in Kashmir after having been crucified, I have no problem with a literal resurrection from the dead, by the way, for one as I've had personal experiences that indicate death is by no means unconquerable, and indeed there seem very likely many possible paths after departing a body, including returning to the same form, with or without the fatal wounds. Consider, if reincarnation is veritable (as so many traditions do claim), this is in fact the afterlife to your past lives lived! Welcome to eternity!!

I might also note, there are traditions in Kashmir that claim the tomb of Moses is on a mountain in Kashmir, as several biblical place names associated with Moses’s resting place are found around Srinagar, Kashmir, where Yusa Asaph’s tomb is located.[xxvi] So many evidences do point to sanAtana dharma as the religion of Abraham’s forefathers, and do show those religions’ stories as not so separate, “West and East,” as most suppose. If Judaism and the Abrahamic religions generally do issue from “Hinduism,” if as critical responses, then Jesus, if a part of this more grand and more ancient story, most succinctly fits as the Person of Aadhi Maha Shasta on the grand roster, the cast list of Bigtime Players in this movie, in the Grand lila of this age.

Another Christian understanding of Jesus is that He was “the Word,” as their scripture says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Shasta (as well as His half-brother Kartikeya) is very much associated with ॐ (AUM), the Primal sound, which is certainly the origin of the Judeo-Christian “Amen” and Muslim “Amin,” another clear resonance between Shasta and Jesus, between sanAtana dharma and Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Yet another rather profound similarity is found in one of the most prominent stories about Shasta: as Manikandan, it is touted that He healed a deaf and blind boy, a similar miracle to those attributed to Jesus Christ!

Upon completing his princely training and studies when he offered 'gurudakshina' or fee to his guru, the master aware of his divine power asked him for a blessing of sight and speech for his blind and dumb son. Manikantan placed his hand on the boy and the miracle happened.[xxvii]

Note the “laying on of hands” of Manikandan to heal the deaf and blind boy, very like the siddhi (“supernatural power”) evinced when Jesus laid His hands on the ailing to heal them. Raising the dead is another miracle attributed to Shasta, as His name Lakshmanapranadata, which means Reviver of Lakshmana's Life, clearly indicates. As Lakshman was Lord Rama’s brother, and Rama lived previous to Krishna, previous to at least 3000 BCE, Aadhi Maha Shasta must have been active thousands of years before extant records tell of His incarnation as Ayyappa, and indeed well before Jeshua ben Joseph lived in Palestine. Indeed, these many indications incline me to believe that the two mythological figures are the same Person, as they have such attributes in common. The many touted similarities between Krishna and Christ are well explained by the aforementioned theory as well, as perhaps “the Son” Shasta was endeavoring to fill the roles of Krishna, who was the Divine Mother of Jesus as Mohini, and who also lived as the Buddha, in His/Her apparent absence. Again, Shiva is “the Father.”

The miracles associated with Aadhi Maha Shasta in His various incarnations are not the normative feats attributed to Devas in Hindu mythology. Though various expressions of the Divine do on occasion heal people or revive them from the dead in the myths of Hinduism, these are exceptional cases. That Shasta’s most touted acts are so analogous to those miracles attributed to Jesus Christ is uncanny, and strongly reifies the potential of a coidentity of these two “Sons of God." Consider likewise the “Wise men from the East,” the “magi” that are said to have followed a star to find the baby Jesus.

Sanskrit 1) Maga (मग):—m. a magian, a priest of the sun, [Varāha-mihira; Bhaviṣya-purāṇa, khaṇḍa 1 & 2: bhaviṣya-purāṇa & bhaviṣyottara-purāṇa]

2) [plural] Name of a country in Śākadvīpa [one of this world’s “seven islands,” “sapta-dvipa”] inhabited chiefly by Brāhmans

Indian History and Geography

Maga or Maka: We can accurately identify the area of the Indo-Greek King Maga or Maka because the area of western Bactria, western Tajikistan, eastern Tukmenistan and eastern Uzbekistan was well-known as the country of Maka. Most probably, the first Indo-Greek King of this area had a title of Soter Megas (ΣΩΤΗΡ ΜΕΓΑΣ) which is evident from the numismatic evidence. The descendants of Indo-Greek King Soter Megas also had the same title. Therefore, they were generally referred to as Maga or Maka kings. Gradually, the country of Maga kings also came be known as Maga. Since Zoroaster was born in this Maka kingdom, Zoroastrianism also came to be known as Maghism.

Maga.—(EI 9; BL), the same as Śākadvīpīya; a community of Brāhmaṇas; name of the members of the Persian priestly community (Magi) settled in India and absorbed in the Brāh-maṇa class.[xxviii]

Tamil makA 1. great, high, exalted, dignified, noble, honourable; 2. immense, prodigious, stupendous, monstrous, extreme; 3. superior, paramount, superlative; 4. intense[xxix]

Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva behind Shiva’s Sons Ganesha, Shasta, and Kartikeya (public domain)[xxx]

Traditionally though not Biblically presented as three in number, the story of the “Three Wisemen” is at least evocative of the Trimurti of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, and possibly indicating that “the magi” were “Hindu” sages. If these wisemen were, as is generally touted, Zoroastrian, their appearance for Jeshua’s nativity is nonetheless indicative of the “interfaith” nature of Shasta’s mission when He lived as Jeshua of Galilee.

Indubitably a seminal consideration along this line of reasoning is the “missing years of Jesus” (age 13-28). Many sources indicate that Jesus went away to the East to learn from the brahmins and then from the Buddhists (once He had a break with the ritualistically and caste-bound brahmins) before returning to Palestine to deliver His message to the Israelites.[xxxi] His issues with the legalistically bound brahmins, as told in the purported ancient Buddhist accounts, are very clearly reflected in His issues with the Pharisees and Sadducees when he returned to Palestine, who were essentially the high-caste Hebrews. According to Hindu tradition, the Buddha was the Ninth Avatar of Vishnu, so it makes sense that an Avatar of Vishnu's Son would be drawn from brahmin Hinduism and its “Pharisaical” rules to hanging out with Buddhists, who follow the teachings of Jeshua's Divine Mother when She was, as generally is, a He, as according to some Hindus Vishnu did live as the Buddha after living as A/The Black Dude (Krishna translates from Sanskrit as “black”). To Buddhists and some Hindus, Shasta is considered, in some guise, to be the Buddha, or an emanation, expression or synonym thereof.

Though I have decided I will not delve too deeply into the many and controversial evidences that indicate Jesus traveled to India and Tibet during His “missing years,” and that He returned to live in Kashmir after the crucifixion and was buried in a tomb in Srinagar, suffice it to say there are many ancient accounts from Sanskrit, Pali, Tibetan, Chinese, Arabic and other languages telling that Jesus did spend significant time in India and lands thereabout.[xxxii] The Gospel of the Hebrews (early 2^nd century CE) claims that Jesus traveled to Assyria and Mesopotamia on the trade routes to India, [xxxiii] as well as touting the “Holy Spirit” as Jesus’s “Divine Mother.” I will include a number of the best and most touted titles and sources available that offer these arguments and evidences of Jesus’s journeys to India in an appendix at the end of the book as well as in the footnotes and bibliography. In the meantime, I will attempt to offer a fairly short synopsis of what these traditions of “Jesus in India” do assert.

According to various sources, some of which can be at least indirectly dated to around the second century CE, a teacher named Yusa Asaph who came from a faraway land was placed in a tomb in Srinagar, Kashmir, and memorialized by impressions of His footprints carved in stone which do clearly show the anatomically correct scars of crucifixion.[xxxiv] It is also touted by many in Kashmir that Moses’s tomb is to be found there, and indeed many of the place names related to the place Moses went after departing Canaan are found in Kashmir,[xxxv] a place that has been a home to many Hebrews since long before the time of Jesus, i.e., after the second Babylonian captivity of the Jews (the “Lost Tribes of Israel”), and to many more after the Romans sacked Jerusalem. According to numerous if obscure sources (including some, since originally made known to Europe, “disappeared” sources), Jeshua's Jain, Hindu and Buddhist teachers and disciples during His earlier missing years knew the wandering mystic as Isa, which means “Lord” in Sanskrit, and likely more than coincidentally, the latter part of His later Persian name, Yusa Asaph, is phonetically quite close to Ayyappa.[xxxvi]

Interestingly, though I would not necessarily contend indicative of authorship, the Isa Upanishad is supposed by some scholars to have been composed sometime around the 1^st century, possibly coinciding with Jesus's purported “lost years” time spent in India as “Isa.” Indubitably, the Isa Upanishad is VERY close to the teachings of Jesus as recorded in the New Testament, likely closer than any other purportedly parallel set of teachings, save for perhaps some of the other Upanishads. Two versions of the final verse of the Isa Upanishad, wherein (Yahva) Agni is invoked:

18 O God Agni, lead us on to prosperity by a good path, judging all our deeds. Take away ugly sin from us. We shall say many prayers unto thee. (Isa Upanishad v.18)[xxxvii]

18. Agni, lead us on to wealth (beatitude) by a good path, thou, O God, who knowest all things! Keep far from us crooked evil, and we shall offer thee the fullest praise! (Rv. I, 189, 1.)[xxxviii] (Isa Upanishad v.18)

And a strikingly parallel passage from the conclusion of “The Lord’s Prayer” from the Book of Matthew:

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.” (Matthew 6:13 KJV)

The Katha Upanishad begins when the father of a boy named Nachiketa tells him to go to hell, or rather, upon questioning his father’s meager sacrifice, Nachiketa’s father says, “To Death (Yama) I give you!” Nachiketa, being a dutiful son, goes to find Lord Yama’s abode. When he arrives at Yama’s hermitage, Nachiketa has to wait for three nights without food or water, and so upon Yama’s return the Lord of Death and Hell offers the boy three boons. The first two boons are readily granted by Lord Yama: that Nachiketa and his father be reconciled, and that Yama teaches Nachiketa of the fire sacrifice. Yama is not so willing to grant the third boon, as Nachiketa asks for the secret of Death from the Lord of Death and Hell himself.

20 Nachiketa said: There is this doubt about a man when he is dead: Some say that he exists; others, that he does not. This I should like to know, taught by you. This is the third of my boons.

21 Yama said: On this subject even the gods formerly had their doubts. It is not easy to

understand: the nature of Atman is subtle. Choose another boon, O Nachiketa! Do not

press me. Release me from that boon.

22 Nachiketa said: O Death, even the gods have their doubts about this subject; and you have declared it to be not easy to understand. But another teacher like you cannot be found and surely no other boon is comparable to this.

23 Yama said: Choose sons and grandsons who shall live a hundred years; choose elephants, horses, herds of cattle and gold. Choose a vast domain on earth; live here as many years as you desire.

24 If you deem any other boon equal to that, choose it; choose wealth and a long life. Be the king, O Nachiketa, of the wide earth. I will make you the enjoyer of all desires.

25 Whatever desires are difficult to satisfy in this world of mortals, choose them as you wish: these fair maidens, with their chariots and musical instruments − men cannot obtain them. I give them to you and they shall wait upon you. But do not ask me about death.

26 Nachiketa said: But, O Death, these endure only till tomorrow. Furthermore, they exhaust the vigour of all the sense organs. Even the longest life is short indeed. Keep your horses, dances and songs for yourself.

27 Wealth can never make a man happy. Moreover, since I have beheld you, I shall certainly obtain wealth; I shall also live as long as you rule. Therefore no boon will be accepted by me but the one that I have asked.

28 Who among decaying mortals here below, having approached the undecaying immortals and coming to know that his higher needs may be fulfilled by them, would exult in a life over long, after he had pondered on the pleasures arising from beauty and song?

29 Tell me, O Death, of that Great Hereafter about which a man has his doubts.

(Katha Upanishad 1.20-29)[xxxix]

Upon listening to the previous dialogue via an audiobook version, it occurred to me how much the exchange reminded me of the story of the temptation of Christ in the wilderness. Knowing what I now know regarding Jesus’s likely sojourn in India, it seems almost certain that Jeshua/Isa heard and not unlikely memorized this story in the original Sanskrit. The substance of the “three temptations of Christ,” hunger, fear of death, and desire for worldly power and pleasure, are all present in the dialogue between Nachiketa and Yama. Regarding hunger and fear of death, asking for his second boon, Nachiketa says,

12 In the Heavenly World there is no fear whatsoever. You, O Death, are not there and no one is afraid of old age. Leaving behind both hunger and thirst and out of the reach of sorrow, all rejoice in Heaven.[xl]

And regarding the temptation of worldly power and pleasure,

23 Yama said: Choose sons and grandsons who shall live a hundred years; choose elephants, horses, herds of cattle and gold. Choose a vast domain on earth; live here as many years as you desire.

24 If you deem any other boon equal to that, choose it; choose wealth and a long life. Be the king, O Nachiketa, of the wide earth. I will make you the enjoyer of all desires.

and relating to these same fears and desires, from the Book of Matthew, chapter 4 (NIV),

Hunger . . .

3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

Death . . .

6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “’He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

Desire for pleasure and power . . .

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

The parallels between these two narratives are rather uncanny. And thus it seems almost certain that Jesus did spend time in India, and that He indeed incorporated the tale of Nachiketa from the Katha Upanishad into His rendering of His fast/vision quest as a series of “temptations,” as the same basic fears and desires are dealt with in both narratives in pretty much the same order. In the “temptation of Christ” version, it is “the Devil” that takes the place of Deva Yama, the Lord of Death and Hell (who was, as much noted, rendered, along with his priest and friend Yahva Agni, as “Yahweh” by the Hebrews, from the Sanskrit yahva), and Jesus’s role would correspond to Nachiketa’s in the telling in the introduction of the Katha Upanishad. Steeped in the Upanishads when in India, as said sacred scriptures or songs were current and rather the hot thing in the religious discourse of India in the 1^st century of the Common Era, Jesus certainly employed some of the metaphors and allegories He learned in India to deliver His teachings to His Jewish followers in Palestine, translated and modified to fit a Hebrew context and Hebrew mythology. Indeed, it seems likely Jesus/Isa thus rendered whatever visions he/He experienced fasting in the wilderness in terms of that ancient story of Nachiketa meeting Lord Yama, rendered in a way that would be relevant to people with a Hebrew background. George Wolfe similarly recognized parallels between the three temptations of Jesus and the Katha Upanishad in his treatise, and also notes parallels between the Katha Upanishad and the Jesus’s story of the prodigal son, further indicating the Katha Upanishad had very much influenced Jesus’s teachings.[xlii]

At least a few of Jesus’s other more touted sayings are likewise very close to other verses from the Katha Upanishad. For example, the Katha Upanishad does tout, “Abiding in the midst of ignorance, thinking themselves wise and learned, fools go aimlessly hither and thither, like blind led by the blind” (Katha Upanishad 2.5), and as Jesus put it, “He replied, 'Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit’” (Matthew 15:13 NIV). The Katha Upanishad warns, “Arise! Awake! Approach the great and learn. Like the sharp edge of a razor is that path, so the wise say-hard to tread and difficult to cross” (Katha Upanishad 3.14). This metaphor is very likely referring to the “razor’s edge” paths in the high mountains, narrow ridges used as pathways across treacherous mountain terrain in the Himalayas, where one misstep on either side of the pathway may lead to a fall of a thousand feet or more. And as Jesus phrased it, “But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:14). In the Bhagavad Gita Krishna acknowledges of Himself, "...I am the origin of the whole world and also its dissolution...l am the beginning, the middle, and the end of all things" (Bhagavad Gita, 7.6, Bhagavad Gita 10.20). In the New Testament Jesus touts, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." (Revelation 22:13).[xliii] George Wolfe in his Parallel Teachings in Hinduism and Christianity touts in summation,

This examination of scriptural writings reveals that many teachings present in canonical Christian scriptures are also found in the Upanishads. In the context of the gospels, many of these teachings represent pivotal ideas in the emergence of

Christianity from Judaism. Some of these ideas are expressed using images found in the Upanishads, several of which are noticeably absent from the Hebrew scriptures that are part of the Christian canon.[xliv]

One of the most significant parallels indicating Jesus likely had access to the teachings of Hinduism is His take on “the Holy Spirit.” The Hebrews do have a concept of “the Spirit of God,” and even “the Holy Spirit,” Ruach Hakodesh, literally “Spirit the Holy,” but the understanding that “the Holy Spirit” is indwelling is absent in Judaism, so Jesus must have come to that understanding from some other source. As previously noted, the Upanishads tout that Atman is the expression of brahman/purusha/the Universal Divine that abides as a flame in everyone’s heart, the “Spirit of God” present in every being’s heart. “The thumb-sized Purusha in Hinduism symbolizes the internal self (atman) residing in the heart of beings and represents a supreme consciousness that, though small, embodies spiritual essence beyond physical limitations.”[xlv] Thus Jesus’s “Holy Spirit” is much more like Atman than like the Hebrew Ruach Hakodesh. Hebrew ruach means “spirit” in a general sense, not necessarily referring to “god’s spirit” nor even necessarily a good spirit, and might possibly be related to Sanskrit rohaka m. “a kind of spirit.”

12 The Purusha, of the size of a thumb, dwells in the body. He is the Lord of the past and the future. After knowing Him, one does not conceal oneself any more. This, verily, is That. 13 The Purusha, of the size of a thumb, is like a flame without smoke. The Lord of the past and the future, He is the same today and tomorrow. This, verily, is That. (Katha Upanishad 2.1.12-13)[xlvi]

“The Kingdom of God within” is another metaphor that is found in both the sayings of Jesus in the New Testament and also succinctly in the Upanishads. As expounded by George Wolfe in his treatise Parallel Teachings in Hinduism and Christianity,

In Hinduism, Atman is the spirit dwelling within man. It is often designated by the term "Self." It is through enlightenment that Atman is realized to be Brahman.

Some Hindu sages also refer to Atman as God within. (Prabhavananda 1948:v).

In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad it says: "now if a man depart this life without knowing the kingdom of the Self, he, because of that ignorance, does not enjoy the bliss of liberation. He dies without reaching the goal...Wherefore let him know the kingdom of the Self, and that alone" (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad).

"The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say,

'Lo, here it is!' or 'There!' for behold, the Kingdom of God is within you"

(Luke 17:20, 21) [emphases added] [xlvii]

The similarity of these sayings and narratives from the Upanishads and the Gospels make it appear very likely that Jesus had an intimate familiarity with the Upanishads, thus providing further evidence that Jesus likely spent time in India during His “missing years.” Many other connecting factors wait to be unraveled with this identification of Jesus as an Avatar of Shasta in mind, factors which give clue to the history and dance and pilgrimage of peoples and the play of the gods and of God and Goddess throughout history and eternity. Again, Buddhists tout Shasta as an incarnation of the Buddha, or as an emanation, expression or synonym thereof. And to reify that Jesus Christ was indeed and in truth an Avatar of Aadhi Maha Shasta, the appearance of a never-before-seen star is associated with His apparition:

Every year, millions converge upon Sabarimala irrespective of caste or creed, with garlands and irumudis, chant paeans to Lord Ayyappa, bathe in holy river Pampa, climb up the eighteen stairs, hoping to catch a glimpse of Lord Ayyappa, the Dharmasastha.
The Jewel Casket is carried on head from the ancestral residence of the royal family of Pandalam to the Shrine on the day. A Garuda, the Brahaman kite, follows this ornaments-carrying procession, hovering about in the sky, After these ornaments are worn on the Lord the bird circles the temple in the sky three times and disappears. Excited by this sight the devotees begin to chant "Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa". A Star never seen before in the sky [emphasis added] appears on the day of Makarajyothi day before the sighting of the Jyoti. A Jyoti is seen for a little time on the hilltop showing the presence of Swami Ayyappan gracing his devotees."[xlviii]

This festival and the “never-before-seen star” portending the arrival of Dharma Shasta clearly presents the same basic mytheme as the star telling of Jesus Christ's birth. Pilgrims on this pilgrimage are to treat everyone else on that path the same, as if they are Ayyappa Himself (Love your neighbor as your Self/Atman), irrespective of caste, displaying the same eschewal of the caste system as Jesus did when amongst the Hebrews, thus evoking the ire of the high caste Hebrews, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, just as He had angered the brahmins in Jagannath during His “missing years.” This is also not unlike the message Jesus offered in “The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats,” wherein Jesus claims that “Whatever you do unto the least of these, you do unto me,” and “Whatever you don’t do to the least of these, you don’t do to me,” regarding helping the needy, indicating a parallel relationship to the pilgrims on the path to Sabarimala vowing to treat all the other pilgrims as if they are Lord Ayyappa Himself. Every direction I have looked and explored, evidences and clues abound that indicate Jesus was an Avatar of Aadhi Maha Shasta, indeed at least indirectly namesake to Mount Shasta in California, as the Shasta Native American Indians were Shaivites, devotees of Shiva and Vishnu/Mohini’s Son Shasta.

Another quite interesting Person that I just came across whilst in the final stages of preparing this chapter is Devi Mariamman, which translates as Goddess “Mother Mary.” She is a rain Goddess and an Avatar of Parvati, Shiva's Consort. She has the power to give or remove life threatening illnesses and is one of the three main deities at the Val-Morin Subramanya Ayyappa Mariamman Temple just north of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. I haven't been able to find any further evidence or particular mythic accounts of Ayyappa/Shasta's connection to “Mother Mary” Mariamman beyond the facts that they share a temple in Canada and are both popular in south India, and that Mariamman is involved in removing life threatening illnesses, but the coincidences or correspondence is at least interesting.

In regard to the idea that the Abrahamic religions are presented as if each is gazing upon one of three Faces of Trimurti, it seems that Christianity is looking at the Maintainer, Krishna, in terms of that religion's Abrahman-ic response to the anciently devised order of brahman. Though Jesus was not, by my interpretation, an Avatar of Krishna, but was in fact an Avatar of Hari-Hara Putra, of Aadhi Maha Shasta, who was Krishna's Son when Krishna was temporarily a Goddess, Jesus seems to have very much favored Vishnu/Buddha dharma and Vedanta (i.e., the teachings of the Upanishads). Apparently having been shunned and plotted against by the brahmins who he spent time with in Jagannath, India, largely due to Him teaching the low caste people there, Isa made his way to Varanasi, then to Nepal and Tibet to study with the Buddhists, devotees of the Ninth Avatar of Vishnu by the tellings of most Hindus.[xlix]

According to some schools of Hinduism, Gautama Buddha was an Avatar of Vishnu after Vishnu had lived as Krishna. Thus Jesus’s “Holy Spirit,” i.e., Vishnu as paramatma, had lived as the Buddha and was Jesus’s Divine Mother Mohini, according to this reading. Again, the Buddhists revere Sastha as synonymous to the Buddha, whereas Hindus figure Aadhi Maha Shasta as identical to the South Indian God Ayyanar and as the monk called Shasta who Rama met in the Sabarimala forest. I would posit Shasta then manifested as Jeshua/Jesus and as Ayyappa/Manikandan, whose life lived as the son of King Rajashekhara was after the time of Jesus (9^th century CE), as seemingly Vishnu/Mohini and Shiva’s Only Son together has lived many lives as various Avatars in fulfilling His dharma as the Protector of Created Beings. Shiva and Vishnu are not bound by time and space, and thus seemingly did convey Ayyappa to King Rajashekhara millennia after His birth, other incarnations of the Eight Shastas in the interim notwithstanding. Recall the earlier telling of King Kakudmi and his daughter Revati experiencing time travel. Indeed, as time itself is not linear, certainly the tales of those who are beyond time and space might not always transpire so as to be read chronologically.

Jesus's aversion to the “legalism” of the brahmins was mirrored in the Gospels by His criticism of the legalism and hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Sadducees, who He certainly saw as analogous to the very much ritually and caste-bound brahmins. Along those lines it seems as if Jesus, known as Isa whilst in Jagannath, Rajagriha, Varanasi, Nepal and Tibet during His “missing years,”[l] more identified with the teachings of the Buddha, most recent of the Dashavatar (the Ten Avatars of Vishnu), than with those of the orthodox brahmins, though He certainly seems to have been very influenced by the Upanishads, and according to at least one account, took a Hindu guru named Rudraka while abiding in Varanasi.[li] As noted, according to Buddhists Sastha was an emanation/expression of the Buddha. The coidentification of Devas and their children and other related Devas is sometimes noted of Hinduism, as Kartikeya and Hanuman are both at times understood as Avatars or at least Emanations of Shiva.

Though often invoking God the Father, Who in this interpretation is Shiva, Jesus who is called Christ seems rather more like the Person of Krishna/Vishnu, God the Maintainer, in many respects, and may have at times been conflated with Vishnu, as Kartikeya with Shiva. As the Face of Vishnu does sit between the Faces of the Creator and the Destroyer in the Trimurti, so Christianity resides between Judaism and Islam, as Jesus betwixt Abraham/Moses and Mohammad, between the first and last of the Abrahamic religions chronologically, if not symbolically. As Vishnu's face resides between the faces of Brahma and Shiva in the Trimurti, the Maintainer between the Creator and the Destroyer, Jesus/Shastha is indeed “the man in the middle” betwixt Abraham/Moses and Mohammad, gazing at the Maintainer Krishna (who was Shasta’s Mother Mohini) between the faces of Brahma and Shiva.

I have no doubt there are more analogies and historical evidences implying connections between Shasta/Ayyanar/Ayyappa and Jeshua ben Joseph, aka “Jesus Christ,” as well as more evidences that Jesus spent time in India. This former Southern Baptist preacher is already quite convinced that Jesus was an Avatar of Hindu/Buddhist Aadhi Maha Shasta, the “Only Begotten Son” of Shiva and Vishnu when Vishnu was temporarily a Female, a fertile Transsexual, by having intensely meditated upon the Divine Feminine Shakti, and I must say I am rather quite relieved that this discovery might and ought open Christianity to beyond the sad ailment of exclusivism in any number of respects, and to an honest kinship and genuine unity with the rest of the world and with eternity, Nature and “God,” that Christians might truly learn what it means to “Love thy neighbor as thy Self.”

ॐ Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa

AUM Teacher Refuge in Ayyappa

[i] “Shiva, Mohini (Vishnu as a Woman) and Ayyappa,” Karma-Dharma-Bhutadaya, May 10, 2017, http://karma-dharma-bhutadaya.blogspot.com/2017/05/.

[ii] “Shasta (deity),” Wikipedia, last edited July 11, 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shasta_(deity).

[iii] Ajit Kumar, “Icons of Shasta, Buddha and Ayyappa: Paradigms of Paradoxical Identifications and Sectarian Associations,” Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 7: 2019, Heritage University of Kerala, p. 233, accessed July 11, 2022, https://www.academia.edu/41750088/Icons_of_Shasta_Buddha_and_ Ayyappa_Paradigms_of_Paradoxical _Identifications_and_Sectarian_Associations.

[iv] See Kersey Graves, 346 Striking Analogies Between Christ and Krishna (Whitefish, Montana: Kessinger Legacy Reprints. Kessinger Publishing, 2010).

[v] “Welcome Home!” The unofficial Rainbow Family Web Site. The Rainbow Family of Living Light. Accessed October 14, 2020. https://www.welcomehome.org/.

[vi] “Shasta (deity),” Wikipedia, last edited December 10, 2021, accessed June 25, 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shasta_(deity)#:~:text=Shasta%20is%20a%20generic%20Sanskrit,like%20Aiyanar%2C%20Ayyappa%20and%20Revantha.

[vii] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “isha,” accessed October 21, 2023, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/isha.

[viii] “Shrines for Sastha, in eight forms,” The Hindu History and Culture, December 5, 2013, https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/history-and-culture/shrines-for-sastha-in-eight-forms/article5425348.ece?fbclid=IwAR2Zs01FRBIzOo3SzmB8aGgcOOoa6K7o2uX9Jgxl0FEeL7gwt6J-dXGymGw.

[ix] Naveen Sanagala, “Sri Dharma Shasta,” Hindupad, accessed February 21, 2024, https://hindupad.com/dharma-shasta/.

[x] “What you might want to know about Sabarimala,” The Economic Times, October 18, 2018,

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/et-explains/what-you-might-want-to-know-about-sabarimala/articleshow/66273712.cms?from=mdr

[xi] Ulo Valk and S. Lourdusamy, "Village deities of Tamil Nadu in myths and legends: the Narrated Experience," Asian Folklore Studies 66, no. 1-2 (2007): 179+. Gale Academic OneFile, accessed February 22, 2024, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A172555459/AONE?u=anon~99bd3c8&sid=googleScholar&xid=16b1424e.

[xii] Adrian Russell, “If John was Elijah is Jesus Elisha?” GoThereFor, St Matthias Press Ltd, May 27, 2014, https://gotherefor.com/offer.php?intid=28549&changestore=true.

[xiii] Ibid.

[xiv] Ibid.

[xv] Ibid.

[xvi] Ibid.

[xvii] Ibid.

[xviii] Prasad Yashendra, “The Rozabal Shrine of Srinagar” posted as “Jesus in Kashmir (Documentary by Indian Govt),” YouTube, Arnel Reyes, October 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd_lrI1aiww&t=3s.

[xix] Fida Hassnain, A Search for the Historical Jesus (Bath: Gateway Books, 1994), pp.224-6.

[xx] “Rozabal, Srinagar, Kashmir: Is this the tomb of Jesus Christ?,” A Spiritual Quest…, accessed February 18, 2024, permissions granted February 18, 2024, https://www.mukti4u2.dk/Jesus_Rozabal_Srinagar.htm. Many thanks to Bodil Poulsen for granting me rights to reproduce this image.

[xxi] Stephen Knapp, “Jesus Predicted in the Vedic Literature?” StephenKnapp.com, accessed October 21, 2022, http://www.stephen-knapp.com/jesus_predicted_in_the_vedic_literature.htm.

[xxii] Ibid.

[xxiii] “Gospel of the Hebrews,” Wikipedia, accessed July 16, 2022, last edited July 14, 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_the_Hebrews.

[xxiv] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “yama,” accessed November 10, 2022 https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[xxv] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “Adhi,” accessed October 21, 2023, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/adhi.

[xxvi] Hassnain, 5-7.

[xxvii] Sri Nagaroo, “Lord Ayyappa.” AUM Sri Nagaroo. 2020 AUM. April 26, 2013, http://srinagaroo.blogspot.com/2013/04/lord-ayyappa.html.

[xxviii] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “maga,” accessed October 21, 2023, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/maga.

[xxix] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “maga,” last updated June 19, 2025, accessed September 2, 2025, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/maga.

[xxx] Jade Green, “Ayyappa, Muruna and Ganesha,” digital image, Tumblr, https://www.tumblr.com/hinducosmos/56593394100/ayyappan-murugan-and-ganesha

[xxxi] For one of the most comprehensive survey of evidences that indicate Jesus lived in India, and finally died there, see Fida Hassnain, A Search for the Historical Jesus (Bath: Gateway Books, 1994).

[xxxii] Prasad Yashendra, “The Rozabal Shrine of Srinagar.”

[xxxiii] Hassnain, p. 61.

[xxxiv] Prasad Yashendra, “The Rozabal Shrine of Srinagar.”

[xxxv] Hassnain, pp. 6-7.

[xxxvi] Ibid.

[xxxvii] “Ishavasya Upanishad with Shankara’s Commentary: Verse 9-18 - The simultaneous practice of Karma and Upāsanā,” Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, accessed November 2, 2025, https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/ishavasya-upanishad-shankara-bhashya/d/doc143816.html.

[xxxviii] “Vajasaneyi Samhita Upanishad or Isa Upanishad,” translated by Max Müller, Hindu Website, accessed November 2, 2025, https://www.hinduwebsite.com/sacredscripts/hinduism/upanishads/vagasaneyi.asp.

[xxxix] Katha Upanishad, translated by Swami Nikhilananda, Arsha Bodha Center, accessed November 10, 2022, https://arshabodha.org/wp-content/uploads/abc/teachings/Kathopanishad/kathaTrans1.pdf.

[xl] Ibid.

[xli] Ibid.

[xlii] George Wolfe, Parallel Teachings in Hinduism and Christianity (Austin Texas: JOMAR Press, 1995), accessed via The Cardinal Scholar, https://cardinalscholar.bsu.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/5b8c4540-ca69-48f6-acdb-909b49ea14df/content#:~:text=Jesus%20said%20%22...do,III:36%2C37).

[xliii] Ibid.

[xliv] Ibid.

[xlv] “Significance of Purusha of the size of a thumb,” Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, last updated 24 September 24, 2024, accessed August 10, 2025, https://www.wisdomlib.org/concept/purusha-of-the-size-of-a-thumb.

[xlvi] Ambaa Choate, “Reading the Upanishads: Katha Part Ten,” The White Hindu, Patheos,

last updated March 13, 2015, accessed August 10, 2025, https://www.patheos.com/blogs/whitehindu/2014/08/reading-the-upanishads-katha-part-ten/.

[xlvii] George Wolfe, Parallel Teachings in Hinduism and Christianity, pp.5-6.

[xlviii] “Birth & History of Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa,” sabarimalaayyappan.com, SpicyKerala, accessed September 16, 2020, http://www.sabarimalaayyappan.com/lordayyappan.htm.

[xlix] Fida Hassnain, A Search For The Historical Jesus, pp. 63-67.

[l] Ibid.

[li] Prasad Yashendra, “The Rozabal Shrine of Srinagar.”

Long List of Native American Words Derived From or Closely Related to Sanskrit, Tamil and Other Words From the Languages of India . . . (Excerpt from To Be or Not To Be...brahman or Abrahman / The World Turned Upside-Down)

2026-02-12T13:23:00.002-07:00

The ancient world shows connections of peoples across oceans that indicate a shared paradigm and sense of the sacred, extant in so many diverse expressions and resonant forms, telling of an ancient unity of the world that the current official story is generally loathe else at least hesitant to acknowledge. Even looking to the plains and eastern tribes, not to mention Mexico and Central and South America to the Atlantic coast, further from likely landings of immigrants from Asia/Southeast Asia, many cognates and nigh cognates readily show that many Native American Indian languages are closely related to Sanskrit, Tamil and other Asian languages and cultures [Sanskrit and Tamil definitions are from the Cologne Digital Online Sanskrit Dictionary[i] or the Wisdom Library,[ii] unless otherwise noted]:

Muscogee/Mvskoke yvmvse (pronounced “Yamasee”) “tame”[iii]

Sanskrit yama a rein, curb, bridle[iv]

S. Iroquois nvda moon[v]

Sanskrit navodaya mfn. newly risen (moon)

Aztecs Aztecah[vi] Nahuatl for Aztec

Sanskrit Astika mf(%{I})n. (fr. %{asti} , `\" there is or exists \"\' … one who believes in the existence (of God, of another world , &c.) ; believing, pious, faithful.[vii] This name origin would very much fit the central Aztec myth of their ancestors originally coming from another homeland, “Aztlan.”

Hopi words corresponding to Sanskrit and Tamil words:

"Kiva," round half-underground Hopi/Pueblo ceremonial houses with entrance on the roof.
Sanskrit ki, anthill,[viii]

va, dwelling[ix]

Hopi Sipapu the hole in the floor of every kiva that represents the place the people emerged from underground via a ladder made of a hollow log.

Sanskrit sopAna n. (perhaps contracted fr. %{sa} + %{upA7yana}) stairs, steps, a staircase, ladder to (gen. or comp.)

sopAna n. stairs, a ladder

sopAnabhUta mfn. become or being a staircase

sopAnapaGkti f. a line or flight of steps, staircase ib.

sopAnapatha m. a way of steps, staircase

Tamil sOpAnam step; stair

Hopi Taawa sun[x]

Tamil Tavaṉaṉ sun[xi]

Hopi Muuyaw moon[xii]

Tamil muyaRcaRai spots on the moon, as like a hare

muyaRkUTu moon[xiii]

Hopi Kuuyi water[xiv]

Tamil kOlA or kayam[xv]

Hopi Kokyangwuti Creation, Spider grandmother Kokyang spider, wuti woman

Sanskrit kAkANDa m. a kind of bean … (%{A}) f. a kind of spider

kAkANDaka … (%{A}) f. a kind of spider

vid 3 (originally identical with 1. %{vid}) … to take to wife, marry to find (a husband) , marry (said of a woman). English “Wed,” as in to marry.

vadhu f. woman, wife.

vah, vahati, -te …{udA} & {samudA} lead away, esp. lead out a bride from her father\'s house, i.e. marry. … marry … M. get married, celebrate a wedding. C. give in marriage or marry.

Tamil vETTAL 1. wife; 2. married woman

vatu 1. bride; 2. daughter-in-law; 3. wife

Hopi anu ant

Sanskrit aNu f. … small, minute, tiny, atomic[xvi]

Tamil aNu 1. atom, minute particle of matter; 2. smallness, subtleness[xvii]

Hopi buxhu or pòoko dog[xviii]

Sanskrit bhaSa, bhaSaka or Tamil pAki, purOkam [xix] “dog”

Hopi döva earth[xx]

Sanskrit dhara[xxi] earth

Hopi paayu river[xxii]

Sanskrit payo- (prefix) payodhArA “stream” payoraya “river current”[xxiii]

Hopi patupha lake[xxiv]

Tamil patu “pond, deep pool”[xxv]

Hopi qööhi fire[xxvi]

Tamil koLLi fire[xxvii]

Hopi tiva dance

Sanskrit tandava dance

Navajo/Diné words[xxviii] [xxix] [xxx] cognate to/related to Sanskrit Tamil and Punjabi words[xxxi] [xxxii]:

The name of the Diné and related Athabascan Dene peoples, including the Denesuline (Chipewyan) people, generally means “the people” or “original people,” as with many tribal names where the people may have forgotten the original meaning of their peoples’ name. Generosity is a central tenet of the Dene/Diné culture, and especially food-sharing. As I formerly noted, it seems not unlikely that the Dene/Diné were Danavas, of the children of Danu and Kashyapa.

Sanskrit dAna 1 n. giving, imparting, bestowing of (gen. or ---) on (loc. or ---); giving in marriage, giving up, sacrificing, offering, paying; teaching, communicating; granting, conceding; gift, present, donation.

dAnazIla a. of liberal disposition, munificent.

dAnazUra m. = {dAnapati}. m. `\" liberality-lord \"\' , munificent man

The name of the Dene/ Diné people may also indicate they were of the offspring of Kashyapa’s wife Danu, the Danavas. The Sanskrit root da generally means “to give.”

Diné Aoo’ yes

Sanskrit Aho (अहो).—ind. 1) A particle showing (a) surprise or wonder; often agreeable (ah, how great or wonderful)[xxxiii]

Punjabi Aaho yes

Diné ni you, yours

Tamil nI you

Diné cheii grandfather

Tamil cIyAn great-grandfather

ciyyAn maternal grandfather

Diné Klaychaa’i dog

Sanskrit kauleya m. dog (lit. family or domestic animal).

Kauleyaka mfn. sprung from a noble family … pertaining to a family W. ; m. … `\" domestic animal \"\' (or `\" of good breed\'?) , a dog (esp. a hunting dog)

Diné Tó water

Sanskrit toya n. water (p. {-vant}Å); acc. w. {kR} make a libation of water.

Maize/corn plants (Diné “Nadąą”),[xxxiv] and two photos of Arundo grass (Sanskrit “naDa”).[xxxv] [xxxvi]

Diné Nadąą corn

Sanskrit naDa m. (L. also n.) a species of reed, Arundo Tibialis or Karka [species of reed that very much resembles corn stalks]

Diné Hogan house

Sanskrit oka home, house

Diné ke, kje foot; shoe

Sanskrit koza m. … a cask, vessel for holding liquids, (metaphorically) cloud … a pail, bucket RV.; a drinking-vessel, cup L.; a box, cupboard, drawer, trunk … a sheath, scabbard … a case, covering, cover … a shoe, sandal

Diné ji̜, dʒə̃ day

Sanskrit dyu m. (rarely f.) in Ved. f. in later Skr. heaven, the sky (regarded in Ved. as rising in three tiers … and generally as the father (%{dyau4S} %{pitA4} , while the earth is the mother [cf. %{dyAvA-pRthivI}] , and Ushas the daughter), rarely as a goddess, daughter of Praja-pati … m. (rarely n.) day(esp. in pl. and in such forms as %{divA} , by day (cf. s.v.) ; %{dya4vi-dyavi} , daily , every day ; %{a4nu@dyU4n} , day by day , daily

Diné ʼabeʼ ʔabeʔ milk

Sanskrit abhi-

abhiduh to milk in addition to TBr. ; Caus. P. to cause to milk in addition to

abhipac to boil up (as milk) Sus3r.

abhyavadugdha mfn. that upon which milk has been milked

Diné kǫ' fire

Sanskrit ka

Tamil kocci, koLLi

Diné ʼázhi ʔáʒiʔ name

Tamil azai-ttal 02 1. to call, invoke, invite; 2. to summon, direct to appear or to be brought; 3. to call by name; 4. to cry out, utter a loud cry, shout (Tamil suffix -ttal indicates a verbal noun).

Diné sis ʼsɪs belt

Sanskrit Shesha Lord of Serpents, possible root to English item of clothing called a “sash,” as is likely of Diné word sis for belt, “ʼsɪs.”

Diné shą́ą́ʼ, sháńdíín sun, sunshine

Sanskrit sura sun[xxxvii]

sUnu sun

surya “sun, God of the Sun”

dinakara mf(%{I})n. making day or light ; m. the sun

Diné jóhonaaʼéí sun

Sanskrit jagannetra n. `\" world-eye \"\' , the moon ... the sun and the moon

As an aside, the Navajo/Diné word for “planet” is jóhonaaʼéí yináádáłígíí, which means “one who is walking around the sun,” indicating that the Navajo/Diné, at least at some juncture, knew that the planets move around the sun.[xxxviii]

Diné Anasazi The term is Navajo in origin, and means “ancient enemy.”[xxxix]

Sanskrit anuzaya m. close connection as with a consequence, close attachment to any object; (in phil.) the consequence or result of an act (which clings to it and causes the soul after enjoying the temporary freedom from transmigration to enter other bodies); repentance, regret; hatred; ancient or intense enmity …[xl]

Diné sahdii sədɪ solitary

sahdii; apart; separate; different.

Sanskrit sadhu title given a class of often solitary renunciates in Hinduism

sAdh 1 (connected with 2. %{sidh}) to go straight to any goal or aim, attain an object, to be successful, succeed, prosper … to being straight to an object or end, further, promote, advance, accomplish, complete, finish … set right, heal, cure … to bring to an end or conclusion, complete, make perfect, bring about, accomplish, effect, fulfil, execute, practice … with %{naiSkarmyam} \"\' , to practise inactivity \"\' ; with %{marum} , `\" to practise abstinence \"\' ; with %{mantram} , `\" to practise the recitation of spells \"\'… to attain one\'s object , be successful …

sidh … ind. p. %{-si4dhya} AV.), to drive off, scare away, repel, restrain … to ordain … to turn out well or auspiciously ib.: Pass. %{sidhyate} (aor. %{asedhi}) , to be driven or kept off or repelled

sidh, sedhati, -te 1 drive off, scare away… {Asedhayati} cause to be arrested. {vyA} keep off, prevent. {ud} drive aside. {ni} drive away, keep off, hinder, prevent, forbid. C. ward off, keep back, interdict, deny. {nis} drive away. {pra} A.M. drive on. {prati} drive away, ward off, … C. ward off, keep back, refuse, forbid, deny.

siddha 1 mfn. driven off , scared away

siddha 2 mfn. accomplished, fulfilled, effected, gained, acquired MBh. Ragh. ; one who has attained his object, successful BhP.; one who has attained the highest object, thoroughly skilled or versed in (dat. or comp.) MBh. R. &c.; perfected, become perfect, beatified, endowed with supernatural faculties (see 2. %{siddhi}) ib.; sacred, holy, divine, illustrious … subdued , brought into subjection (by magical powers) , subject or obedient to … peculiar , singular … invariable , unalterable Pat. ; m. a Siddha or semidivine being of great purity and perfection and said to possess the eight supernatural faculties … any inspired sage or prophet or seer (e.g. Vya1sa , Kapila &c.) ib. ; any holy personage or great saint (esp. one who has attained to one of the states of beatitude …

siddhi 1 f. driving off, putting aside

siddhi 2 f. (for 1. see p. 1215, col. 1) accomplishment, performance, fulfilment, complete attainment (of any object), success … indisputable conclusion, result … maturing … supreme felicity, bliss, beatitude, complete sanctification (by penance &c.), final emancipation , perfection L. ; vanishing, making one\'s self invisible … the acquisition of supernatural powers by magical means or the supposed faculty

siddhi f. hitting or reaching the aim, attainment of an object, performance, accomplishment, conclusion, result; success, prosperity, welfare; perfection, supernatural power.

The Dene of Canada revere Yamba Deja as the creator of Dene Law.[xli]

Sanskrit Yama Deva “Yama God”

yama m. a rein, curb, bridle RV. v, 61, 2; a driver, charioteer ib. viii, 103, to; the act of checking or curbing, suppression, restraint (with %{vAcAm}, restraint of words, silence) … self-control forbearance, any great moral rule or duty (as opp. to %{niyama}, a minor observance … any rule or observance[xlii]

Yama is the Lord of Death and Hell and Judge of the Dead, and presides over the heaven realm of the ancestor’s, the pitrah-loka.

Deva God

Yuma inya, “sun”[xliii]

Sanskrit ahnya n. daily course (of the sun)[xliv]

ina mfn. able, strong, energetic, determined, bold; powerful, mighty; wild; glorious … the sun; the lunar mansion[xlv]

ina a. strong, mighty, fierce; m. a great lord or king, the sun.[xlvi]

Inti Raymi, the Inca “Festival of the Sun”

Tamil intiran 1. the inner soul; 2. sun[xlvii]

Sanskrit ahnya n. daily course (of the sun)[xlviii]

ramya mf … n. to be enjoyed, enjoyable, pleasing, delightful, beautiful[xlix]

Inca Mama Killa Moon goddess

Sanskrit kil cl. 6. P. %{kilati} , to be or become white

Southeastern United States Native American words for “cane”[l]

Choctaw Uski

Chickasaw Oski, Oskapi

Sanskrit aiSIka (or %{aiSika}) mfn. (fr. %{iSIkA}) , consisting of stalks Ka1tyS3r. ; made of reeds or cane[li]

ISIkA f. a reed, cane[lii]

Biloxi axoki

Sanskrit ikSuka m. sugar-cane[liii]

Shawnee msaskwalwi

Sanskrit maskara m. a bamboo; a hollow bamboo cane[liv]

Muscogee kohvlowake

Sanskrit kokilekSu m. the black variety of sugar-cane[lv]

Chitimacha Piya

Sanskrit piJja … f. hurting, injuring L.; turmeric L. ; cotton L. ; a species of tree resembling the vinepalm L. ; a switch …[lvi]

Choctaw koshak "cane"[lvii]

Sanskrit kozakRt m. a kind of sugar-cane[lviii]

Moccasin Powhatan makasin "shoe," from Central Atlantic Coast Algonquian *mockasin, which is similar to Southern New England Algonquian *makkusin, Munsee Delaware mahkusin, Ojibwa makizin.[lix]

Sanskrit mocaka mfn. liberating, emancipating … one who has abandoned all worldly passions and desires , an ascetic … n. a kind of shoe[lx]

mocika m. a tanner or shoemaker (cf. Hind. %{mochI}) L.[lxi]

Lakota khóla friend

Tamil kEL 1. kindred, relations; 2. friendship; 3. friend, companion; 4. husband

kELan friend, companion

kELvan 1. husband, master, lord; 2. companion, comrade, friend

Choctaw Choctaw is an anglization of Chahta, whose meaning is unknown.[lxii]

Sanskrit chaTA f. a mass, lump, assemblage, number … a collection of rays, lustre

Shawnee The Shawnee tribe name purportedly means “Southern People.”

Sanskrit savya mf(%{A})n. … opposite to left , right , right hand (%{am} , %{ena} , and ibc. , `\" on the sight \"\') ; south , southern (%{am} &c. , `\" to the south \"\') [“v” is often rendered as “w”]

Mi'kmaq Nákúset/Nishkam “sun”

Sanskrit nakSatra n. … a star or any heavenly body; also applied to the sun

Cambodian and Mayan temples, plate photographed and reproduced with permission, from Chaman Lal’s groundbreaking book Hindu America.[lxiii]

Maya people “In Hindu mythology, Maya or Mayāsura was a great ancient king of the asura, daitya and rākṣasa races. He was also the chief architect of the people of the netherworld.”[lxiv]

Cajamarca cliff tombs in Peru[lxv] and cliff tombs in Sulawesi, Indonesia[lxvi]

Various Names of “The Great Spirit” and other gods of various North American Native Tribes with likely Hindu/Sanskrit connections:

Cheyenne Maheo[lxvii]

Sanskrit Mahadeva “Great God”

Karibs Tamosi (the Ancient One)[lxviii]

Sanskrit dAmoSNISa, “N. of an ancient sage”[lxix]

Shoshone Issa[lxx]

Sanskrit isa, “Lord”

Bribri, Cabecar tribes Sibú, Sibo, Sib'ö, Cibu[lxxi]

Hindu Deva Shiva

Wiyot “Above Old Man” Gudatrigawitl or Gurugudatrigakwitl[lxxii]

Sanskrit guru m. any venerable or respectable person (father, mother, or any relative older than one\'s self)[lxxiii]/“teacher” added to Gudatrigawitl

gud[lxxiv] (guD cl. 6. P. %{-Dati} , to guard , preserve; gud cl. %{godate}, to play,

sport[lxxv]

atri (the “descendants of Atri,” one of the Seven Rishis) or . . .

Guru Datta (ancient Guru associated with high places)

Wiyot gou’wil” “person/Indian”[lxxvi]

Sanskrit gA/ja (“born”) + vid (“to exist”)

Blackfoot Apistotoke/Iihtsipaitapiiyo'pa[lxxvii]

Hindu Pasupati, Shiva as Protector of Animals and Souls, depicted on the Indus Valley/Sarasvati “Pasupati seal.”

prajApati (%{-jA-}) m. `\" lord of creatures \"\'N. of Savitri, Soma, Agni, Indra … a divinity presiding over procreation, protector of life … lord of creatures, creator … N. of a supreme god above or among the Vedic deities … but in later times also applied to Vishnu , Siva , Time personified , the sun , fire , &c. … N. of Brahma

Mojave Matevilya The Mohave creator is Matevilya, who gave the people their names and their commandments.[lxxviii]

Sanskrit mahAvIrya mfn. of great strength or energy, very powerful, very potent, very efficacious … m. yam L. ; N. of Brahma [the Creator][lxxix]

Choctaw deity "Hashtahli," "sun completing its cycle."

Sanskrit asta setting sun

li end.

Ojibwe, Algonquin, Ottawa, Potawatomi, Menominee, Kickapoo, Sauk-Fox, Mohican, Mohegan, Shawnee, Cree Indian names Kise Manito, Kici Manito, Kichi Manitou, etc.[lxxx]

Hindu “Krishna’s Spirit.”

Sanskrit Kīśa (कीश).—mfn.(-śaḥ-śā-śaṃ) Naked. m. (-śaḥ) 1. A monkey, an ape. 2. The sun. E. ka air, water, &c. īśa who has power over[lxxxi]

Native American Manitou, etc. “spirit”

Sanskrit manyu m. (L. also f.) spirit, mind, mood, mettle (as of horses) … high spirit or temper, ardour, zeal, passion . . .[lxxxii]

Lenape, Wampanoag, Narragansett Kitanitowit (Cautantowwit) also spelled Kiehtan, Keihtan, Kiehton, Kehtean, Keihtanit, Kehtanit, Kiehtan[lxxxiii] . . .

Hindu Catan (Shasta)

Lenape Kishelamàkânk

Sanskrit Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) 1) Black, dark, dark-blue.7) Viṣṇu in his eighth incarnation, born as the son of Vasudeva and Devakī.[lxxxiv]

Kīśa (कीश).—mfn.(-śaḥ-śā-śaṃ) Naked. m. (-śaḥ) 1. A monkey, an ape. 2. The sun. E. ka air, water, &c. īśa who has power over[lxxxv]

Lamaka m. a lover, gallant[lxxxvi]

kanha name of Vishnu/Krishna that means “dark” or “boy”[lxxxvii]

“The Lenape believe that, before creation, there was nothing, an empty dark space. However, in this emptiness, there existed a spirit of their creator, Kishelamàkânk. Eventually in that emptiness, he fell asleep. While he slept, he dreamt of the world as we know it today, the Earth with mountains, forests, and animals.”[lxxxviii]

Hindu Ananthasayanam is the Cosmic Dream sleep of Vishnu/Krishna, whence Vishnu/Krishna dreams the universe into existence while reclining upon the belly of Ananta Shesha.

Lenape The Lenni Lenape believed the great spirit Kishelemukong, also called Kitanitowit, created the world. One Lenape creation legend describes the earth as covered with water. The land the Lenape occupied was formed when a large tortoise raised its back out of the water and became land.[lxxxix]

Hindu World Turtle Kachhapa,[xc] Kurma, Akūpāra, or sometimes Chukwa,[xci] holds up the world.

Lenape World Turtle names and words for turtle and matching Sanskrit words for turtle and other related words:

Lenape Pacok[xcii]/tahkox the turtle that rose from the primal waters/Lenape for turtle

Sanskrit paJcAGga n. 5 members or parts of the body … m. a tortoise or turtle[xciii]

Lenape tulpe turtle, sea turtle[xciv]

Sanskrit duli f. a turtle[xcv]

dauleya m. a turtle or tortoise[xcvi]

Tamil iTuli female turtle[xcvii]

Lenape xkuk snake[xcviii]

Sanskrit kaJcukin mfn. furnished with armour or mail … a snake[xcix]

Lenape Achgook Snake[c]

Sanskrit kaJcukAlu m. a snake [ci]

kaJcukin mfn. furnished with armour or mail … a snake[cii]

Lenape Mpi Water[ciii]

Sanskrit ambu n. water [civ]

ambhas n. (cf. %{abhra4} , %{a4mbu}) , water … the celestial waters[cv]

Ambhasika mfn. living in water, aquatic[cvi]

Tamil ampi 02 1. small boat; 2. raft, float; 3. ship; 4. toddy; 5. suspended water-shovel

ampi 01 1. balingbasket; 2. rope used for drawing water (TLS)

ampu 03* 1. water; 2. sea; 3. world, as surrounded by water

Lenape Elangomat Friend

Langomuwinaxin Friendly Looking One

Sanskrit laghumitra n. a slight or weak friend, an ally of little power or value

And yet more related words and cognates . . .

Cherokee "Hunter" god, sometimes called first man: Kanati.[cvii]
Sanskrit kSAnta “N. of a man … of a hunter … of Siva …

f. `\" the patient one \"\', the

earth … n. patience, indulgence” [cviii]

Cherokee Goddess of Corn, Selu, Kanati’s wife.[cix]
Sanskrit selu means many/abundance, a term synonymous

with corn/grain.[cx]

Creek god called on for strength, Hayuya.[cxi]
Sanskrit ojAya "exhibiting strength"[cxii]

Creek Supreme God was Master of Breath.[cxiii]

Breath, pranayam, is the source of life-energy and is central in Yoga.

Creek E-sau-ge-tuh E-mis see, (master of breath,)[cxiv] /Hesaketvmese (meaning "master of breath" Hisakita imisi)[cxv] (the root adjective “misi/mese” meaning “great” is a prefix/suffix that is found in various modified forms globally, i.e., maha, maka, michi, giche, mega, and “much”)

Sanskrit asu m. (later always pl.) vital spirit, breath, life.[cxvi]

ghaTa suspending the breath as a religious exercise[cxvii]

Creek màhē[cxviii] (misi/imisi, etc) “very, joined to an adjective puts it in superlative degree,”[cxix] “great”

Sanskrit maha 1 mfn. great , mighty , strong , abundant …[cxx]

Tamil makA 1. great, high, exalted, dignified, noble, honourable; 2. immense, prodigious, stupendous, monstrous, extreme; 3. superior, paramount, superlative; 4. intense[cxxi]

Blackfoot Moon Goddess/Moon Ko'komiki'somma[cxxii]

Sanskrit Soma a name attributed to the moon

Cherokee Unequa, Ouga Great Spirit

ᎤᏁᏆ (unequa) God, Great Being, Great Spirit

Sanskrit eka mfn. (%{i} Un2. iii , 43 , probably fr. a base %{e}; cf. Zd. {ae-va}; Gk. $, $ ; Goth. {ai-n-s}; … also Lat. {aequu-s} … (with and without %{eva}) alone , solitary , single , happening only once , that one only … RV. &c. ; the same , one and the same , identical … single of its kind , unique , singular, chief, pre-eminent, excellent … sincere, truthful … m. N. of a teacher … n. unity, a unit[cxxiii] The One, purusha and prakriti (Divine mind and matter) as One. A name of Vishnu.[cxxiv] Root to the English word “equal.”

Cherokee Unelanuhi Cherokee Sun Goddess "the one who lives above."[cxxv]

Hindu Uma Himavati. A hindu Goddess whose name is phonetically similar and by definition is reasonably close to Unelanuhi, especially considering other likely Cherokee cognates to Sanskrit words. “Uma is also known as Parvati, the wife of Shiva. In her Uma/Parvati form, this feminine goddess represents light and wisdom; as such, she is also known as ‘The Peace of Night’ and ‘The Bright One.’” Uma is presented in the Kena Upanishads as Brahman, “God,” in Female form. Umā (उमा) is one of the epithets of Durgā, according to the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 53. Accordingly, as Vīravara praised Durgā: “... thou art the principle of life in creatures; by thee this world moves. In the beginning of creation Śiva beheld thee self-produced, blazing and illuminating the world with brightness hard to behold, like ten million orbs of fiery suddenly produced infant suns rising at once, filling the whole horizon with the circle of thy arms, bearing a sword, a club, a bow, arrows and a spear.[cxxvi] One of Her names via the Lalitha Sahasranama is Mithra rupini She who is of the form of Sun.[cxxvii]

Uma Himavati (Daughter of the Mountains of Snow”) appears in the sky above Indra in the Kena Upanishad as Agni (God of Fire), then Vayu (God of Wind) and then Indra seek to know brahman (the Universal Divine).

Sanskrit Lahari (लहरि).—[feminine] wave, billow.[cxxviii]

Ānandalahari (आनन्दलहरि) or Ānandalaharī (आनन्दलहरी).—f. 'wave of enjoyment', title of a small hymn by Śaṅkarāchārya addressed to Pārvatī.[cxxix]

Cherokee name for themselves is aniyunwiya, “Principal People” ani, “people”; yunwiya, principle.

Sanskrit adi m.commencement, beginning, firstling; loc.{Adau} in the beginning, first

Tamil aNi 1. embellishment, decoration; 2. beauty; 3. ornament, jewel; 4. face; 5. greatness; 6. array of an army; 7. division of an army; 8. goodness, pleasantness; 9. love; 10. order, regularity, row; 11. rhetoric 12 figure of speech; 13. assembly, gathering

plus

Sanskrit yonitva n. the being an origin or source

Shasta tribe and Mount Shasta of California

Hindu Deva Aadi Maha Shasta and Buddhist use of “Shasta” to refer to the Buddha.

Arikara Tribe

Tamil arikaran * manifestation of god which combines both the forms of Visnu and Siva, as worshipped in Tirupati[cxxx] Another name for Hari-Hara, Parents of Shasta.

Cheyenne Éše'he.[cxxxi] Sun

Sanskrit asta setting sun[cxxxii] and the direction to Asia from the Cheyenne lands.

asura mfn. spiritual, incorporeal, divine … m. a spirit, good spirit , supreme spirit … an evil spirit, demon, ghost, opponent of the gods … [these Asuras are often regarded as the children of Diti by Kasyapa see %{daitya} ; as such they are demons of the first order in perpetual hostility with the gods , and must not be confounded with the Rakshasas or imps who animate dead bodies and disturb sacrifices] … the sun

Cheyenne Taa'é-eše'he[cxxxiii] moon
Sanskrit taiSa a particular full moon[cxxxiv]

Shoshone called the “Snake People”

Sanskrit Shesha, Sesa, Śeṣa, Śeṣā, Sheshnag

Śeṣa (शेष).—m. (-ṣaḥ) 1. The king of the serpent race, as a large thousand-headed snake, at once the couch and canopy of Vishnu, and the upholder of the world, which rests on one of his heads. 2. A name of Baladeva.[cxxxv]

nI 3 mfn. leading, guiding, a leader or guide [cxxxvi]

Shoshone words for snake[cxxxvii] and possible Sanskrit roots/cognates[cxxxviii] corresponding:

Shoshone dogoa (-i) n. rattlesnake (S, SM); snake (T);

Sanskrit dhoDa m. a sort of snake (commonly Dhora)

Shoshone bazi nuyoa gartersnake (E)

Sanskrit busa naga

busa n. (prob.) vapour , mist , fog … water

nAga m. snake

Nāga (नाग).—m. (-gaḥ) Naga or demi-god so called, having a human face, with the tail of a serpent, and the expanded neck of the Koluber Naga; the race of these beings is said to have sprung from Kadru, the wife of Kasyapa, in order to people Patala or the regions below the earth. 2. A serpent in general or especially the spectacle snake, or cobra capella, (Coluber Naga.)

Shoshone basinuhyunwa n. water snake (T; pasinunhyuwah); basunuwiyo n. water snake

Ba, ba’, baa, baa’ water

Sanskrit busa n. (prob.) vapour , mist , fog … water

ba- is a prefix in many Sanskrit words that have the definition or are related to “water.”[cxxxix]

Ba (ब).— 1) Name of Varuṇa. 2) Water. 3) A water-jar…

pA P. … to drink , quaff, suck, sip, swallow (with acc., rarely gen.) RV. &c. &c. ; (met.) to imbibe, draw in, appropriate, enjoy, feast upon (with the eyes, ears &c … to drink up, exhaust, absorb … to cause to drink, give to drink, water (horses or cattle)

nAga m. a snake

Tamil naicci 1. a kind of snake

nAkai snake (TLS)

nAkam 1. cobra.; 2. serpent;

vyAla a. mischievous, malicious. m. a malicious elephant, beast of prey, snake

Shoshone gokoN, bullsnake (C, M);

Tamil kOnacam a kind of snake

Shoshone suuiyo, bull snake (SGE); suih'yu n. bull snake (T), Sh has: suuiyo (SGE; suiqhyu

Sanskrit sthUlAsya m. `\" large-mouthed \"\' , a snake L.

surA f. … `\" a god \"\') spirituous liquor … water Naigh. i, 12; a drinking vessel L.; a snake

Shoshone kayakata kingsnake, milk snake

Sanskrit kaJcukAlu m. a snake

Shoshone kekkate bite (like snake)

Sanskrit kacAku mfn. ill-disposed, wicked L.; difficult to be borne, intolerable, difficult to be approached L.; (%{us}) m. a snake L.

Shoshone kwayingkün shed skin (e.g., of a snake) vt & cognate obj v Panamint

Tamil kajncukam 02 1. tunic, jacket; 2. slough, excoriated skin of a snake

Sanskrit kaJcuka %{as} , %{I} (ifc. f. %{A}) , %{am} mf. n. (fr. %{kaJc}?) a dress fitting close to the upper part of the body , armour , mail ; a cuirass , corselet , bodice , jacket … m. the skin of a snake Pan5cat. ; husk , shell

Shoshone neekkwittamponaH to be coiled (e.g. a snake, hair, etc)

Tamil maNTalampOTu-tal 1. to form in to circles or coils, as a snake

Shoshone pa-tokoa water snake; pa-tokoa water snake, bull snake

Sanskrit pA P. … to drink, quaff, suck, sip, swallow (with acc., rarely gen.) RV. &c. &c.; (met.) to imbibe, draw in, appropriate, enjoy, feast upon (with the eyes, ears &c … to drink up, exhaust, absorb … to cause to drink, give to drink, water (horses or cattle)

dhoDa m. a sort of snake (commonly Dhora)

Susquehannough Tribe

Hindu Sheshnag/Sheshanaga, Vishnu’s Naga (serpent) couch

Sanskrit Śeṣa (शेष).—(ĀDIŚEṢA). Ananta. (i) Ananta is the reposing bed of Vishnu.

ha 2 (only L.) m. a form of Siva or Bhairava … water

naga A mountain … A snake in general, particularly the cobra … A fabulous serpent demon or semi-divine being, having the face of a man and the tail of a serpent, and said to inhabit the Pātāla.[cxl] Nagas are associated with the underground, caves, wells, and water generally. In parts of Asia Nagas are considered the “patrons of water.”

Assorted tribe names and other Native American Indian words that are cognate to else related to Sanskrit and Tamil:

Gangawese Tribe

(North Branch) Catawissa, a borough in Columbia County that sits upon the banks of the Susquehanna, derives its name from the Indigenous word “Catawese.” Authorities differ as to the nationality of the aboriginal tribe which made their home in the area. Redmond Conyngham, a prominent settler in the area at the time (and after whom Conyngham Township is named) stated that “The Piscatawese, or Gangawese, or Conoys had a wigwam…at Catawese, now Catawissa.” Stewart Pearce, another renowned area historian of that time, asserts that the Shawanese tribe established a village at Catawissa in 1697, or about that time. Regardless, the word “Catawese” occurs in several different indigenous dialects, including the Shawanese and Delawares, and always with the same meaning: “pure water.”[cxli]

Sanskrit Gaṅgā (गङ्गा) … The river Ganges, the most sacred river in India[cxlii]

Crow Tribe Apsáalooke Tribe

Tamil appirakiruTTa m. crow

Sanskrit aprakRSTa m. a crow

Muisca Deities (Columbian tribe)

Muisca Bachué “the mother of the Muisca people. It was said that a beautiful woman with a baby came out of Lake Iguaque [11,740 ft. elevation]. Bachué sat down at the bank of the lake and waited for the child to grow up. When he was old enough, they married and had many children, who were the Muisca.”[cxliii]

Hindu Vāc/Vāk Name of Mahāsarasvatī that means “speech,” Goddess of the Vāc Suktam of the Rig Veda, the oldest known hymn about the Mother Goddess: “On the world's summit I bring forth the Father: my home is in the waters, in the ocean. Thence I extend o’er all existing creatures, and touch even yonder heaven with my forehead.” (Rig Veda Mandala 10, Hymn 125, Verse 7)[cxliv]

vAcA f. speech, word; the goddess of speech.

Muisca Chiminigagua “Chiminigagua was a universally good god and represented the only light that existed when it was night time. When the world was created there was only darkness and the only light was given by Chiminigagua.”[cxlv]

Hindu Hiraṇyagarbha Ancient name of Brahma, the Creator, Consort to Sarasvati, and also a name of Krishna. “The Hiraṇyagarbha Sūkta of the Rigveda declares that God manifested Himself in the beginning as the Creator of the Universe, encompassing all things, including everything within Himself, the collective totality, as it were, of the whole of creation, animating it as the Supreme Intelligence.[7] In the Rigveda (RV 10.121) it is also mentioned that at the creation of the world the cosmic egg was separated in to two halves, one part became the sky and the other the sun.[8]”[cxlvi]

Muisca Suéá the Sun god[cxlvii]

Hindu Surya the Sun god

Muisca Chía the Moon goddess[cxlviii]

Sanskrit ca mfn. pure L. ; moving to and fro L. ; mischievous L. ; seedless L. ; m. a thief. L. ; the moon L.

candra shining, glittering, brilliant, bright. — m. the moon (often personified), moon[cxlix]

Guarani Nandeva A tribe in Paraguay

Sanskrit nanyadeva “Beloved of God”

nandideva m. a man\'s name.

Tupi-Guarani Parakanã Tribe in Brazil whose name means “the one from the other side”[cl]

Sanskrit pArakAma mfn. desirous of reaching the opposite bank[cli]

Cocopa nyayáám right (correct) "that's right" (Cocopa is a Yuman language)

Sanskrit nyAyatas ind. in a fitting manner, as is fit or proper, according to right or justice

nyAya m. norm, standard (lit. that to which a thing goes back); rule, axiom, method; manner, way, esp. the right way, fitness, propriety; law-suit, judicial sentence, judgment; logical argument, syllogism, N. of a phil. system. --Instr. & abl. in the right way, regularly, duly (also ---); in the way or after the manner of (---).

Quechua/Inca “Anqash is the word for blue, and it is thought that the name refers to the region's blue skies.”[clii]

Sanskrit AkAza m. n. free or open space, sky; esp. the atmosphere or sky as the fifth element. {-ze} behind the scene or into the air (d.).[cliii]

Paraguayan Guaraní words[cliv] corresponding to Sanskrit and Tamil words[clv]:

Paraguayan karumbe ‘tortoise’

Hindu Kurma turtle Avatar of Vishnu

Paraguayan óga/róga/hóga ‘house’

Sanskrit oka s. home, house.

Paraguayan Tapy burn

Sanskrit tap, tapati ({-te}), pp. {tapta3} (q.v.) be warm or hot, burn

tapasya a. produced by heat

Paraguayan narã orange (borrowed from Spanish Naranja, which clearly originates from the

Sanskrit or Tamil)

Sanskrit nAraGga m., {I} f. the orange tree.

Tamil narantai bitter orange (TLS)

narantam 02 bitter orange

nArattai 1. orange, citrus aurantium; 2. seville orange.; 3. loose-skinned orange

Paraguayan pakova ‘banana’

Tamil paccaivAzai dwarf banana, m. sh., musa chinensis

paccainATAn green banana

Paraguayan apysa ‘hearing’

Sanskrit ApA 1. P. %{-pibati} , (Impv. 2. du. %{A4pibatam} RV. ii, 36, 6; pf. %{-papau}: Pass. %{-pIyate}, &c.) to drink in, suck in or up; to sip RV. MBh. Ragh.; to drink in with ears or eyes i.e. to hear or see with attention, hang on

Paraguayan uvã ‘thigh’

Sanskrit Urva 1 (for 2. see s.v.) , %{as} m. N. of the R2ishi Aurva (from whose thigh sprang the submarine fire which is also called Aurva , q.v.) Ta1n2d2yaBr. MBh. Hariv. &c. ; the submarine fire [Sa1y.] RV.

UrvaGga n. `\" having a thigh-like body \"\' , fungus , mushroom L.

Urvastha n. thigh-bone S3Br. viii ; %{-mAtra4} mf(%{I})n. reaching to the thigh-bone ib.

Urvastha n. thigh-bone.

UrvaSThIva n. sg. (Pa1n2. 5-4 , 77) , %{e4} n. du. (VS. xviii , 23) , %{A4ni} n. pl. (S3Br. viii) thigh and knee.

UrvI f. the middle of the thigh Sus3r. [221,3]

Paraguayan hetũha ‘smell’

Sanskrit hetu m. `\" impulse \"\', motive, cause, cause of, reason for … `\" caused or effected or actuated or attracted or impelled by \"\ ... %{mAMsa-hetu} , `\" attracted by [the smell of] flesh \"\'

(with Pāśupatas) The external world and senses

Paraguayan machu ‘grandmother’

Tamil ammAcci maternal grandmother

Paraguayan sy ‘mother’

Sanskrit Sya m. a partic. mixed caste (the son of a Kshtriya and a Vais3ya1 mother whose business is attendance on cattle)

Paraguayan taita ‘father’

Sanskrit tata 1 m. father; voc. also=my son.

tAta m. father; voc. also i.g. reverend, dear.

tAtagu mfn. agreeable to a father L. ; m. a paternal uncle L. grandfather

Tamil tAtA 01 1. father; 2. great man

tAtai 02 1. father; 2. Grandfather

Paraguayan tajýra/rajý/itajýra ‘a man’s daughter’

Sanskrit girija a. mountain-born, f. {A} the mountain-daughter (Parvati)

Paraguayan pira ‘fish’

Sanskrit bhIru mf(%{U8})n. fearful, timid, cowardly, afraid of … m. a jackal L. (cf. %{pheru}) ; a tiger L.; various kinds of fish

Paraguayan vaka ‘cow’ (likely from Spanish, the which is likely related to the Tamil)

Tamil vacai 03 1. sterile cow; 2. cow; 3. female elephant

Paraguayan ára ‘day’

Tamil aRRai on that day; of that day; 2. Daily

Sanskrit ara mfn. ( %{R}) , swift , speedy … m. the spoke or radius of a wheel … a spoke of the timewheel; ara A spoke of the time-wheel; a Jaina division of time.

Paraguayan kosina ‘kitchen’ (likely from the Spanish, which is likely from the Tamil)

Tamil kucini 02 1. cookroom, kitchen, gallery

Paraguayan kyse ‘knife’

Sanskrit kSadman %{a} n. a carving knife … (pieces of) food (cut off or carved)

kSaTnan n. carving knife.

kSura m. (fr. %{kSNu}? ; cf. Gk. $) a &102724[331 ,3] razor RV. i , 166 , 10 ; viii , 4 , 16 ; x , 28 , 9 AV. S3Br. &c. ; a razor-like barb or sharp blade attached to an arrow R. iii , 72 , 14 (cf. %{-pra}) ; Asteracantha longifolia L. ; = %{-pattra} L. ; a thorny variety of Gardenia or Randia L. ; Trilobus lanuginosus L. ; (for %{khura}) the hoof of a cow W. ; (for %{khura}) a horse\'s hoof W. ; (for %{khura}) the foot of a bedstead L. ; (%{I}) f. a knife , dagger (cf. %{churI}) L. ; (mfn.) = %{kSura-vat} , `\" having claws or hoofs \"\' Sa1y. on RV. x , 28 , 9.

kSura m. knife, esp. razor.

kSuraka m. N. of a plant; f. {kSurikA} knife, dagger.

Paraguayan tata ‘fire’

Tamil taTTai 1. flatness; 2. winnowing fan; 3. small ear-ornament like a tack, worn in the upper helix; 4. stalk, stubble; 5. spiny bamboo; 6. a mechanism made of split bamboo for scaring away parrots from grain fields; 7. sling; 8. a kind of drum; 9. baldness; 10. fool, empty-headed person; 11. Fire

Sanskrit dhA, dadhAti, dhatte; dadhati, -te 1 ({dhAti, dhAyate}), pp. [[-,]] {hita3} (q.v.) & {dhita} (only ---) put, set, lay; put upon, bring to, direct … {adhi} A. set upon (esp. the fire); bestow on (dat. or loc.), grant, impart; M. acquire, get, exhibit. … {anvA} put on (esp. wood), i.e. set up or kindle (the fire). … put on (wood), set up or kindle (fire … w. {adhastAt} under; put on the fire

Paraguayan tayhu ‘love’

Tamil tayavu 1. grace; mercy; compassion; 2. love, favour, passion; 3. piety

Paraguayan téra ‘name’

Sanskrit tAra a. all-pervading, esp. of a sound, i.e. loud, high, shrill; or of light, i.e. shining, radiant. -- m. passing over, crossing (only ---); saver, deliverer (E. of sev. gods), a clear or beautiful pearl, a man\'s name

tAraka (f. {-rikA}) carrying over, rescuing; m. N. of a demon, pl. the children of T.; f. {tA3rakA} star (also n.), meteor, pupil of the eye, a woman\'s name

And below, a list of cognates or nigh cognates between Sanskrit/Asian Indian languages and the Quechua language of Peru from Hindu America, composed by Chaman Lal, with permissions graciously granted by V.V.R. Institute, Sadhu Ashram, Hoshiarpur (Punjab India),[clvi] and some other similarly related terms from Stephen Knapp’s Proof of Vedic Culture’s Global Existence[clvii] and some found comparing other sources.[clviii] [clix]

QUICHUA SANSKRIT

akapana (clouds colored by the sun) aka (painting)

anak (cruel) nac (to kill)

challa (shuck, the covering of an ear of corn) k'alla (outer covering)

chani (price) jani (produce)

chinkat (jaguar) sinha (lion)

chirau (resplendent) sura (to shine)

chiru (side) c'iru (shoulder)

chupe (soup) supa (sauce. Eng. soup)

hina (also) ena (also)

hina (employment) ina (master)

huakra (horn) vakra (curved)

huanaku (native wild sheep of the Andes) vanuku (antelope)

huayakka (wallet) vayakka (packet)

hukkau (a woman's sash) uk (to adorn)

kakarpa (tent) k'arpara (parasol)

kaukay (repose) oka (repose)

killa (moon) kil (white, shining)

kukulla (sucking babe) k'ulla (little)

llakka (slender) lagu (slender)

llapi (chant) lap (speak)

llimpi (paint) limpami (ointment)

mita (time) mita (step, passage of

time)

mukkani (to emit a disagreeable odor) muc (to emit)

muti (pounded corn) mut (to pound)

nana (sister) nanda (sister)

pakkini (to break) pike' (to break)

paksha (the moon) paksa (the full moon)

pakta (precaution) pac (to take precaution)

pirhua (granary) pura (granary)

pututa (sea shell used as trumpet) puta (shell)

rattani (to yoke) rata (coupling together,

sexual union)

reksini (to know by sight) raks' (to see)

sacha (tree) sac'c'a (pronounced

sacha—tree)

simi (mouth) simi (smile)

chakra (field) chakra (circular area)

wasi (house) vasi (dwelling or abode)

kuta (cut or grind, flour) cuT (to split, cut off)

kuTTa (grinding)

mucha (kiss) mukha (mouth)

acharina (belief) AcArin (following

established practice)

ananay (beautiful; irresistible) Ananda (joy, delight,

pleasure, beatitude)

anqash (blue, refers to region's blue skies) AkAza (free or open

space, sky)

callana (earthenware cook pot) caluka (a small pot)

kalazi (a water-pot , jar)

cocha (lake) kacchAnta (the border

of a lake or stream)

valluna (cut) vilUna (mfn. cut off ,

severed)

manu (man, mankind) [clx] manu (man, also root to

Eng. Man)

kallpa (strength, force, power, might)[clxi] kalpa (Kalpa (कल्प) 1)

Practicable, feasible,

possible, 2) Proper, fit,

right. 3) Strong,

vigorous[clxii])

raju (snowy mountain) rajata mfn. (cf. 2. %{Rjra}) whitish , silver-coloured , silvery … whitish gold, i.e. silver) … silver , made of … silver … gold; a pearl ornament; ivory; blood; an asterism; N. of a mountain and of a lake; rajatAcala m. silver-mountain, N. of Kailasa rajatAdri m. silver-mountain N. of Kailasa; rAjatAdri m. silver-mountain N. of Kailasa;[clxiii]

And from a list of hundreds of Tamil words related or cognate to Akawaio published as “List of Tamil words in Akawaio language,” a native tongue spoken in Guyana, Brazil and Argentine, compiled by Annadurai Variankavalramasamy[clxiv] with a few other definitions included by the author:

Akawaio Tamil

Aiai mother/ grandmother aayaa/aayee mother / grandmother

Amai mother /grandmother amma mother

(A)kutu cut kaathu cut

(A)manka soak munkka soak

(A)pirinta cause to fly paranthida cause to fly

Are food irai food

Auroka/auroko tell /speak uraikka tell /speak

Ekwatu gather koottu gather

Ena to become as one onnaa aana/onnu one; Sanskrit

eka one of … alone, sole

(E)nanuku to make wet nanaikka to make wet

Epaka go out poaka to go

Eriku to die erakka to die

Erisi rice arisi rice

Esaku say asaikka say

Eteka to reach adaika to reach

Eti break udai break

(E)tokwa lose to a winner in a game thoakka lose to a winner in a

game

Eturu given by oneself thara give

Eweiti shine wodi shine/vIti sun's path,

light/Sanskrit vIti light, lustre[clxv]

Inai true unmai true

Ka heaven koa heaven/kO Cow, Heaven/

kA pleasure grove

Kara to tear keeru to tear

Karimura sheep kori mari; kori- sheep;

mari- sheep / ram

Karoi pepper kari pepper

Kasuka squeeze kasakku squeeze

Kotaoi a variety of tree kattai wood/timber

Koru gold karu gold

Pata settlement patti village

Piriku make more/enlarge/increase perukku make more, etc.;

peruke fully, abundantly

Pura surface puram surface

Puta foot paatham foot; Sanskrit pad/pada foot

Pun flesh punn flesh

Kaware horse koawaeri mule; kurai- horse.

(A)pirika pluck feathers parikka pluck; parugku-tal to pluck, as fruit; to tear off

Muru a variety of tree maram/ tree

Enu(m)inka think ennuka think

Suwita make someone blush siwanthida blushing/to become

red; Sanskrit smi, smayate,

-ti {smita} (q.v.) smile, blush[clxvi]

[i] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[ii] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, Search the Database: Glossary, https://www.wisdomlib.org/index.php.

[iii] “Mvskoke Word List Y,” Muscogee Nation, Muscogee (Creek) Nation 2016, accessed August 1, 2022, https://www.muscogeenation.com/word-list-y/.

[iv] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “yama,” accessed August 1, 2022, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

“Vocabulary Words in the Iroquoian Language Family,” Native Languages of the Americas, accessed February 26, 2024, https://www.native-languages.org/famiro_words.htm.

[vi] “Aztecs,” Wikipedia, last edited August 31, 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztecs.

[vii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “astika.”

[viii] Ibid., s.v. “ki,” accessed March 1, 2021.

[ix] Ibid., s.v. “va,” accessed March 1, 2021.

[x] “Vocabulary in Native American Languages: Hopi Words,” Native Languages of the Americas, accessed March 10, 2024, https://www.native-languages.org/hopi_words.htm.

[xi] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “tavanan,” accessed March 17, 2024, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/tavanan.

[xii] “Vocabulary in Native American Languages: Hopi Words.”

[xiii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “moon.”

[xiv] “Vocabulary in Native American Languages: Hopi Words.”

[xv] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “water,” accessed March 1, 2021, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[xvi] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “anu.”

[xvii] Ibid.

[xviii] Glosbe Dictionary, translate English to Hopi, s.v. “dog,” accessed March 17, 2024, https://glosbe.com/en/hop/dog.

[xix] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “dog.”

[xx] Glosbe Dictionary, translate English to Hopi, s.v. “earth,” accessed March 17, 2024, https://glosbe.com/en/hop/earth.

[xxi] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “earth.”

[xxii] Glosbe Dictionary, translate English to Hopi, s.v. “river,” accessed March 17, 2024, https://glosbe.com/en/hop/river.

[xxiii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “river.”

[xxiv] Wiktionary The Free Dictionary, s.v. “patupha,” last edited on June 16, 2017, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/patupha.

[xxv] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “patu.”

[xxvi] Glosbe, s.v. “Hopi word fire”, accessed June 30, 2025, https://glosbe.com/en/hop/fire.

[xxvii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “kolli,” accessed June 30, 2025, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[xxviii] “Diné Bizaad,” Black Mesa Indigenous Support, accessed August 26, 2024, https://supportblackmesa.org/dine-bizaad/.

[xxix] “Navajo Word List,” UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive, accessed August 26, 2024, https://archive.phonetics.ucla.edu/Language/NAV/nav_word-list_1983_01.html.

[xxx] Leon Wall and William Morgan, Navajo-English Dictionary (1958), University of Northern Colorado: Scholarship & Creative Works @ Digital UNC, https://digscholarship.unco.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=navajo.

[xxxi] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[xxxii] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, https://www.wisdomlib.org/.

[xxxiii] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “aho,” accessed February 26, 2024, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/aho.

[xxxiv] CEPHAS, photographer Gilles Ayotte, “Zea Mays,” Wikimedia Commons, CC Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International, January 24, 2023, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Zea_mays_15-p.bot-zea.mays-17.jpg.

[xxxv] Shizhao, “Arundo donax 2007,” Wikimedia Commons, CC Attribution 3.0 Unported, July 11, 2008, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arundo_donax_2007.JPG.

[xxxvi] H. Zell, “Arundo donax 001,” Wikimedia Commons, GNU Free Documentation License, August 2, 2009, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arundo_donax_001.JPG.

[xxxvii] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “sura,” accessed March 17, 2024, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/sura.

[xxxviii] Wiktionary, s.v. “jóhonaaʼéí yináádáłígíí,” Wikipedia, last edited April 4, 2018, accessed April 8, 2024, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/j%C3%B3honaa%CA%BC%C3%A9%C3%AD_yin%C3%A1%C3%A1d%C3%A1%C5%82%C3%ADg%C3%AD%C3%AD.

[xxxix] “WHAT DOES “ANASAZI” MEAN, AND WHY IS IT CONTROVERSIAL?” Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, accessed August 11, 2023, https://indianpueblo.org/what-does-anasazi-mean-and-why-is-it-controversial/#:~:text=The%20term%20is%20Navajo%20in,%E2%80%9D%20or%20%E2%80%9CAncestral%20Puebloan.%E2%80%9D.

[xl] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “anazaya,” accessed June 10, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[xli] “Nahanni National Park Reserve,” Parks Canada, Government of Canada, accessed July 9, 2021, https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/nt/nahanni/info.

[xlii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “yama.”

[xliii] “Vocabulary in Native American Languages: Quechan (Yuma) Words,” Native Languages of the Americas, accessed March 10, 2024, https://www.native-languages.org/quechan_words.htm.

[xliv] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “sun.”

[xlv] Ibid.

[xlvi] Ibid.

[xlvii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “inti.”

[xlviii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “sun.”

[xlix] Ibid, s.v. “ramya.”

[l] “Fascinating Post!” DeSoto State Park~Fort Payne, Alabama, Facebook post, January 13, 2023, https://www.facebook.com/DeSotoSP/posts/10167206559330258/?paipv=0&eav=AfaVBQehloh37ngJKGIdJ0KvfHooFCDGelfNb_WuH4zTdm4p78iyv0c9vGY4_U1hX4I&_rdr.

[li] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “cane,” accessed February 26, 2024, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[lii] Ibid.

[liii] Ibid.

[liv] Ibid.

[lv] Ibid.

[lvi] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “pijja.”

[lvii] “List of Alabama placenames of Native American origin,” Wikipedia, July 17, 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Alabama_placenames_of_Native_American_origin

[lviii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “kozakRt.”

[lix] “moccasin,” Online Etymological Dictionary, last updated on August 29, 2023, accessed September 17, 2023, https://www.etymonline.com/word/moccasin.

[lx] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “moc.”

[lxi] Ibid.

[lxii] “Choctaw,” Wikipedia, last edited September 12, 2023, accessed September 16, 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choctaw.

[lxiii] Chaman Lal, Hindu America (Hoshiapur, India: V.V. Research Institute, 1956), plates preceding text.

[lxiv] “Mayasura,” Religion Wiki, accessed June 28, 2021, https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Mayasura.

[lxv] Wikiperuvian, “Sitio arqueológico de las Ventanillas de Tumbadén,” Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International, April 15, 2021, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sitio_arqueol%C3%B3gico_de_las_Ventanillas_de_Tumbad%C3%A9n.jpg.

[lxvi] sheing tjioe, “Lemo - a cliff burial site with body shaped holes are made in the cliff wall,” Flickr, digital image, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 DEED, taken on May 9, 2016, uploaded May 18, 2016, https://www.flickr.com/photos/10380360@N07/27051935096.

[lxvii] “Native American Legends: Maheo,” Native Languages of the Americas, accessed February 22, 2023, http://www.native-languages.org/maheo.htm.

[lxviii] “Native American Legends: Tamosi (the Ancient One),” Native Languages of the Americas, accessed February 22, 2023, http://www.native-languages.org/morelegends/tamosi.htm.

[lxix] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “dAmoSNISa,” accessed February 21, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[lxx] “Native American Legends: Esa (Issa, Ysa, Pia'isa),” Native Languages of the Americas, accessed February 22, 2023, http://www.native-languages.org/esa.htm.

[lxxi] “Native American Legends: Sibu (Sibo),” Native Languages of the Americas, accessed February 22, 2023, http://www.native-languages.org/sibu.htm.

[lxxii] “Native American Legends: Above-Old-Man (Gudatrigakwitl ),” Native Languages of the Americas, accessed February 21, 2023, http://www.native-languages.org/morelegends/above-old-man.htm.

[lxxiii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “guru,” accessed February 21, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[lxxiv] Gurudev, “The Complete List of Dhatus – Sanskrit Root Words and their English meaning,” Gurudev’s Blog, April 16, 2020, https://www.hitxp.com/articles/linguistics/list-of-dhatus-root-words-sanskrit-dictionary/.

[lxxv] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “gud,” accessed September 17, 2024, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[lxxvi] “Words with the "g" sound,” Wiyot Tribal Government, accessed February 23, 2023, https://www.wiyot.us/287/g-words.

[lxxvii] “Native American Legends: Apistotoke,” Native Languages of the Americas, accessed February 21, 2023, http://www.native-languages.org/apistotoke.htm.

[lxxviii] “Mojave People,” Wikipedia, last edited November 13, 2024, accessed December 17, 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohave_people#:~:text=The%20Mohave%20creator%20is%20Matevilya,customs%20of%20the%20Aha%20cave.

[lxxix] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “mahAvIrya,” accessed September 17, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[lxxx] “Native American Legends: Gitchi Manitou,” Native Languages of the Americas, accessed February 21, 2023, http://www.native-languages.org/gitchi-manitou.htm.

[lxxxi] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “isa,” accessed September 17, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[lxxxii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “manyu,” accessed February 21, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[lxxxiii] “Native American Legends: Kitanitowit (Cautantowwit),” Native Languages of the Americas, accessed February 21, 2023, http://www.native-languages.org/kitanitowit.htm.

[lxxxiv] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “krishna,” accessed August 24, 2023, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/krishna.

[lxxxv] Ibid., s.v. “kisa,” , https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/kisa.

[lxxxvi] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “lamaka,” accessed September 17, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[lxxxvii] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “kanha,” accessed August 24,2023, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/kanha.

[lxxxviii] “Lenape Mythology,” Wikipedia, accessed August 22, 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenape_mythology#:~:text=The%20Lenape%20believe%20that%2C%20before,mountains%2C%20forests%2C%20and%20animals.

[lxxxix]Laura Leddy Turner, “Religion & Beliefs of the Lenape Indians,” accessed August 22, 2023, https://classroom.synonym.com/religion-beliefs-lenape-indians-5231.html.

[xc] “Weight of the World,” Smithsonian Ocean, accessed August 22, 2023, https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/reptiles/weight-world#:~:text=In%20Hindu%20mythology%2C%20the%20earth,the%20world%20on%20its%20back.

[xci] “World Turtle,” Wikipedia, last edited July 19, 2023, accessed August 22, 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Turtle.

[xcii] John Norwood, “The Turtle of the Nanticoke Lenni Lenape,” video, Penn Treaty Museum, accessed August 23, 2023, https://penntreatymuseum.org/the-turtle-of-the-nanticoke-lenni-lenape/.

[xciii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “turtle,” accessed September 17, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[xciv] Jim Rementer, “LENAPE NAMES OF REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS,” Lenape Language Project, accessed February 26, 2024, https://delawaretribe.org/wp-content/uploads/Lenape-Names-of-Reptiles-Amphibians.pdf.

[xcv] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “turtle.”

[xcvi] Ibid.

[xcvii] Ibid.

[xcviii] Jim Rementer, “LENAPE NAMES OF REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS.”

[xcix] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “snake,” accessed September 17, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[c] Jim Rementer, “LENAPE NAMES OF REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS.”

[ci] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “snake.”

[cii] Ibid.

[ciii] Jim Rementer, “Lenape Names for Other Terms for Water,” Lenape Language Project, accessed February 26, 2024, https://delawaretribe.org/wp-content/uploads/Lenape-Names-for-other-terms-for-water.pdf.

[civ] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “water,” accessed September 17, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[cv] Ibid.

[cvi] Ibid.

[cvii] “Native American Legends: Kanati,” Native Languages of the Americas, accessed September 20, 2021, http://www.native-languages.org/kanati.htm.

[cviii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “kSAnta,” accessed March 1, 2021, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[cix] “Native American Legends: Selu,” Native Languages of the Americas, accessed September 20, 2021, http://www.native-languages.org/kanati.htm.

[cx] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “selu,” accessed March 1, 2021, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[cxi] “Native American Legends: Hayuya,” Native Languages of the Americas, accessed September 20, 2021, http://www.native-languages.org/kanati.htm.

[cxii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “strength,” accessed September 17, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[cxiii] “Creek Mythology,” Wikipedia, last edited July 12, 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creek_mythology.

[cxiv] Bill Grantham, Creation Myths and Legends of the Creek Indians (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2002), accessed September 17, 2023, https://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/AA/00/01/16/79/00001/CreationMythsofCreekIndians.pdf.

[cxv] “Creek Mythology,” Wikipedia, last edited September 4, 2023, accessed September 17, 2023, accessed https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creek_mythology#:~:text=The%20Muscogee%20believed%20that%20the,above%20(us)%22).

[cxvi] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “breath,” accessed September 17, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[cxvii] Ibid.

[cxviii] Robert McGill Loughridge, David M. Hodge, English and Muskokee Dictionary (St. Louis: J.T. Smith, 1890), PDF, accessed September 17, 2023, https://static1.squarespace.com/static/590be125ff7c502a07752a5b/t/5bb42585ec212d71f6c0c38c/1538532756909/Loughridge%2C+Robert+McGill%2C+English+and+Muskokee+Dictionary.pdf.

[cxix] Ibid.

[cxx] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “great,” accessed September 17, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[cxxi] Ibid.

[cxxii] “Blackfeet Indian Legends, Myths, and Stories,” Native Languages of the Americas, accessed February 23, 2023, http://www.native-languages.org/blackfoot-legends.htm.

[cxxiii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “eka,” accessed December 15, 2025, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[cxxiv] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “eka,” accessed December 18, 2025, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/eka.

[cxxv] “Cherokee Mythology,” Wikipedia, last edited December 2, 2022, https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherokee_mythology.

[cxxvi] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “Uma,” accessed August 24,2023, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/uma.

[cxxvii] “Sri Lalitha Sahasranama-1000 Names of Lalitha Devi From the Brahmanda Purana,” Temple Purohit, accessed September 3, 2023, https://www.templepurohit.com/sri-lalitha-sahasranamam-shri-brahmanda-purana/.

[cxxviii] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “lahari,” accessed August 24,2023, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/lahari.

[cxxix] Ibid.

[cxxx] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “arikara,” accessed September 17, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[cxxxi] “Vocabulary in Native American Languages: Cheyenne Words,” ,” Native Languages of the Americas, accessed September 20, 2021, http://www.native-languages.org/cheyenne_words.htm.

[cxxxii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “asta,” accessed March 1, 2021, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[cxxxiii] “Vocabulary in Native American Languages: Cheyenne Words,” Native Languages of the Americas, accessed September 20, 2021, http://www.native-languages.org/cheyenne_words.htm.

[cxxxiv] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “taiSa,” accessed March 1, 2021, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[cxxxv] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “shesha,” accessed August 24,2023, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/shesha.

[cxxxvi] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “ni,” accessed September 17, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[cxxxvii] David Leedom Shaul, Eastern Shoshone Working Dictionary, PDF, Eastern Shoshone Tribe, accessed September 17, 2023, https://easternshoshone.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/eastern-shoshone-working-dictionary2.pdf.

[cxxxviii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “snake,” accessed September 17, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[cxxxix] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “ba,” accessed September 11, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[cxl] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “naga,” accessed December 29, 2023, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/naga.

[cxli] “Indigenous Names of the Susquehanna Greenway,” The Susquehanna Greenway Partnership, accessed June 28, 2025, https://susquehannagreenway.org/news-and-stories/indigenous-names-of-the-susquehanna-greenway/.

[cxlii] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “ganga,” accessed June 28, 2025, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/ganga.

[cxliii] “Muisca,” Wikipedia, last edited March 5, 2024, accessed March 21, 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muisca

[cxliv] “Rig Veda, HYMN CXXV. Vāk,,” Sacred Texts, tr. by Ralph T.H. Griffith, [1896], accessed 2/23/2023, https://sacred-texts.com/hin/rigveda/rv10125.htm.

[cxlv] “Chiminigagua,” Wikipedia, last edited April 4, 2023, accessed March 21, 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiminigagua.

[cxlvi] “Hiranyagarbha,” Wikipedia, last edited December 2, 2023, accessed March 21, 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiranyagarbha.

[cxlvii] Becky Johnson, “The Muisca: Colombia's Lost People,” Uncharted Columbia, August 20, 2018, https://www.unchartedcolombia.com/en/community/travel-stories/the-muisca-colombias-lost-people/.

[cxlviii] Ibid.

[cxlix] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “moon.”

[cl] Fausto, Carlos. “The Friend, the Enemy, and the Anthropologist: Hostility and Hospitality among the Parakanã (Amazonia, Brazil).” The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 18 (2012): S196–209. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41506679.

[cli] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “para.”

[clii] “Quechua,” Wikipedia Simple English, last edited January 21, 2023, accessed November 30, 2023, https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quechua#:~:text=Anqash%20is%20the%20Quechua%20word,to%20the%20region's%20blue%20skies.

[cliii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “sky.”

[cliv] “Appendix: Paraguayan Guaraní basic vocabulary,” Wiktionary, last edited February 22, 2023, accessed December 15, 2024, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Paraguayan_Guaran%C3%AD_basic_vocabulary.

[clv] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “?,” accessed July 2, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[clvi] Chaman Lal, Hindu America, pp. ?????????????

[clvii] Stephen Knapp, Proof of Vedic Culture’s Global Existence (Detroit: The World Relief Network, 2000), 262-263.

[clviii] Nina Kinti-Moss, Nematni Baltazar and Masaquiza Chango, Kichwa-English-Spanish Dictionary, Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies University of Kansas, PDF, CC 4.0, accessed July 2, 2023, https://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/bitstream/handle/1808/25707/Kichwa%20Dictionary%202nd%20edition.pdf.

[clix] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “,” accessed July 2, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[clx] Miguel Angel Gongora Meza, “Manu National Park Peru Guide: Tours, Hiking, Maps, Buildings, Facts and History,” Evolution Treks Peru, Feb 25, 2023, https://www.evolutiontreksperu.com/peru/tourist-attraction/manu-national-park/.

[clxi] “kallpa,” Wiktionary, last edited May 24, 2017, accessed March 24, 2025, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kallpa.

[clxii] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “kalpa,” accessed December 29, 2023, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/kalpa.

[clxiii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “raj,” accessed September 17, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[clxiv] Annadurai Variankavalramasamy, “List of Tamil words in Akawaio language,” Academia.edu, 2025, accessed February 8, 2025, https://www.academia.edu/127433005/List_of_Tamil_words_in_Akawaio_language?email_work_card=title.

[clxv] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “viti,” accessed February 10, 2025, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[clxvi] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “blush,” accessed February 10, 2025, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

The Basque Language's Curious Connection to South Indian Languages . . .

2026-02-11T13:13:00.002-07:00

Just found an article from the University of California Riverside's website touting a long list of Basque words closely related to Tamil. I've already found a number of Basque words related to Sanskrit, but as South Indians were more involved in nautical endeavors their language seems to have been at least as significant as Sanskrit in the dissemination of words and language to distant lands. From the article "DRAVIDIAN / BASQUE ASSOCIATION *, A review derived from the following: Nyland, Edo. 2001. Linguistic Archaeology: An Introduction. Trafford Publ., Victoria, B.C., Canada. ISBN 1-55212-668-4. 541 p." https://faculty.ucr.edu/~legneref/bronze/dravid.htm#:~:text=The%20well%2Dknown%20Basque%20linguist,closest%20to%20Basque%20by%20far.):

A group of comparative linguists in the United States developed a system that they called the "Lexico-Statistical Method" and attempted to put a percentage figure on the degree to which languages are related (M.Swadesh, Linguistics Today, 1954). It is based on the percentage of resemblances between 200 words considered to be essential in a language:

1. The oldest names for parts of the body and its functions

2. Pronouns and numerals

3. Names for dwellings, children and families

4. Domestic animals

The well-known Basque linguist A. Tovar followed this method to measure the degree of kinship of Basque with other languages of non-Indo-European origin. The closest relationship he found was with Berber (11%) followed by Circaskian/Kirrukaskan (7.5%), Coptic (6.5%), Arabic (3.25%). Then he asked Dr. Lahovary to try this method on Dravidian, with the astounding result of 50+%. This meant that, of all the languages tested so far, the Dravidian language was closest to Basque by far.

164     ura             wife            urruxa         female
165     irru (Ta)       to bring forth errun          to lay eggs
165     iru             to be           iruditu        to resemble
165     il              to be           illi (Berber) to be
165     ul (Ta)         to exist        ulertu         to understand
165     aru             to give birth   aur            child
166     ali (Ma)        woman           ala            girl
166     ir (Brahui)     sister          arre           sister
167     kappu (Ka)      meat            kaba(l)        domestic animal
167     odal (Te)       body            odol           blood
167     biho            heart           bihotz         heart
167     pala            flesh           opa            offering
167     iracci (Ma)     meat            aragi          meat
168     suri (S.Dr)     to pour         isuri          to pour
168     ana (Ka)        breath          asnasa         respiration
168     naru (S.Dr)     odor            narru          skin
168     usir (Ka)       breath          usna           smell
168     u-suru          nose            sur            nose
169     sindu (Ka)      bad smell       sund-da        stink
169     kuku (Malto)    summit          kukula         summit, peak
170     buru (Te)       something round bular/burar   breast
171     karata (Ka)     skull, coconut  garaun skull   brain
171     mula (Ma)       brain           muin           brain
171     kara            height          garai          high, prominent
171     bhala           forehead        belar (Zuber) forehead
172     gadda           chin            ganga          mouth
172     ba (Ka)         mouth           abo            mouth
174     begu (Ka)       to spy          behatu         to observe
175     kan (Brahui)    to know         ikan           to look
175     aks (S.Dr)      sight           ikus           to see
175     vili            eye             igi            eye
175     mugu (Ka)       face            musu           face
175     muso (Malto)    nose            musu           face
175     muti (Ka)       face            mutur          snout
175     motu (Ta)       stupidity       mutur          snout
175     mukka-ra(Te)    nose-ring       moko           beak
176     musu (Ka)       to smell        mustur         snout
176     ba (Ka)         mouth           abo            mouth
177     appu (Ka)       to embrace      apa            kiss
178     alasu (Ta)      to rinse        latsatu        to wash
180     ele (Te)        song            ele            story
180     gol (Ka)        throat          golo           goiter
180     karai (Ta)      to cry out      garrasi        shrill cry
181     kar-utti (Ma)   neck            garondo        nape of the neck
182     kai (Tulu)      hand            uka            hand
183     kurukh(C.Dr)    to seize        kargatu        to load
183     kadi (S.Dr)     to steal        kaldar         thief, scoundrel
184     adi (S.Dr)      foot            adar           foot of chair
184     anga (Tel)      stride          anka           foot
186     karu (Tu)       leg             garra          (Navar) leg
188     ola (Ka)        inside          ola            cabin, hut
189     bikku (S.Dr)    heart           bihotz         heart
189     alku (Ta)       vulva           alu            vulva
190     eru (Ka)        dung            errai          dung
191     tottu (Ma)      nipple          titi           nipple
191     borra (Te)      potbelly        zilbor         navel
192     pal (Ka)        milk            galatz         milk
192     putti (S.Dr)    to be born      puta           womb
193     pukku (S.Dr)    vulva           puta           womb
195     tshika (Tulu)   small child     txiki          small
195     tkuri (S.Dr)    short           korro          short
195     tkittu (S.Dr)   small           kuto           small
196     iri (S.Dr)      sick            eri            sick
196     kira (Gond)     old man         kira           age
        agura           old man         agure          old man
197     ala (Ta)        affliction      aldia          mental disorder
197     eriyu (Te)      to grieve       auri           lamentation
197     karai (Ta)      to cry out      garrasi        cry, scream
197     madi (Ta)       death           amata          to kill
197     mara (Ka)       death           marrakari      tearful
198     malagu (Ta)     to perish       malgu          soft, weak
199     adu (S.Dr)      age             adin           age
199     gasi (S.Dr)     hunger          gose           hunger
199     manku (S.Dr)    staggering      mainku         crippled, lame
199     ala (Ta)        afflicted       alusu          feeble, weak
199     alasu (Ka)      exhausted       lazu           weak man
200     elli (Te)       night           ilun           darkness
200     lamba (S.Dr)    to totter       laban          slippery, sliding
201     ema (Ta)        mother, female  ama            mother
201     amma (Ka)       female          ama            mother
201     pen (S.Dr)      woman           pena           sorrow, grief
201     ali             woman           alaba          daughter, native of...
201     al              male            ar             male
202     unmu (Ka)       birth           ume            child
202     maintu (Ta)     love            maita          love
202     maru-vu (Ta)    intimacy        marruskatze    fondling, pawing
202     appu (Ka)       to embrace      apatz          to kiss
203     manju (S.Dr)    amiable         maina          liking, pampering
203     iru (Ta)        come into existence iruditu    to appear
203     uru (Ta)        to give birth   aru (Berber)   to be born
204     atta (Malto)    grandfather     aita           father
204     apa (S.Dr)      father          ata            father (child's)
204     ana (Ta)        brother         anai           brother
204     asa (Kui)       daughter        aizpa          sister
204     ari             she             arreba         sister
205     ila (Ta)        youth           iloba          niece
207     maran (Ta)      bravery         mardul         robust, strong
207     marru           enemy           amarru         cunning, shrewd
208     buti (Ka)       man servant     botoi          man servant
210     burade (S.Dr)   head            buru           head
210     bhuka           opening         bukatu         to end
210     kara            height          garai          high
210     gubbi (Ka)      hump            gupi           deformed spine
210     kerki (Tulu)    throat          gurka          throat
210     suri (S.Dr)     to pour         isuri          to pour
210     khala           thief           kaldar         thief
210     kiram (Ta)      old             kira           period of time
210     konku           curved          makur          roundness
210     in (Brahui)     to say          min            tongue
210     pura (Malto)    belly           para           belly
358     ari             rock            arri           rock
359     kabi            cave, hollow    kabia          nest, hollow
360     kam             something round kamuts        blunt
360     kuku            summit, peak    kukula         summit, peak
360     men (Ma)        mound, hillock  mendi          mountain
360     murru           wall, quarry    murru          wall
361     padu            village         padur etxe     lake dwelling
361     turu            hill, mound     torre          tower
361     mugul (Ka)      flower bud      mugil          flower bud
362     bar (Ka)        stream, to flow ibar           river valley
362     ala (Te)        wave, surge     olatu          wave
362     garo (Kui)      deep hollow,dig goratu        to raise, to carry up
362     tura-i          stream, ond     iturri         source of water
362     sala (Ka)       to enter        salazar        country house
363     kara (Ta)       to wash         garastatu      to sprinkle, to water
363     pani (Ta)       rain            panin (Zuber)   water

The Ancient Ways Hidden in Plain Sight: European words for "God" that are of "Hindu"/Vedic origin . . .

2026-01-03T11:07:00.002-07:00

Excerpt from Chapter 1 of To Be or Not To Be...brahman or Abrahman / The World Turned Upside-Down

Though a fact even more or less acknowledged by the academy, it might and ought surprise most average folk of European heritage that the words for “God” in nigh all European languages are derived from else are close cognates to Sanskrit words for “God. These words for “God” were used to worship Hindu Gods long before those terms and names were used to refer to the Hebrew and Christian deity(-ies) [all definitions from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon[i] unless otherwise noted]:

Sanskrit deva f. {I3} divine, heavenly. --m. celestial being, god

Dyauspitr Vedic “Sky/Day Father”

div, dyu 3 (nom. sgl. {dyau3s}) m. sky, heaven (also f.), the god of heaven; day (also n.); light, fire-flame (only instr. pl. {dyu3bhis}). --{dyA3vA} m. du. heaven and earth or day and night. {a3nu dyU3n} & {dya3vi dyavi} day by day. {abhi3 dyU3n} in the course of the days, in a long time…

Latvian Dievs, Lithuanian Dievas, Latin Deus, Italian Dio, Spanish Dios, Portuguese Deus, French Dieu, Corsican Diu, Catalan Deu, Welsh Duw, Irish Dia, Old Irish Dé, Greek Theos, and Romanian Dumnezeu (from Latin Domine Deus[ii]), etc.

Sanskrit goda a. giving cows

“The Gift of Cow is a significant concept in Hinduism symbolizing generosity, prosperity, and spiritual merit. It represents reciprocity in sacrificial acts, divine generosity in Vaishnavism, and the importance of charitable acts …

(1) An illustration of the Lord’s generosity, showcasing the naturalness of divine acts compared to human experiences.”[iii]

or according to the academy accepted etymology, the which I rather do doubt:

hUta mfn. called, summoned, invited … n. the act of calling

huta a. sacrificed or worshipped with a sacrifice; n. sacrifice, oblation. m. N. of Shiva. The Persian/South Asian term for “god,” khoda, is certainly derived from/related to huta.

English God, Scots Gud, Danish God, German Gott, Norwegian Gud, etc.

Sanskrit bhaga m. (ifc. f. %{A} and %{I} g. %{bahv-Adi}) `\" dispenser \"\', gracious lord, patron (applied to gods, esp. to Savitri)

bhagavat God Vishnu, the Bhagavat Gita, etc.

Polish Bog, Chechia Buh, Slovakia Boh, Croatia Bog, Serbia Bog, Bulgaria Bog, Russian Box, etc.

Sanskrit jumbaka m. N. of a Varuna. A Vedic Sky deity later acknowledged as God of the Ocean

Finnish Jumala, Estonian Jumal, Basque Jaungoikoa/Jainkoa, all meaning “Sky god” or “lord above.”

Sanskrit Urdhvadiz f. the point of the sky overhead, the region above, zenith

Basque Urtci (sky god). “Ortzi is still used today to mean "thunder", "thundering cloud", ‘heavens,’ ‘sky,’ or ‘clarity of the sky.’"[iv]

Sanskrit Niṣkala a name of Shiva, who is very much associated with moksha, Sanskrit for “liberation.”

Paza “noose of Shiva”

Pazupata/Pazupati Names of Shiva as Protector of Animals and Souls.

Moksha “Nishka” or “Nishka-Paz.” Moksha people’s (Russia) word for God.

Sanskrit Purandara (पुरन्दर).—m. (-raḥ) 1. A name of Indra. 2. An epithet of Siva. 3. An epithet of Agni.[v]

Albanian Perëndi

Sanskrit iSTa 1 mfn. … wished, desired; liked, beloved; agreeable; cherished RV. … reverenced, respected; regarded as good, approved … valid; m. a lover, a husband … n. wish, desire RV.

iSTa 2 mfn. (p.p. fr. %{yaj} ; for 1. %{iSTa4} see col. 2) sacrificed, worshipped with sacrifices … m. sacrifice … n. sacrificing, sacrifice; sacred rite, sacrament

iSTadeva m. (L.) or a chosen tutelary deity, favourite god, one particularly worshipped

iSTadevatA f. a chosen tutelary deity, favourite god, one particularly worshipped

Hungarian Isten “God,” “sky god”

Tamil Tāṉṟōṉṟi 1. That which is self-existent; 2. God

Bulgarian/Turkic/Mongolian Tanri/Teŋri, etc.

So many traces of a unified ancient way are there to be found, just under the surface of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic veneer that was often quite intentionally applied to hide the pre-Abrahamic connections and “religion/spirituality” of the ancient world, very much designed to divide and conquer the peoples of the old ways. Even European academic discourse and methodologies generally are designed to “divide and conquer” knowledge, to separate “this from that” via taxonomies, too often arbitrary categorizations and essentializations—a habit that readily lends itself to senseless “us vs. them” violences, at least discursively. The “divide and conquer” tactic is ironically sometimes spun from within the “critical theory” camp, as one “critical response” to attempts to find ancient cultural relationships of Native Americans with Asia, for example, is that such an inquiry “doesn’t respect the originality” of whatever cultures, that attempting to find ancient connections of various peoples is “insensitive”—thus protecting the establishments’ want to "keep ‘em separated," and thus easier to control!

[i] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[ii] “Dumnezea,” Wiktionary, last edited March 26, 2025, accessed May 21, 2025, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Dumnezeu.

[iii] “Significance of Gift of cow,” Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, accessed February 27, 2025, https://www.wisdomlib.org/concept/gift-of-cow#:~:text=The%20Gift%20of%20Cow%20is,meritorious%20act%20within%20Hindu%20rituals.

[iv] M. G. Ramos, “On Basque Astronymy: God and Moon in Basque,” Buber's Basque Page, translated by Blas Pedro Uberuaga, accessed October 3, 2024, https://www.buber.net/Basque/Astro/node6.php.

[v] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “Purandara,” May 21, 2025, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/purandara.

“God” is Really the Lord of Hell and “the Devil” is Really God . . .?

2026-01-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

Chapter 3 from To Be or Not To Be...brahman or Abrahman / The World Turned Upside-Down

“God” is Really the Lord of Hell and

“the Devil” is Really God?!

Pasupati Horned God from Indus/Saraswati Civilization[i]

To simply state the gist of the theory to be presented in the following, the Hebrews were originally “Hindus,” or at least Abraham’s tribe was before Abraham’s break with the religion of his forefathers, before Abraham's tribe left the place and religion of their ancestors and traveled west to Palestine, as was touted by Aristotle and many other ancient and recent historians and thinkers and a theory many yet espouse outside of the official Western religio-historical establishment. The Hebrew god “Yahweh,” with whom Abraham made a covenant upon breaking ties with his ancestral religion, bears many similarities to and is likely derived from/is the same being as Deva Yama, the Hindu/Buddhist/Asian Lord of Death and Hell and Judge of the Dead (more or less as was known in Europe as “Hades,” among other appellations), in concert with Yama’s priest Deva Agni, the god of fire, who is called “yahva” in the Rig Veda, the most ancient scriptures in the world. Abrahman means “unfaithful one” or “without brahman [‘God’]” in Sanskrit, and according to Hinduism, Lord Yama is in charge of those who do not know brahman, of those who are Abrahman.

In the Rig Veda, the God of Fire Lord Agni is praised as “yahva” twenty-one times.[ii] According to Hinduism, “Yama is closely associated with Agni in the Rigveda. Agni is both Yama's friend and priest...”[iii] The Sanskrit word agni, by the way, is whence the English word “ignition” is derived. Yahweh of the Hebrew religion is thus not unlikely something of a multiform expression of both Lord Yama, Lord of Death and Hell and Judge of the Dead, and Yama’s Priest, the God of Fire Lord Agni, called yahva in the Sanskrit of the Rig Veda, very much like how El and Yahweh were originally separate deities that later became one in the Hebrew tradition. El in the Semitic languages means “might, strength or power,” not unlikely derived from the Tamil El, “1. lustre, splendour, light; 2. sun; 3. sunshine; 4. day time; 5. day of 24 hours; 6. vehemence; strength.”[iv] From the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon and the online Wisdom Library, yahva is defined as:

yahva restless, swift, active (applied to Agni, Indra and Soma) RV.; continually moving or flowing . . . m. . . . a sacrificer . . . f. du. heaven and earth RV. ; pl. the flowing waters . . . the seven great rivers . . . [v]

Yahva (यह्व).—a. Ved. 1) Great, powerful. 2) Active, restless, continually moving. -m. An employer of priests for sacrifices[vi]

Yahva (यह्व).—m. (-hvaḥ) A sacrificer, an institutor of sacrifices.[vii]

As noted in chapter 1, the Hebrews might be understood as “Fire Worshippers” in terms of their devotion to “Yahweh,” a name almost certainly derived from the Sanskrit yahva, an appellation or adjective never applied to Yama, but is in fact most often applied to Yama’s priest and friend Agni in the Rig Veda. The name Agni is also found in any number of words for “fire” and names of fire gods nigh globally,[viii] as are other Sanskrit and Tamil words for “fire” or “fire god.” Various names of the psychopomp who conveys souls to the Underworld found globally are likewise likely connected to various names of Yama.

That the Hebrews were very much into fire sacrifices before their temple was finally destroyed, “burnt offerings” and such, further indicates more than a resonance with the Sanskrit term yahva, as one of the meanings of yahva is “a sacrificer,” and Deva “yahva” Agni is the God of Fire, priest of Lord Yama. The Rig Veda even uses Yahva as a name for Agni in at least one case, and not merely as an adjective.

I may only mention that yahva in one instance (Rv. X. no. 3) is used in the vocative case, and Agni is there addressed as "O Yahva ! you are the sacrificer of the gods." This, clearly shows that the word was not only familiar to the Vedic sages, but that it was applied by them to their [demi]gods to signify their might, power or strength and Griffith has translated it by the English word for ‘Lord’ in several places.[ix]

Thus, to the ancientmost religion of the world, “Yahva” is a name of Deva Agni, the Lord of Fire, and by proxy and definition (“restless, swift, active … continually moving or flowing (applied to the waters) … a sacrificer … heaven and earth”) was likely contingently applied to his friend Lord Yama, Lord of Death and Hell and Judge of the Dead, him who Yahva Agni serves as priest. Some have noted that the plans for the Temple of Solomon match the general design for Hindu temples, as both are built analogous to the human form reclined, thus figuring the temple as a body, as well as the body as a temple, via analogous tropes in both traditions. Nothing about this interpretation doesn’t make sense.

Hebrew Temple and Vedic Temple designs in relation to the human form[x]

Hindu Yajna fire sacrifice[xi] and Hebrew temple altar for burnt offerings[xii]

The Hindu and Hebrew altars for burnt offerings are very similar in appearance and function, both are square and elevated above ground level, though most Hindu offerings are vegetable and not animal. To contend that these two sacred altars built for fire sacrifice are not derived from the same source ritual practice is absurd. The similarities of these altars further indicate the nigh certainty that the Hebrews were originally “Hindu” before Abraham and his tribe departed from “Ur of the Chaldees” to travel to Palestine and to establish their new religion, which, as it turns out, was constructed as something of an imitation or reflection of, and built from so many bits and pieces of, the religion they left behind. The term “Jew” comes from the Hebrew word Yĕhūdhī, and specifically refers to the tribe of Judah (which means "thanksgiving" or "praise"). If Yĕhūdhī were derived from a Sanskrit word:

Sanskrit hu, juhoti, juhute , pp. {huta3} (q.v.) pour into the fire, cast [[,]] into the fire, offer, sacrifice. C. {hAvayati} cause to sacrifice or be sacrificed. D. {juhvaSati} wish to sacrifice. I. {johavIti} sacrifice repeatedly. -- {adhi} sacrifice upon or over (loc.). {abhi} pour out the libation upon, make an oblation to (acc.). {ava} pour out upon (loc.). {A} offer in (loc.), offer an oblation to (dat.), worship with oblations (acc.). {upa} offer in addition. {pra} offer continually or successively. {prati} offer in return. {sam} sacrifice (together).

juhoti m. burnt oblations

Devi Sri Lalitha Tripura Sundari[xiii]

The plethora of important terms in the Hebrew religion coinciding with Sanskrit terms reifies the likelihood that “Yahweh” of the Hebrews and Christians is very likely derived from the Sanskrit yahva, referring to Yahva Agni and Yama, the God of Fire and the Lord of Death and Hell, the Judge of the Dead who presides over Naraka-Loka (“Hell”) and the Pitṛloka (Heaven realm of the ancestors). The Judeo-Christian-Islamic “Devil,” in terms of the origins of said figure, similarly bears more than anecdotal (if mostly inverted) connections to the God of Abraham’s forefathers, Maha Deva Shiva as Pasupati, the Protector of Animals and Souls, known as the Horned God to pre-Christian Europe. Similarly, the greatest Avatar of Shiva’s Consort, Devi Lalitha, the Goddess of Play, the Divine Feminine Supreme, Maha Shakti (Her Who Is All Power), is insulted as “Lilith” in Hebrew and Christian lore. Thus, the Abrahamic religions essentially upended the order of the Old Ways, placing “Civilization” over Nature and the (rather skewed) Masculine over the Feminine.

In other words, over the course of the development of the Abrahamic religions, Deva Yama, the Hindu Lord of Death and Hell (in conjunction with his priest Deva “yahva” Agni), was rendered “God” as the Hebrew “Yahweh,” and the figure who was formerly “God” (Sanskrit brahman or Deva), the Nature God, Protector of Animals and Souls, i.e., to Abraham’s forefathers and much of the ancient world, became figured as “the Devil” by the renderings of Judeo-Christian (and later, Islamic) mythology. Contingently, the Greatest expression of the Divine Feminine, The Great Mother, Goddess of Play Devi Lalitha, Her who God the Creator, Maintainer and Destroyer all bow before, was rendered as the whore or demon “Lilith” by Judeo-Christian traditions, as Lilith was supposed to be Adam’s wife before Eve was created, but she would not submit to a man as greater, and was thus “cast out of the Garden.” Related to these conjectures, I shall present evidence that might indicate the Hebrew rite of circumcision is similarly derived from an ancient Hindu incest taboo rite connected to a certain myth about Brahma, God the Creator.

Something that bothered me from my days as a Southern Baptist minister and perhaps when I was still in high school, back in the days before I realized myself a yogi and whilst an undergraduate student at Oklahoma Baptist University and pastor of the First Baptist Church of Connerville, Oklahoma, or perhaps before (I resigned and later renounced all trappings of my ministry and moved to Chicago for grad school at the U of C after finishing my undergraduate degree), i.e., when I still considered myself a Christian, I made note of a rather confusing idiosyncrasy regarding the Judeo-Christian concepts of Heaven and Hell and “the afterlife” generally. According to Jewish tradition, the destination of souls after they die is a place called “Sheol,” or “the Bosom of Abraham” to Christians (New Testament, Luke 10:22). Sheol is described as “down,” as in underground. The Hebrew word Sheol is translated to the Greek word “Hades” in the Septuagint (Koine Greek translation of the Old Testament compiled and translated by a group of seventy or seventy-two rabbis. Note the Sanskrit root to the Greek Septuagint, sapta “seven”), and that Greek term generally translates to the English “Hell,” if you didn’t know!! This troubled me a bit, but I brushed it aside, assuming some theological explanation was surely expounded in some doctrinal statement somewhere.

According to Hinduism, souls go to the Preta-Loka to await judgement by Lord Yama in Naraka-Loka, almost certainly the origin of the Hebrew understanding of Sheol and Christian understanding of the “Bosom of Abraham.” From Yogapedia, “Preta Loka is a lower realm, in which departed spirits reside after physical death and prior to judgement in Naraka Loka.”[xiv]

One other clue I was granted in those days that something is amiss in the orthodox Judeo-Christian narrative, as previously mentioned, was a statement made by a rather conservative religion professor at Oklahoma Baptist University at the end of a lecture about Abraham and his crew moving west from “Ur of the Chaldese” to Palestine. Ur has been determined to be in close proximity to (else a part of) Indus Valley/Sarasvati Civilization, identified by most archaeologists as having existed in far southeastern Iraq. It ought be noted, however, that many ancient place-names across Asia included the prefix “Ur,” and the site identified as Ur in Iraq is not “beyond the Euphrates,” as the Bible claims, but rather is on the same side of that river as is Palestine. In Iran there is an ancient town that is called Ur that is inhabited to this day. There are even many indications that the original homeland of the Hebrews, before their break with Abraham’s father’s religion, was Kashmir,[xv] else part of Indus Valley/Sarasvati Civilization. In any regard, at the end of this lecture, Dr. Dawson concluded with rather a scowl:

“Now there may be those who tell you that Abraham is somehow connected to the Hindu god Brahma . . . but we know better than that, now don’t we?!”

Though certainly intended as a warning to those wishing for a career with the church, this short closing statement was somehow proffered as a clue to those real seekers of truth who might be sitting in that lecture hall—whether intended as such or no. I later explored that strand of the historical narrative to conclude that indeed, papa Abraham was a “Hindu” (if not a term coined until three thousand years later) before he went apostate and left the homeland and faith of his fathers. Voltaire (1694-1778) posited that Abraham and his crew were a tribe of traveling brahmin priests. Even Aristotle taught that the Hebrews were of the philosophers of India! Again, Abrahman is Sanskrit for “unfaithful one,” or “one who does not know brahman (‘God’),” and I am thus in fact contending “Abrahman” is the actual name that was given the Father of Judaism, Christianity and Islam by his god “Yahweh” (Yama and Yahva Agni) as Abram left the faith of his father.

Hindu “Heart Chakra” symbol Anahata, with six-pointed star shatkona, [xvi] and Hebrew six-pointed star of David[xvii]

As quoted in chapter 1:

Donald M. Craig points to ancient sources regarding a history of Abraham from India:

…Flavius Josephus …(in the) Antiquities of the Jews … quotes Aristotle (384 BCE–322 BCE) as saying that Jews are derived from the Indian philosophers and are known as the Calani. Clearchus of Soli was a student in Aristotle’s school. In his book, De Somno, he elaborates on the story of how Aristotle discovered this information, but the basic concept remained the same.[xviii]

Megasthenes was a traveler who became an ambassador of Seleucus I of Syria to the court of Chandragupta Maurya, the first unifier of India, before the latter’s death in 288 b.c.e. According to Godfrey Higgins, in the first volume of his massive Anacalypsis, Megasthenes wrote that the Jews were an Indian tribe or sect called Kalani. Except for the spelling he agreed with Aristotle and Clearchus.

Higgins also claims that Ur of the Chaldees, the home of Abraham mentioned in the Bible, was actually Ur of the Chaldeans. “Chaldean,” he continues, is actually “Kaul-Deva” or the Holy Kauls, a Brahmanical caste of India. The Kauls or Kaulas are today considered to be a Tantric tradition.

He writes that the tribe of the Brahmin Abraham was expelled from or left India and settled in Goshen in Egypt. Finally, he states, “The Arabian historians contend that Brahma and Abraham, their ancestor, are the same person [emphasis added].”[xix]

If the Hebrews were indeed called “Calani/Kalani,” as Aristotle and Megasthenes did claim, this would very much fit with the supposition that the Hebrews are under the authority of Deva Yama, as one of Lord Yama’s names is “Kala.” Thus the name touted by Aristotle to describe the Hebrews, “Calani,” and who Megasthenes called Kalani, would be equivalent to the Sanskrit kala + ni, “those who follow Kala/Yama,” else to the Tamil Kālaṉ, which translates as “Lord Yama” or “messenger of Yama.” The term kalani also has significance in the Shakta tradition, devotion to the Great Mother, possibly indicating the Hebrews were originally of a tantric tradition, and perhaps related to the Kaulas/kaulika cult, as Godfrey Higgins claimed. There are two villages in Bihar, India and in Madhya Pradesh, India called Kalani, and a neighborhood in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India called Kalani Nagar, reifying that said appellation used by Aristotle and Megasthenes to name the Hebrews is not unlikely Indian in origin.

Calani /Kalani Name attributed to the Hebrew people by Aristotle and Megasthenes.

Sanskrit kAla … time (as leading to events, the causes of which are imperceptible to the mind of man), destiny, fate … time (as destroying all things), death, time of death (often personified and represented with the attributes of Yama, regent of the dead, or even identified with him …[xx]

nI 3 mfn. leading, guiding, a leader or guide [xxi]

Tamil Kālaṉ “Yama” else “messenger of Yama.”[xxii]

Shaktism Kalanī (कलनी) (cf. Kandacakra) refers to “one who generates” representing an aspect of Kalī, according to the Jayadrathayāmala: one of the earliest and most extensive Tantric sources of the Kālīkrama system.[xxiii]

Dr. S.R. Rao, renowned Indian archaeologist whose teams are credited with the discovery of the Harappan port cities of Lothal and Dvarka,[xxiv] notes the discovery of Indus seal script in Ur (Iraq) and as far away from the Indus Valley/Sarasvati as Bahrain, indicating the certainty of trade across southern Asia and likely indicating the presence of communities of traders from the Indus Valley/Sarasvati living in Ur.[xxv] Roa’s interpretation of Indus script postulates “uniformity of the script over the full extent of Indus-era civilization,”[xxvi] comparing the script to the Phoenician alphabet. Indeed, evidences abound that Indus Valley/Sarasvati civilization was quite cosmopolitan, and that colonies or at least communities of traders from the Indus Valley/Sarasvati did exist at least so far away as Ur in Mesopotamia, and likely even much further from Harappa and the days of Indus/Sarasvati Civilization than that, as indicated by the Gundestrup Cauldron of Denmark. As another example of the continued and abiding connection between the Vedic tradition and Denmark, the Danish vide/ved/viden, “know/knowledge,” is a direct cognate to the Sanskrit vid/veda, “know/knowledge.”

Sutkagan Dor, the westernmost archaeological site identified as part of Indus Valley/Sarasvati Civilization, at one time likely a port city,[xxvii] is by the southern part of the border between present day Pakistan and Iran, less than 900 miles (“as the crow flies” or as Google Earth ruler does measure) from the current mouth of the Euphrates, and transit via the nautical route from nearby ports might have been even closer to the Euphrates during early phases of Indus Valley/Sarasvati Civilization when sea levels were somewhat lower. Carnelian beads from the Indus Valley/Sarasvati that date to 2600 BCE have been found in Ur, and Indus seals with Harappan script have been found at Ur, Babylon, Kish and other Mesopotamian sites.[xxviii]

These things in mind, to posit that Abraham’s father’s tribe in Ur originated from Indus Valley/Sarasvati Civilization/India and were practitioners of the religion of the Indus Valley/Sarasvati Civilization or India, i.e., to argue that Abraham's father and ancestors were adherents to the knowledge of the Vedas and of brahman, that they were “Hindu,” is not much of a stretch at all. Even if Abraham’s Ur was not in Indus Civilization proper, nor in Kashmir, and actually was the site called Ur in Mesopotamia, it still seems very likely if not certain that Abraham’s father was “Hindu.”

Illustrations of Indus Valley/Sarasvati seal (3000 BCE) and Indus carnelian beads, both found in Mesopotamia[xxix]

Even by the time of Abraham’s grandson Jacob, “Hindu” practice is still recorded amongst the Hebrews. The stone pillar that Jacob anointed with oil was almost certainly understood by him as a Shiva lingam.

“And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.” (Genesis 28:18 King James Version)

Pujaris anointing a Shiva Linga[xxx] and Lingam from Mohenjo Daro, Indus/Sarasvati Civilization.[xxxi]

If Abraham, Sarai/Sarah and Hagar of the Abrahamic traditions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) are indeed connected to Hindu Creator Brahma (or Abrahman), His Consort Sarasvati, and Ghaggar (a river tributary/near to the Sarasvati River, which together were the primary sources of water and location of most settlements in Indus Valley/Sarasvati Civilization), as many have logically contended, then it is similarly not a stretch to assume that there is a connection in terms of the Hebrew rite of circumcision and the Hindu myth about Brahma losing His fifth head. The basic mythemes do well enough meet in a careful analysis of the Hindu and Hebrew mythology, and circumcision is certainly a form of “decapitation.”

According to one of the versions of the myth that explains why Brahma, the Creator, is not much worshiped in Hinduism, early in the process of creation Brahma wanted someone to help with the task of creation, and so created a lovely and intelligent maiden. After a time, Lord Brahma began to desire this beautiful and intelligent woman that He had created (think of the John Hughes movie Weird Science). The maiden sought to evade His lustful gaze, so Brahma grew a “fifth head” to continue to gaze upon her. Shiva then shows up and tells Brahma that as He had directly created said Maiden, She is thus Brahma's daughter!![xxxii] Shiva then severed Brahma's “fifth head” with His fingernail, as touted in some versions of the myth. Usually, Shiva uses His Trishul or another blade to sever heads when such violence proves necessary. That Shiva used His fingernail in some versions of the tale obviously indicates that the “head” severed was rather small, and it is not too much a stretch to assume that this “head” severed was a foreskin!!

To follow this line of reasoning, in its origin the Hebrew rite of circumcision was an incest taboo rite derived from an ancient Hindu myth! Indeed, quite along those same strands of the mythological narrative and reasoning that posit Abraham’s “Yahweh” was in fact Deva Yama (and “Yahva” Agni), as Yama’s authority would be prescribed by the beliefs of Abraham's father for one who had left the religion of brahman, for one who is Abrahman, it seems not at all unlikely that the practice of circumcision is related to the aforementioned myth about Brahma losing His fifth head. That Sarasvati, thus created by Brahma, is technically His Daughter is quite analogous to Abraham telling the Philistine king that Sarah is his sister. The mythemes are too close to be unrelated, considering the many other coinciding evidences.

. Essentially, Yahweh, worshiped by Jews and Christians as “God,” is actually the being Abraham's forefathers and much of Asia (and Europe via “Hades” and various other names) knew as the Lord of Death and Hell, Deva Yama (in concert with Yahva Agni), as indeed, the Hebrews were almost certainly originally “Hindus.” And then what did the Abrahamic project do next along those lines of reasoning but to render the Person who was God to Abraham’s forefathers into “the Devil,” into “the adversary” in their mythmaking (the Hebrew word satan means “adversary” in a general sense in the Old Testament usage, and not necessarily in terms of a supernatural adversary). By the way, the concept of “the Devil” or whatever “satan” as an arch-evil adversary was very much unknown to Abraham and the religions of his day (though the idea of demons and such malevolent spirits was certainly extant), and in fact the figure of “the Devil” developed much later, likely via Zoroastrian influences upon Judaism. Hinduism, and sanAtana dharma generally as expressed variously in so many religions globally, did not and does not grant such power to any evil spirit, nor to evil generally, as the Lord of Hell and Judge of the Dead Deva Yama is a just and righteous god.

As an aside, Hades, the Greek Lord of Death and the Underworld, whose name is earliest writ as Áïdēs, which means “hidden,” or “unseen,”[xxxiii] is not unlikely derived from else related to the Sanskrit adRSTa (mfn. unseen, unforeseen, invisible, not experienced, unobserved.[xxxiv]), and/or is perhaps related to the Sanskrit AdhA (“to add (fuel to fire”), AdhAna (“lighting , kindling , placing a fire (especially the sacred fire…”) or Adheya (“mf(%{A})n. to be kindled or placed (as a fire) … to be deposited or placed”), related to associations of Hades with fire. As noted a number of pages ago, Ny/Nija/Patala, Slavic names for the psychopomp who accompanies souls to the Underworld, are all directly related to Sanskrit/Hindu terms related to Yama and his role as psychopomp and to the name of the Hindu Underworld realm Patala. Other European Underworld deities related to/derived from Sanskrit include the Albanian Mortja (Sanskrit mRtyu “death, god of death”), Latvian Mara (Sanskrit mara “death, dying”), and the Celtic Ankou (Sanskrit antaka mfn. making an end, causing death; m. death; Yama, king or lord of death; Tamil Anu (“Death”) else arukal (1. rareness; 2. Death), or Arawn (Sanskrit araNa mfn. without fighting (as death i.e. natural death)).[xxxv] Indeed, a significant number of the pre-Christian European names of gods of the Underworld are closely related to else derived from Sanskrit or Tamil terms related to the Underworld realm Patala and to Lord Yama and his priest and friend, the God of Fire Yahva Agni, as is also true of the names of most European Sky Gods in relation to Hindu Sky Gods, etc. There are a plethora of examples of cognates or nigh cognates to the names of Yama and of Yahva Agni and Sanskrit and Tamil words for psychopomps and fire to be found around the globe, further reifying that the whole world’s stories are parts of one grand story.

The Slavic god of the Underworld is known as Viy, Ny, Peklabog, Nija, Nyja, Pekla, Pekelnybog, Pekollo, Pekollos, Pikollos, Peklos, Poklos, Peklo, Pieklo, Pekelle, Pikiello, Patello, Patelo, Patala. “Ny is the god of the underworld who acts as psychopomp, that is to say the guide of the souls into the underworld. He is associated with subterranean fire and water, snakes and earthquakes.”[xxxvi] One of Lord Yama’s names is Pavaka, “One who purifies.” The Sanskrit word for the Underworld is Patala. In fact, all of these names of the Slavic Underworld god/psychopomp seem very likely to have been derived from or are otherwise closely related to various Sanskrit words (Sanskrit definitions from Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon[xxxvii]):

Slavic Viy

Sanskrit Vah (वह्).— 1) To carry, lead, bear, convey, transport 2) To bear along, cause to move onward, waft, propel 3) To fetch, bring 4) To bear, support, hold up, sustain 5) To carry off; take away

Slavic Ny

Sanskrit nI, nayati, -te , pp. {nIta3} 1 lead, guide, conduct, direct (l. & [[-,]] f.); carry away, remove; draw near, attract; bring to or into (acc., esp. of an abstr., {prati}, dat., or loc.); M. (A.) lead home … take the lead, head (gen.); w. {daNDam} bear the rod, i.e. inflict punishment; w. an adv. in {sAt} reduce to or change into, e.g. {bhasmasAt}; w. {zUdratAm} make a person (acc.) a €u1dra; {samatAm} make equal; w. {duHkham} make unhappy. pain; w. {pritoSam} gratify; w. {kSayam} destroy (cf. {I} & {gam}). C. {nAyayati} cause a person or thing to be led or carried away by (instr.) to (acc.). D. {ni3nISati, -te} be willing to lead etc., to carry off, to bring into (acc.); to find out or ascertain. I. {nenIya3te} lead away as a captive, have power of (acc.). -- {accha} lead near or towards (acc.). {ati} lead over or beyond (acc.); … {apa} lead or take away, put off, remove. … {abhi} lead near or towards (acc.); fetch, procure; represent, act, perform (d.). {ava} lead down, push or put into … {abhyava} lead down or pour into (acc.). {vyava} pour out singly… {A} lead or bring near, fetch, cause; lead or bring towards or into (acc., w. {kzam} subject, subdue), lead or bring back ({ñpunar}); pour in, mix; offer, sacrifice. … {upA} lead or bring near, draw towards (acc.); get or cause to (gen. of pers. & acc. of th.); lead away, carry off. … {samA} conduct together, gather, collect; lay together (the hands); conduct towards, … lead off ({vadhAMya} to death); … carry off, lead away… lead away… {pra} bring forwards, lead further, promote; convey (r.); conduct or take to (M. to one\'s self), present, offer; bring or reduce to (a state); employ, inflict (punishment); … {saMpra} bring together, collect, raise (taxes); employ, inflict (punishment)

Slavic Nija, Nyja

Sanskrit nijur f. singeing, burning, destroying by fire RV. ii, 29, 6.

nijur f. burning, consuming.

nijUrv P. %{-jUrvati} , to consume by fire RV.

Slavic Peklabog, Pekla, Pekelnybog, Pekollo, Pekollos, Pikollos, Peklos, Poklos, Peklo, Pieklo, Pekelle, Pikiello

Sanskrit pakS cl. 1. and 10. P. (Dha1tup. xvii, 14; xxxii, 17) %{pakSati}, %{-Sayati}, to take, seize

pakva mf(%{A}) n. (considered as p.p. of 2. %{pac}; cf. Pa1n2. 8-2, 52) cooked roasted, baked, boiled, prepared on a fire … baked or burnt (as bricks or earthenware pots) … ripe, mature (lit. and fig.) RV. … accomplished, perfect, fully developed (as the understanding, character &c.) MBh. BhP. ; ripe for decay, near to death, decrepit, perishing, decaying ib. ; digested W. ; n. cooked food , dish RV. AV. S3Br.; ripe corn AV. ; the ashes of a burnt corpse ib.

pakal 1. dividing, separating; 2. middle; 3. middle position, impartiality

pAkala a. quite black. (Lord Yama is said to be and is generally depicted as black/dark complected)

pAvaka mf(%{A4})n. pure, clear, bright, shining RV. VS. AV. (said of Agni, Surya and other gods, of water, day and night &c.; according to native Comms. it is mostly = %{sodhaka} \"\', cleansing, purifying \"\') ; m. N. of a partic. Agni (in the Puranas said to be a son of Agni Abhimanin and Svaha or of Autardha1na and Sikhandini1) TS. TBr. Ka1tyS3r. Pur.; (ifc. f. %{A}) fire or the god of fire Up. MBh. Ka1v. &c.; N. of the number 3 (like all words for `\" fire \"\', because fire is of three kinds see %{agni}) Suryas.; a kind of Rishi, a saint, a person purified by religious abstraction or one who purified from sin

Slavic Patello, Patelo, Patala

Sanskrit pAtAla n. (rarely m.; ifc. f. %{A}; perhaps fr. 2. %{pAta} as %{antarAla} fr. %{antar}; cf. Un2. i, 116) one of the 7 regions under the earth and the abode of the Nagas or serpents and demons … sometimes used as a general N. for the lower regions or hells; in MBh. also N. of a town in the serpent-world) … an excavation, hole in the earth MBh.; the submarine fire

As a sidenote, there is an archaeological site in Peru called Patallacta, very possibly indicating that thereabouts was the Hindu “Underworld” realm known as Patala/Patala Loka/Patal Loka. According to the generally accepted name origin of Patallacta: “Patallacta (possibly from Quechua pata elevated place / above, at the top / edge, bank (of a river), shore, llaqta place (village, town, city, country, nation).”[xxxviii] As noted in the definition above, there was/is a town in the “serpent-world” known as Patala. If Patallacta happened to be a placename of Sanskrit origin, it would correspond rather succinctly to the Sanskrit/Hindu placename Patala-Loka (Patala “one of the 7 regions under the earth and the abode of the Nagas or serpents … a general N. for the lower regions … also N. of a town in the serpent-world”); loka (free or open space, room, place, scope, free motion … a tract, region, district, country, province.[xxxix] Loka is root to the English location, local, etc.). Though the Quechua “pata” translates as “above, at the top,” the Sanskrit pata generally indicates downward (pAta m. flying, flight; fall, downfall), as Patala is “the Underworld” to Bharat/India, further “down” than Naraka-Loka (“Hell”). In Tamil paTa is “a particle of comparison.” From the perspective of someone in Patala, up and down are inverted in relation to the perspective of someone on the opposite side of the globe. The direction that is “down” to someone in Eurasia is “up” to someone on the other side of the globe in the Americas/Patala, thus pata and Patala are down to someone in India, whereas pata and the land called Patala are “up” or “above” the ground, and above Naraka-Loka, “Hell,” to someone in a land once called Patala that existed in Peru, the Americas generally and thereabout, the “Underworld” to Eurasia and Africa. Recall the quote in chapter 1 from the Yoga Vasisthana, “

All these bodies that move about in the world by their lack of freedom are thought to be up and down relative to our position on earth. So when there are ants on an earthen ball, all its sides are reckoned below that are under their feet, and those as above which are over their backs.[xl]

Linguistically, this relationship between the Quechua pata (above, at the top) and the Sanskrit pata (downward or flying, flight; fall, downfall), seemingly meaning the exact opposite despite sharing what I contend was the same source, is called a linguistic “false friend.” For a word to shift to meaning the exact opposite as it is shared to another language is thus a well enough acknowledged phenomenon, even according to the standards of mainstream linguistics.

Of other European names for psychopomps or underworld deities that match names of Lord Yama, the name Hermes, the Greek hermaphroditic psychopomp, might well be connected to Yama and his twin sister Yami. “The earliest form of the name Hermes (Ἑρμῆς) is the Mycenaean Greek *hermāhās, written … e-ma-a2 (e-ma-ha) in the Linear B syllabic script,” fairly phonetically close to Yama/Yami/Yammui. The Breton, Cornish and Welsh, Ankou/Ankow/Angau, who “comes for the souls of those who are about to die,” is quite close to another name of Yama, Antaka (mfn. making an end, causing death; m. death; Yama, king or lord of death”). The Greek ferryman Charon and Etruscan psychopomp Charun are likewise likely derived from Sanskrit and/or Tamil names for Yama: Sanskrit “cauri 1. saturn; 2. Yama, the God of death,”[xli] Tamil “kURRan yama, the god of death, kURRu yama, the god of death.[xlii] “Morana (in Czech, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian), Morena (in Slovak, and in Macedonian: Морена), Mora (in Bulgarian: Мора), Mara (in Ukrainian: Мара), Morė (in Lithuanian), Marena (in Russian: Марена), or Marzanna (in Polish),”[xliii] a death goddess, is obviously quite close to the Sanskrit “maraNa n. the act of dying , death, mAraNa n. killing, slaying, slaughter, death, destruction; mara m. dying, death; mAra killing, destroying.”[xliv]

To return to the discussion of Yahva Agni and fire, the Celtic underworld god Aed/Aodh is touted to be derived from a root word that means “to burn” or “to kindle,”[xlv] and thus is directly enough related to the Sanskrit AdhA (“to add (fuel to fire”), AdhAna (“lighting , kindling , placing a fire (especially the sacred fire…”) or Adheya (“mf(%{A})n. to be kindled or placed (as a fire) … to be deposited or placed”).[xlvi] Traces of Sanskrit and Tamil words for fire, such as agni, are rife in Native American Indian words for fire and fire deities. The Inuit goddess of light and warmth and associated with the home fire in lands that don’t see the sun for months on end is Ignirtoq. Alaska Native Kobuk language word for fire is ikniq, in Iñupiaq fire is igniq,[xlvii] Cherokee for fire is a gila, Yabaana (S. America) word for fire is Ikági,[xlviii] and Ktunaxa of the Canadian Rockies word for fire is ʔa·kinq̓uku,[xlix] all phonetically close to the Sanskrit agni. Hopi words for fire are uuwingwa, possibly from the Sanskrit agni, and qööhi, göahi or qööhi, [l] are close to Tamil words for fire kocci or koLLi. Quechua word for fire nina might correspond to the Sanskrit nidah (nidah P. … to burn down, consume by fire[li]). Lakota word for fire pȟéta[lii] is phonetically close to the Sanskrit vidah (P. %{-dahati}, to burn up, scorch, consume or destroy by fire[liii]), else is perhaps more likely related to pAtha (m. = %{patha} g. %{jvalA7di} ; fire…sun[liv]).

Shoshone ku', kukki, kukkwe, kuna", kuna-I, kottooppeh, and any number of other Shoshone words for or related to fire beginning with ku or ko,[lv] the Cahuilla word for fire kú-t,[lvi] the Dogrib kǫ̀, Diné (Navajo) and Apache kǫʼ[lvii] Yucatec Maya word for fire k'áak'o', and Itza Maya kʼáakʼ would not unlikely be directly related to the Sanskrit ka, kaNa, kuNDa, kukkuTa, etc., and/or Tamil kanal, kuTai-tal, kutapa, etc., and any number of other Sanskrit and Tamil words related to fire beginning with ka, ko and ku.[lviii] The Paiute words for fire are ku'su or ko'so,[lix] quite close to Sanskrit kuSAku.[lx] Iroquois katsista is rather close to the Sanskrit kuSAku and Tamil kataz-tal, kaTaiyanal final deluge of fire, kATAkkini 1. great fire, conflagration; 2. a strong fire, kaTTazal “raging fire,” kASTAkkini, kuTai-tal, and other Tamil words for fire beginning with kat.[lxi] The K’iche’ (Mayan language) words for fire “k’atik (n) fire (destructive); the act of burning” and “k’atik (v) to burn”[lxii] are quite close to Tamil “kaTaikkanal final deluge of fire; fire which destroys every-thing at the end of the world,” kaTaikOl sticks used for producing fire by friction,” kATAkkini 1. great fire, conflagration; 2. a strong fire, from four or five sticks each as thick as two fingers, and encircling the melting pot containing herbs,” and “kATTAkki fire produced from fuel by churning.”[lxiii]

The Lenape word for fire is tentey, and the Huichol tatewari is the fire god of shamans, both Native American words for fire that are very possibly derived from Tamil words related to fire such as taNal, taNTilam, taTTai, tImaTu-ttal,[lxiv] etc. The Guarani language tata for fire is cognate to the Tamil taTTai, which translates as “fire” among other things, and likely related to Sanskrit terms dhA, dadhAti, dhatte; dadhati, -te 1 ({dhAti, dhAyate}), pp. [[-,]] {hita3} (q.v.) & {dhita} (only ---) put, set, lay; put upon, bring to, direct … {adhi} A. set upon (esp. the fire); bestow on (dat. or loc.), grant, impart; M. acquire, get, exhibit. … {anvA} … set up or kindle (the fire). … put on (wood), set up or kindle (fire … w. {adhastAt} under; put on the fire.[lxv] The Angaite word for fire talha is rather close to the Sanskrit word dahra[lxvi] (dahra m. a wood on fire … fire[lxvii]). The Mapuche (Chile and Argentina) word for fire is petrehue,[lxviii] quite similar to and likely derived from/related to a number of Sanskrit and Tamil words[lxix]:

Sanskrit pAtha m. = %{patha} g. %{jvalA7di} ; fire L. ; the sun L. ; n. water L.

pAtraTira (?) m. (only L.) an ex-minister (W. `\" an able or competent minister \"\') ; a metal vessel; mucus running from the nose; rust of iron ; fire

pItu m. who drinks or dries up \"\' , the sun or fire

Tamil piramam 01 1. the supreme being; 2. Brahma1; 3. Visnu; 4. Siva; 5. sun; 6. moon; 7. fire

pAtha m. = %{patha} g. %{jvalAdi} ; fire L. ; the sun L. ; n. water L

pItan 1. sun; 2. fire

pItu 1. sun; 2. fire; 3. chief elephant in a herd

In Australian aboriginal languages, there are more than a few likely Sanskrit or Tamil related words for fire, such as Nyoongar language karla, karlak, kalla or kaarl and Warumungu karrarlarla (Tamil kAlavam fire; karka mf(%{I4})n. … good, excellent … m. a white horse … fire; kaRkam 02 1. water jar; 2. white horse; 3. Fire; karugkal 1. boulder of black rock, large granite stone; 2. flint for striking fire; karuku-tal 1. to be scorched, scarred; to blacken by fire or the sun; koLLi 1. fire), Luritja waru and Warlpiri warlu (Sanskrit vArUDhA f. (only L.) fire; Tamil vaRu-ttal 1. to dry, grill, fry, parch, toast [-ttal indicates the preceding word is a verbal noun]), Guugu Yimidhirr yugu (yajJa m. worship, devotion, prayer, praise; act of worship or devotion, offering, oblation, sacrifice … a worshipper, sacrificer … fire), Wiradjuri wiiny (Sanskrit vahni m. … the conveyer or bearer of oblations to the gods (esp. said of Agni, `\" fire \"\', or of the three sacrificial fires see … partic. fire … fire in general or `\" the god of fire \"\'; vani f. wish, desire AV. m. fire; vinirdah P. %{-dahati}, to burn completely, consume by fire), Bundjalung bidi (vidah P. %{-dahati}, to burn up, scorch, consume or destroy by fire, vidheya mfn. … to be kindled (as fire)), Arabana maka (Tamil makAvIram 2. sacrificial fire; makAvIran 1. fire-god; makAccuvAlam a sacrificial fire; makAkkini sacrificial fire; makAnalam sacrificial fire), etc. Australia has certainly had contact with India and Southeast Asia for thousands of years, and the above examples of Sanskrit and Tamil related words in Aboriginal languages are not particularly exceptional.

Suffice it to say, Yama by various names and Deva Yahva Agni, the “Hindu” god of fire, as well as other Sanskrit and Tamil words for psychopomp and fire, are found echoed in names for underworld and fire gods and words for fire globally. Agni, called “Yahva” in the Rig Veda, the most ancient scripture in the world, was known in many places by many peoples globally, and as Yahva Agni is friend and priest to Lord Yama, he is very likely a central part of the origins of the construction of the Hebrew god “Yahweh.”

It has been noted by scholars and indeed by popular culture that the figure of “the Devil,” especially in European Judeo-Christian lore, was largely a bastardization of the Horned God.[lxx] This Horned God, via various expressions and interpretations, was worshiped across Europe and parts of Asia as “Cernunnos” and by other names, was and is known in India as Pasupati, the Protector of Animals and Souls, an ancient horned Avatar of Shiva depicted on Indus Valley/Sarasvati seals (4-5,000+ years old). Pasupati was apparently even worshipped in the Americas, very likely evinced by the Blackfoot name for “the Great Spirit” Apistotoke or Iihtsipaitapiiyo'pa,[lxxi] and by horned deity effigies found all over the Americas and rather prominently depicted in Native American Indian rock art, often shown surrounded by animals.

Horned God/Pasupati (Protector of Animals and Souls) Petroglyph, Nine Mile Canyon, Utah, U.S.A.[lxxii]

Among the most emblematic depictions of the Horned God in the Americas is the “Great Hunt” petroglyph at the Nine Mile Canyon petroglyph site in Utah, wherein a horned figure is depicted surrounded by a herd of bighorn sheep with hunters approaching. This petroglyph is possibly depicting the Navajo deity Nayanezgani/Naayééʼ Neizghání, a horned figure who protects the people from monsters and is associated with the hunt, well enough like Pasupati Shiva, the Protector of animals and souls. “The name is a relative clause that may be analyzed as naa-yééʼ "enemy-dangerous" + neizghán "[he] kills several [of them]" + -í "person who..." The evil monsters Nayanezgani/Naayééʼ Neizghání destroyed were called the Anaye or Nayéé’, the which would well enough match the Sanskrit term anaya 1 m. bad management; bad conduct (gambling, &c.), anaya 2 m. evil course, ill luck; misfortune, adversity. If from Sanskrit, the name Anaye/Naayééʼ Neizghání, would likely correspond to anaya + naz, nazyati 1 ({-te}) & {nazati} ({-te}), pp. {naSTa} (q.v.) be [[,]] lost or missing, vanish… {nAzayati} ({-te}), pp. {nAzita} make disappear, expel, destroy, violate, deflower; lose, also from memory, i.e. forget. -- {apa} be gone. {ava} wane, disappear. {nis} C. expel, drive away … C. make disappear, destroy, annihilate, kill.

Deva is Sanskrit for “God” (Latin Deus, Latvian Dievs, Lithuanian Dievas, French Dieu, etc.) and Devi is Sanskrit for “Goddess” (Latin Dea, Latvian Dieviete, Lithuanian Deivė, French Déesse, etc.), and the term “devil” seems to likely have origins in Persia (quite near where many still worship Deva and Devi) via the Avestan (early Iranian used in Zoroastrian scripture) language term daeva, which translates as “wrong gods,” or “gods who are not to be worshiped,”[lxxiii] a term that was essentially an inversion of the Vedic “Deva,” as the Zoroastrians were to whatever degree in conflict with the Vedic “Hindus.” The Judeo-Christian construction of “the Devil” is thus derived from a starkly dualistic construction adopted from Zoroastrianism’s rejection of the non-dual nature of brahman, and subsequent demonization of the Devas.

Talk of ‘us’ and ‘them’ has long dominated Iran-related politics in the West. At the same time, Christianity has frequently been used to define the identity and values of the US and Europe, as well as to contrast those values with those of a Middle Eastern ‘other’. Yet, a brief glance at an ancient religion – still being practiced today – suggests that what many take for granted as wholesome Western ideals, beliefs and culture may in fact have Iranian roots. Even the idea of Satan is a fundamentally Zoroastrian one.[lxxiv]

“The Devil” is a construct emblematic of dualistic Zoroastrianism adopted by Judaism, Christianity and Islam, very much in line with the program of Abrahman, of dualistic opposition to the ancient order of brahman, of Nature, of “God” as such was known to Abraham’s ancestors. As with the Abrahamic religions, Zoroastrianism was also constructed in opposition to the Vedic tradition, the religion of the ancient Persians’ ancestors as well as of the Jews’, Christians’ and Muslims’ ancestors, and is thus “Abrahman-ic” as are the Abrahamic religions, constructed in opposition to the Vedic brahman, as well as embracing a blatantly dualistic understanding of the Divine, dividing “God” into two opposing gods. The Avestan word daeva means “demon,” an obvious diss to the Vedic religion and the Devas and Devis, the Gods and Goddesses of Hinduism, and in fact of much of the world previous to the Abrahamic religions.

Above pictured are one scene embossed on the Gundestrup Cauldron depicting the Horned God, found in Denmark and dating to well over two-thousand years old,[lxxv] and the Indus Valley/Sarasvati Pasupati Seal (ca. 2300 BCE).[lxxvi] Note that the animals surrounding the horned figure are facing the same directions relative to the central figure in both, and that the yoga posture Moolabandhasana is not shown so well-executed in the European version of the seal, so far from the Indus Valley/Sarasvati and India. This “Horned God” was rendered as “the Devil” by the Abrahamic religions.

According to sanAtana dharma/“Hinduism,” the greatest expression of the Goddess Mother of the Universe is known as Devi Lalitha, and She is as much brahman (“God”/True Being) as are Shiva and Vishnu. “God” Creator, Maintainer and Destroyer, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, are generally shown beneath Her and bowing before Her, else with Shiva reclining on Her bed appearing rather like a little boy else a tiny man, as She is greater than all of the other Devas and Devis. Lalitha is the Goddess of Play, and is Maha Shakti, Her Who Is All Power. Without Her, the Devas are powerless. The concept of Shakti is at least echoed by the modern American adage, “Behind every great man is a greater woman.” The Lalitha Sahasranama expounds a thousand sacred names of the Goddess of Play, Her who is All Power, Her who is the essence of the Divine Feminine.

Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva bow before Lalitha (public domain)[lxxvii]

Lalitha is insulted as “Lilith” in the Jewish and Christian traditions, as according to their tellings Lilith was supposed to be Adam's wife but would not submit to him as greater, and she was thus exiled to the desert and rendered a “demon,” cursed to copulate with and give birth to thousands of demons each day, according to one of the nastiest myths about Lilith (“nasty” is likely of Sanskrit origin: naSTa mfn. lost, disappeared, perished, destroyed … spoiled, damaged, corrupted, wasted, unsuccessful, fruitless, in vain; 1 nAsti not, there is not; n. non-existence mfn. incorporeal; m. assertion of non-existence, atheism; 2 naSTi f. loss, destruction, ruin[lxxviii]). I ought note, by Her Nature as Goddess of Play and from what I know of Her, Devi Lalitha has certainly had a ball with that one!

Devi, the Goddess Mother of the Universe, is praised in Book 10, Hymn 125 of the Rig Veda, the most ancient scripture in the world, as Her that upholds men and Gods and the whole of existence, a rather stark contrast to the Abrahamic portrayals of the ancient Divine Feminine and of women generally. This hymn is called the Vac Suktam (vac, root to “vocal,” etc., suktam means hymn) or Devīsūktam, the “Goddess mantra” of the Rig Veda.

HYMN CXXV. Vāk

1. I TRAVEL with the Rudras and the Vasus, with the Ādityas and All-Gods I wander.

I hold aloft both Varuṇa and Mitra, Indra and Agni, and the Pair of Aśvins.

2 I cherish and sustain high-swelling Soma, and Tvaṣṭar I support, Pūṣan, and Bhaga.

I load with wealth the zealous sacrificer who pours the juice and offers his oblation

3 I am the Queen, the gatherer-up of treasures, most thoughtful, first of those who merit worship. Thus Gods have stablished me in many places with many homes to enter and abide in.

4 Through me alone all eat the food that feeds them, each man who sees, breathes, hears the word outspoken. They know it not, but yet they dwell beside me. Hear, one and all, the truth as I declare it.

5 I, verily, myself announce and utter the word that Gods and men alike shall welcome.

I make the man I love exceeding mighty, make him a sage, a Ṛṣi, and a Brahman.

6 I bend the bow for Rudra that his arrow may strike and slay the hater of devotion.

I rouse and order battle for the people, and I have penetrated Earth and Heaven.

7 On the world's summit I bring forth the Father: my home is in the waters, in the ocean.

Thence I extend o’er all existing creatures, and touch even yonder heaven with my forehead.

8 I breathe a strong breath like the wind and tempest, the while I hold together all existence. Beyond this wide earth and beyond the heavens I have become so mighty in my grandeur.[lxxix]

So to recap, I am essentially theorizing that: Abraham’s original appellation given him by “Yahweh” (Lord Yama and his priest Yahva Agni) was “Abrahman,” which means “unfaithful one” or “atheist” in Sanskrit; the Jewish and Christian God Yahweh is actually a refiguration of Yama, the Lord of Death and Hell and Judge of the Dead (along with his friend and priest Lord “Yahva” Agni), according to the religion of Abraham's forefathers and most of Asia (and indeed, to at least some tribes living in the Americas), known as Hades to the Greeks. The Judeo-Christian “Devil” is actually a bastardization or inversion of the God (and Goddess) that much if not most of the ancient world worshiped, the Horned God, the God of Nature, Shiva, the God Abraham's tribe worshiped before Abraham and his crew broke with his kin and left Ur and the tribes of his “Hindu” kin and the religion of sanAtana dharma (“Hinduism”), circa 1900 BCE; Devi Lalitha, Her to whom God the Creator, Maintainer and Destroyer all bow before, was rendered as the demon Lilith; and Hebrew and thus modern circumcision generally originated from an archaic incest taboo rite!! Rather mind-boggling if not paradigm shattering concepts to wrap your thoughts around, at least if one's perspective is constructed from a Jewish, Christian or Islamic background.

14^th Century Chinese depiction of Lord Yama[lxxx]

The following description of Lord Yama seems rather like the “Judgment Seat of God” the Hebrews and Christians talk about, does it not? (except that the Christians tout the Judge of the Dead as residing “up in heaven,” and generally leave out the possibility of reincarnation):

He is the god of departed spirits and judge of the dead. A soul when it quits its mortal form repairs to his abode in the lower regions; there the recorder, Chitragupta, reads out his account from the great register called Agrasandhani, and a just sentence follows, when the soul either ascends to the abodes of the Pitris (Manes) [ancestors], or is sent to one of the twenty-one hells according to its guilt, or it is born again on earth in another form.[lxxxi]

The Realm of the Pitrs (“fathers”/ancestors), the Pitṛloka, might be the place Christians refer to as “Heaven,” as indeed in said realm one does get to be in the company of the ancestors, and Yama is the Lord of that heaven realm. According to the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon description of Yama,[lxxxii] “in the Veda he is called a king or . . . ‘the gatherer of men,' and rules over the departed fathers [pitr means “father”] in heaven.”[lxxxiii] The twenty-one hells as touted by sanAtana dharma might correspond in whatever guise to the 22 layers of the Mayan worldview, with an Underworld, Xibalba with its nine layers (the which arrayal is perhaps somehow echoed or otherwise presented in Dante's “Nine Circles of Hell”) and then thirteen Heaven Realms. Regardless, an ancient and relatively cohesive and united if diversified narrative is the framework for nigh all the world's religions, and Lord Yama or varied figurations of him are known nigh globally, even in the pre-Columbian Americas. The Dene of northern Canada revere Yamba Deja (Yama Deva?) as the creator of Dene Law,[lxxxiv] and the Sanskrit word yama translates as “righteous restraint” and as “any rule or observance,” as well as referring to the name of the Lord of Death and Hell. The Mayan God of Death is Yum Kimil, quite definitively analogous to two of the Hindu God of Death’s names Lord Yama and Kala (or Tamil kAlam, “time of death”). One of the most ancient tribes in the Americas, the yamana tribe’s name means either “man” or “alive” or “not dead.” From the Yamana English Dictionary of the Speech of Tierra Del Fuego:

Yamana yamana s. By this term the Yaghan tribe distinguished themselves from all other natives who spoke a different language as well as from all foreign peoples this term primarily means Humanity. Human, pertaining to mankind, alive, sensible, not dead …[lxxxv]

Sanskrit Yama the god of death, death[lxxxvi]

na ind. not, no, nor, neither[lxxxvii] [often applied as a suffix to mean not this or that]

yamana mf(%{I})n. restraining, governing, managing VS.; m. the god Yama[lxxxviii]

The Yamhela are one of the Kalapuya peoples of the Pacific Northwest, doubly evincing that those people were connected to Lord Yama, who is also known as Kala. The Yemasee (“Yvmvse”) Indians of Georgia (Muscogee language group) are quite likely named after Deva Yama, else after other definitions of the Sanskrit term yama:

Muscogee/Mvskoke Yamasee/yvmvse tame[lxxxix]

Sanskrit yama m. a rein, curb, bridle RV. v, 61, . . . the act of checking or curbing, suppression, restraint (with %{vAcAm}, restraint of words, silence) ... self-control forbearance, any great moral rule or . . . (in Yoga) self-restraint (as the first of the eight Angas or means of attaining mental concentration) … any rule or observance...[xc]

Indeed, by this very rational interpretation of the religion and myths of Judaism as stemming from a break with the religion of Abraham's ancestors, who were “Hindu” (though again, not a term generally used until about a thousand years ago), it appears that primary to the project of the Abrahamic religions has been to invert or otherwise challenge the paradigm of Abraham's ancestors. Thus the Lord of Death and Hell, Yama, in concert with his priest and friend “Yahva” Agni, is elevated to figuring as “God” Yahweh to the Hebrews and Christians, and brahman, Pasupati/Shiva (and Vishnu and the Mother, etc.), God to Abraham's ancestors, the God of Nature known as “The Horned God” in Europe, is rendered as “the Devil/the Lord of Hell” by this inverted paradigm, and Lalitha, the ancient Goddess Mother who Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, God the Creator, Maintainer and Destroyer all bow before, is rendered as the “whore” or “demon” Lilith, inversions that likely assumed such starkly dualistic form via Zoroastrian Persia or in Mesopotamia before being embraced by Judaism and later by Christianity as part of their Abrahman-ic programs.

Though sounding rather nefarious, this inversion is perhaps to be characterized as an early attempt to construct a means to deal with the question, so prominent in this age, “To Be or not to Be,” brahman or Abrahman, and to deal with the propensity for discourse to fall into stupid dualism. With Yama (Sanskrit “righteous restraint”) and the recordkeeper Chitragupta in concert with Yahva Agni (“active purifying fire”) as “God Yahweh,” and Shiva (Sanskrit "auspicious, propitious, gracious, benign, kind, benevolent, friendly"[xci]) rendered as “the Devil” and Lalitha (Goddess of Play) figured as “the demon” or “whore” Lilith, the Devas still have both ends of the dualistic duel in hand. A much healthier arrayal of this question, however, a more peaceful and honest deployal of this oxymoronic yet pivotal query is certainly as played by Hinduism and Buddhism touting brahman and Abrahman, respectively. Regardless, both these lila (plays) of “To Be or not to Be” can be perceived as stratagems to channel the dualistic impetus of the Kali Yuga into manageable constructions, as architectonic socio-cultural artifices somehow (by Someone?) devised to deal with the nature of humans in this Age when we are said to maintain only one-quarter of the intelligence and understanding of humans at our best (three Ages ago, according to the teachings of sanAtana dharma). Thus, there is a trinity of the Abrahamic/Abrahman-ic religions which end up as counter-balances to each other, dualistic oppositions arranged in a triad, which effectively cancels out much of the potential damages done by such binary-oppositionalism by distributing such dualistic impetuses into triple categories.

It might be seen that these political, religious and socio-cultural constructions are indeed devised else at least managed by “the Divine,” by “the play of the Gods” (again, whether “the Gods”/“God” be merely us, extra-terrestrial mentors, or even a “biological imperative,” or no) to prevent the self-other/“us vs. them” dichotomies from utterly destroying humanity in our most dumbed-down state. To allow Yama/Yahva to be called “God” and Shiva to be rendered “the Devil” rather ensures that righteousness will be maintained, regardless of the fictitious nature of that inversion, as Lord Yama’s very name means “righteous restraint,” and Maha Deva Shiva is Most Compassionate and Playful, as is Devi Lalitha. “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players,” as are all the Gods and Goddesses. All beings are players in this Grand lila, this Play that lasts lifetimes and ages long and that is ALREADY ETERNITY.

Those things noted and all further critical and self-critical analyses aside, the rather dishonest inversion played by the Abrahamic religions, the turning of the Lord of Hell into “God” and contingent rendering of God Shiva, the God of Nature, as “the Devil,” and the Great Mother Devi Lalitha not so subtly slandered as the “demon Lilith,” does deserve to be outed, to be unveiled for the world to critically consider. As Jesus who is called Christ is said to have said, “The truth shall set you free!”

[i] Ernest John Henry Mackay, “Indus pottery figure of horned deity,” Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain, January 1, 1935, uploaded March 12, 2022, accessed April 2, 2023, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indus_pottery_figure_of_horned_deity.jpg.

[ii] Subhash Kak, “Was Aristotle's Claims of Indian Origins of the Jews True?” Swarajya, November 27, 2015, .https://swarajyamag.com/culture/was-aristotles-claim-of-indian-origin-of-jews-true.

[iii] “Yama-Hinduism,” Wikipedia, 23 April 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yama_(Hinduism).

[iv] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “el,” accessed September 26, 2025, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[v] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “yahva,” accessed May 3, 2021, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[vi] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “yahva,” accessed August 11, 2025, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/yahva.

[vii] Ibid.

[viii] “List of fire deities,” Wikipedia, last edited May24, 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fire_deities

[ix] Sidhartha Bahadur, “Yahvah - God in Indian Veda, same as ‘Jehovah’ of the Hebrews?” Radha Name News, May 15, 2018, https://www.radha.name/news/general-news/yahvah-god-in-indian-veda-same-as-jehovah-of-the-hebrews.

[x] Aria Nasi, “Squaring of the Circle: Fitting Infinity into the Finite,” Aria Nasi Research, February 19, 2015, https://nasiresearch.com/2015/02/19/squaring-of-the-circle-fitting-infinity-into-the-finite/?_wpnonce=a127907894&like_comment=251.

[xi] Srkris, “Yajna1,” Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain, September 16, 2009, accessed March 19, 2023, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yajna1.jpg.

[xii] “Illustration from Brockhaus and Efron Jewish Encyclopedia (1906—1913),” Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain (PD-Russia-1996), accessed March 19, 2023, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brockhaus_and_Efron_Jewish_Encyclopedia_e2_023-0.jpg.

[xiii] Arjunkrishna90, “Tripura Sundari on Pancha Brahma Asana,” digital image, Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0, accessed February 22, 2022, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tripura_sundari_4.jpg.

[xiv] “Preta Loka,” Yogapedia, last updated: December 21, 2023, https://www.yogapedia.com/definition/10466/preta-loka.

[xv] Hassnain, 6-10.

[xvi] Atarax42, “Anahata chakra,” Digital Image, Wikimedia Commons, July 28, 2014, accessed May 2021, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chakra4.svg.

[xvii] Shalom3, “David Star With Hebrew Word Chai,” Digital Image, CanStockPhoto, accessed and purchased rights June 2016, https://www.canstockphoto.com/david-star-with-hebrew-word-chai-69891121.html.

[xviii] Rainbow Warrior, “Brahma and Abraham: Covenants of Common Origin.”

[xix] Ibid.

[xx] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “kala,” accessed August 29, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[xxi] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “ni,” accessed September 17, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[xxii] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “kalan,” accessed February 20,2024, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/kalan.

[xxiii] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “kalani,” accessed February 20,2024, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/kalani.

[xxiv] “Shikaripura Ranganatha Rao,” Wikipedia, Last edited March 14, 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shikaripura_Ranganatha_Rao.

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[xxxvii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

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[xl] “Yoga-Vasistha English Translation,” translated by Vihari Lala Mitra (1891), edited by Thomas L. Palotas (2013), UpasanaYoga, accessed October 31, 2022, http://upasanayoga.org/docs/YVas.htm#Ch%203.30.

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[li] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “n” s.v. “fire,” accessed April 3, 2025, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

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[liv] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “p” s.v. “fire,” accessed August 29, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[lv] Shoshone Dictionary, The University of Utah Shoshone Language Project, s.v. “fire,” accessed November 17, 2024, https://shoshoniproject.utah.edu/language-materials/shoshoni-dictionary/dictionary.php?sho_search=&english_search=fire&search=Search.

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[lvii] “kǫ̀,” Wiktionary, last edited January 26, 2026, accessed March 16, 2026, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/k%C7%AB%CC%80

[lviii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “k” s.v. “fire,” accessed August 29, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[lix] “Northern Paiute,” Languages of hunter-gatherers and their neighbors, accessed April 3, 2025, https://huntergatherer.la.utexas.edu/languages/language/11.

[lx] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “k” s.v. “fire,” accessed August 29, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[lxi] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. English “fire” prefix “kat,” accessed February 24, 2025, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[lxii] Allen J. Christenson, “K’ICHE’ - ENGLISH DICTIONARY and GUIDE TO PRONUNCIATION OF THE K’ICHE’-MAYA ALPHABET,” Brigham Young University, accessed May 21, 2026, https://www.famsi.org/mayawriting/dictionary/christenson/quidic_complete.pdf.

[lxiii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “kat” English s.v. “fire,” accessed May 21, 2026, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[lxiv] Ibid., s.v. prefix “t” “fire.”

[lxv] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “d” English s.v. “fire,” accessed February 24, 2025, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[lxvi] “Vocabulary in Native American Languages: Angaite Words,” Native Languages, accessed March 18, 2026, https://www.native-languages.org/angaite_words.htm.

[lxvii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. English “fire” prefix “d,” accessed February 24, 2025, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[lxviii] Mapuche-English Dictionary, InterPatagonia, accessed February 24, 2025, https://www.interpatagonia.com/index_i.html.

[lxix] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. English “fire” prefix “p,” accessed February 24, 2025, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[lxx] See R. Lowe Thompson, The History of the Devil - The Horned God of the West - Magic and Worship (London: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1929).

[lxxi] “Native American Legends: Apistotoke,” Native Languages of the Americas, accessed February 21, 2023, http://www.native-languages.org/apistotoke.htm.

[lxxii] Scott Catron, “Hunt Scene petroglyph along Nine-Mile Canyon National Backcountry Byway, near Price, Utah,” Wikimedia Commons, CC 3.0, May 14, 2006, accessed March 16, 2023, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HuntSceneNMC.JPG.

[lxxiii] “Daeva,” Wikipedia, last edited April 28, 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daeva.

[lxxiv] Joobin Bekhrad, “The obscure religion that shaped the West,” BBC.com, April 6, 2017, https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20170406-this-obscure-religion-shaped-the-west.

[lxxv] Nationalmuseet, Roberto Fortuna og Kira Ursem, “Gundestrupkedlen,” Digital Image, Wikimedia Commons, 2007, accessed June 23, 2021, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gundestrupkedlen-_00054_(cropped).jpg.

[lxxvi] Aavindraa, “The Pashupati seal, showing a seated and possibly tricephalic figure, surrounded by animals; circa 2350-2000 BCE,” Digital Image, Wikimedia Commons, November 11, 2010, accessed June 24, 2021, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shiva_Pashupati.jpg.

[lxxvii] “Devi Bhagvat Ki Pramukh Kathayein देवी भगवत की प्रमुख कथाएँ Scans excerpted from number 1647 of Geeta Press, Gorakhpur, Subhead and Matra collated, देवी भगवत की प्रमुख कथाए,” digital image, Astrology and Vaastu Center, February 19, 2012, http://jyotishgurgaon.blogspot.com/2012/02/devi-bhagvat-ki-pramukh-kathayein.html.

[lxxviii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “nasti,” accessed March 1, 2021, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[lxxix] “Rig Veda, HYMN CXXV. Vāk,” Sacred Texts, tr. by Ralph T.H. Griffith, [1896], accessed 2/23/2023, https://sacred-texts.com/hin/rigveda/rv10125.htm.

[lxxx] By ColBase: 国立博物館所蔵品統合検索システム (Integrated Collections Database of the National Museums, Japan), CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=88353113

[lxxxi] “Yama,” Encyclopedia for Epics of Ancient India, accessed May 5, 2021, http://www.mythfolklore.net/india/encyclopedia/yama.htm.

[lxxxii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “yama,” accessed March 1, 2021, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[lxxxiii] Ibid.

[lxxxiv] “Nahanni National Park Reserve,” Parks Canada, Government of Canada, accessed July 9, 2021, https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/nt/nahanni/info.

[lxxxv] Rev. Thomas Bridges, A DICTIONARY OF THE SPEECH OF TIERRA DEL FUEGO,” Ensayos Tierra Del Fuego, accessed July 7, 2025, https://ensayostierradelfuego.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/YAMANA-ENGLISH-A-DICTIONARY-OF-THE-SPEECH-OF-TIERRA-DEL-FUEGO-Rev.-Thomas-Bridges.pdf.

[lxxxvi] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “yama,” accessed July 7, 2025, https://www.sanskrit-lexico.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[lxxxvii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “na,” accessed August 1, 2022, https://www.sanskrit-lexico.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[lxxxviii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “yamana,” accessed August 1, 2022, https://www.sanskrit-lexico.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[lxxxix] “Mvskoke Word List Y,” Muscogee Nation, Muscogee (Creek) Nation 2016, accessed August 1, 2022, https://www.muscogeenation.com/word-list-y/.

[xc] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “yama,” accessed August 1, 2022, https://www.sanskrit-lexico.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[xci] “Shiva,” Wikipedia, last edited October 10, 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiva.

Excerpt from "'God' is Really the Lord of Hell and 'the Devil' is Really God?!" a chapter in the volume titled To Be or Not To Be... brahman or Abrahman / The World Turned Upside-Down

2026-01-02T09:27:00.003-07:00

“God” is Really the Lord of Hell and “the Devil” is Really God?!

To simply state the gist of the theory to be presented in the following, the Hebrews were originally “Hindus,” or at least Abraham’s tribe was before Abraham’s break with the religion of his forefathers, before Abraham's tribe left the place and religion of their ancestors and traveled west to Palestine, as was touted by Aristotle and many other ancient and recent historians and thinkers and a theory many yet espouse outside of the official Western religio-historical establishment. The Hebrew god “Yahweh,” with whom Abraham made a covenant upon breaking ties with his ancestral religion, bears many similarities to and is likely derived from/is the same being as Deva Yama, the Hindu/Buddhist/Asian Lord of Death and Hell and Judge of the Dead (more or less as was known in Europe as “Hades,” among other appellations), in concert with Yama’s priest Deva Agni, the god of fire, who is called “yahva” in the Rig Veda, the most ancient scriptures in the world. Abrahman means “unfaithful one” or “without brahman [‘God’]” in Sanskrit, and according to Hinduism, Lord Yama is in charge of those who do not know brahman, of those who are Abrahman.

In the Rig Veda, the God of Fire Lord Agni is praised as “yahva” twenty-one times. According to Hinduism, “Yama is closely associated with Agni in the Rigveda. Agni is both Yama's friend and priest...” The Sanskrit word agni, by the way, is whence the English word “ignition” is derived. Yahweh of the Hebrew religion is thus not unlikely something of a multiform expression of both Lord Yama, Lord of Death and Hell and Judge of the Dead, and Yama’s Priest, the God of Fire Lord Agni, called yahva in the Sanskrit of the Rig Veda, very much like how El and Yahweh were originally separate deities that later became one in the Hebrew tradition. El in the Semitic languages means “might, strength or power,” not unlikely derived from the Tamil El, “1. lustre, splendour, light; 2. sun; 3. sunshine; 4. day time; 5. day of 24 hours; 6. vehemence; strength.” From the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon and the online Wisdom Library, yahva is defined as:

yahva restless, swift, active (applied to Agni, Indra and Soma) RV.; continually moving or flowing . . . m. . . . a sacrificer . . . f. du. heaven and earth RV. ; pl. the flowing waters . . . the seven great rivers . . .

Yahva (यह्व).—a. Ved. 1) Great, powerful. 2) Active, restless, continually moving. -m. An employer of priests for sacrifices

Yahva (यह्व).—m. (-hvaḥ) A sacrificer, an institutor of sacrifices.

As noted in chapter 1, the Hebrews might be understood as “Fire Worshippers” in terms of their devotion to “Yahweh,” a name almost certainly derived from the Sanskrit yahva, an appellation or adjective never applied to Yama, but is in fact most often applied to Yama’s priest and friend Agni in the Rig Veda. The name Agni is also found in any number of words for “fire” nigh globally, and many fire gods as well as words for fire worldwide are likewise directly related to the Sanskrit word/name agni. else to other Sanskrit terms for fire or “fire god.”

Ognebog/Ogne/Ogni is the Slavic god of fire. Ognyena Maria is the Slavic “Fiery Maria,” an assistant to the Sky-god Perun (one of Hindu sky god Indra’s names is Purandara). The ancient Albanian fire god is Enji, acknowledged by the academy as directly related to the Hindu Agni (often the order of consonants or even entire syllables get switched around as a word is expressed in another tongue). In the Lithuanian tradition, "šventa ugnis" means “holy fire” (Sanskrit svanta/svAnta means n. `\" seat of the Ego \"\', the heart … m. `\" heart-born \"\' , love … mfn. having a heart … mfn. being in the heart … auspicious, fortunate … n. the heart (as the dominion of the self) ) Latin for fire is ignis, and thus the English “ignition,” from Sanskrit agni. The Akkadian and Babylonian god of fire is Girra, close to the Sanskrit gRhya, “m. the house-fire.” The West African Yoruba peoples’ deities Ogun (fire god, god of metalwork) and Aggayu (volcano god) are almost certainly related to the Sanskrit agni. The English name Agnes means “pure,” implying the purification of fire. Etruscan fire/sun god Śuri is not from agni, though is quite obviously related to the Hindu Surya/Sura, Sun god of the Hindu tradition. Similarly, the Norse god of fire, Logi, related to the Middle High German word lohe, though by some slightest chance might be anciently related to the name agni would be more likely related to the Sanskrit word lohitAzva (mfn. having or driving red horses … m. fire … N. of Siva). Logi was a jötunn (Old Norse jǫtunn, Sanskrit jaTin m. an ascetic), a type of being compared to gods, dwarves, elves and giants, who are also called risi (Old Norse for giant; Sanskrit RSi m. holy singer, poet, saint, sage, hermit, a Rishi, Tamil riSi sage, saint ). The Slavic fire and metalworking god Svarog was touted by some to have originally been a sky-god, and thus his name is directly related to a name of Indra, “Svaraj,” to the heaven of Indra, Svarga/Svarga-Loka, and to the Sanskrit root svar generally.

The fire etymology was one of the first to be proposed by the Slovene linguist Franc Miklošič (1875), who explained the theonym Svarog as consisting of the stem svar ('heat', 'light') and the suffix -og. The stem svar itself was derived from an earlier *sur "shining" .

Some researchers, including Aleksander Brückner[9] and Vatroslav Jagić,[10] have suggested that the name stemmed from the word svar meaning "argument, disagreement", or the verb svariti "to quarrel".

Sanskrit svar … the sun, sunshine, light, lustre … bright space or sky, heaven …

svarAj mfn. (nom. %{-rAT}) self-ruling m. a self-ruler … mfn. self-resplendent, self-luminous … m. N. of Brahma1 … of Vishnu-Krishna …of a Manu … of one of the 7 principal rays of the sun

Svārāj (स्वाराज्).—i.e. svar-rāj, m. Indra.

svari mfn. noisy, boisterous RV.

Svarita a. sounded, accented

svaritR mfn. sounding, noisy, loud, boisterous

The Slavic god of the Underworld is known as Viy, Ny, Peklabog, Nija, Nyja, Pekla, Pekelnybog, Pekollo, Pekollos, Pikollos, Peklos, Poklos, Peklo, Pieklo, Pekelle, Pikiello, Patello, Patelo, Patala. “Ny is the god of the underworld who acts as psychopomp, that is to say the guide of the souls into the underworld. He is associated with subterranean fire and water, snakes and earthquakes.” One of Lord Yama’s names is Pavaka, “One who purifies.” The Sanskrit word for the Underworld is Patala. In fact, all of these names of the Slavic Underworld god/psychopomp seem very likely to have been derived from or are otherwise closely related to various Sanskrit words (Sanskrit definitions from Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon ):

Slavic Viy

Sanskrit Vah (वह्).— 1) To carry, lead, bear, convey, transport 2) To bear along, cause to move onward, waft, propel 3) To fetch, bring 4) To bear, support, hold up, sustain 5) To carry off; take away

Slavic Ny

Sanskrit nI, nayati, -te , pp. {nIta3} 1 lead, guide, conduct, direct (l. & [[-,]] f.); carry away, remove; draw near, attract; bring to or into (acc., esp. of an abstr., {prati}, dat., or loc.); M. (A.) lead home … take the lead, head (gen.); w. {daNDam} bear the rod, i.e. inflict punishment; w. an adv. in {sAt} reduce to or change into, e.g. {bhasmasAt}; w. {zUdratAm} make a person (acc.) a €u1dra; {samatAm} make equal; w. {duHkham} make unhappy. pain; w. {pritoSam} gratify; w. {kSayam} destroy (cf. {I} & {gam}). C. {nAyayati} cause a person or thing to be led or carried away by (instr.) to (acc.). D. {ni3nISati, -te} be willing to lead etc., to carry off, to bring into (acc.); to find out or ascertain. I. {nenIya3te} lead away as a captive, have power of (acc.). -- {accha} lead near or towards (acc.). {ati} lead over or beyond (acc.); … {apa} lead or take away, put off, remove. … {abhi} lead near or towards (acc.); fetch, procure; represent, act, perform (d.). {ava} lead down, push or put into … {abhyava} lead down or pour into (acc.). {vyava} pour out singly… {A} lead or bring near, fetch, cause; lead or bring towards or into (acc., w. {kzam} subject, subdue), lead or bring back ({ñpunar}); pour in, mix; offer, sacrifice. … {upA} lead or bring near, draw towards (acc.); get or cause to (gen. of pers. & acc. of th.); lead away, carry off. … {samA} conduct together, gather, collect; lay together (the hands); conduct towards, … lead off ({vadhAMya} to death); … carry off, lead away… lead away… {pra} bring forwards, lead further, promote; convey (r.); conduct or take to (M. to one\'s self), present, offer; bring or reduce to (a state); employ, inflict (punishment); … {saMpra} bring together, collect, raise (taxes); employ, inflict (punishment)

Slavic Nija, Nyja

Sanskrit nijur f. singeing, burning, destroying by fire RV. ii, 29, 6.

nijur f. burning, consuming.

nijUrv P. %{-jUrvati} , to consume by fire RV.

Slavic Peklabog, Pekla, Pekelnybog, Pekollo, Pekollos, Pikollos, Peklos, Poklos, Peklo, Pieklo, Pekelle, Pikiello

Sanskrit pakS cl. 1. and 10. P. (Dha1tup. xvii, 14; xxxii, 17) %{pakSati}, %{-Sayati}, to take, seize

pakva mf(%{A}) n. (considered as p.p. of 2. %{pac}; cf. Pa1n2. 8-2, 52) cooked roasted, baked, boiled, prepared on a fire … baked or burnt (as bricks or earthenware pots) … ripe, mature (lit. and fig.) RV. … accomplished, perfect, fully developed (as the understanding, character &c.) MBh. BhP. ; ripe for decay, near to death, decrepit, perishing, decaying ib. ; digested W. ; n. cooked food , dish RV. AV. S3Br.; ripe corn AV. ; the ashes of a burnt corpse ib.

pakal 1. dividing, separating; 2. middle; 3. middle position, impartiality;

pAkala a. quite black. (Lord Yama is said to be and depicted as black/dark complected)

pAvaka mf(%{A4})n. pure, clear, bright, shining RV. VS. AV. (said of Agni, Surya and other gods, of water, day and night &c.; according to native Comms. it is mostly = %{sodhaka} \"\', cleansing, purifying \"\') ; m. N. of a partic. Agni (in the Puranas said to be a son of Agni Abhimanin and Svaha or of Autardha1na and Sikhandini1) TS. TBr. Ka1tyS3r. Pur.; (ifc. f. %{A}) fire or the god of fire Up. MBh. Ka1v. &c.; N. of the number 3 (like all words for `\" fire \"\', because fire is of three kinds see %{agni}) Suryas.; a kind of Rishi, a saint, a person purified by religious abstraction or one who purified from sin

Slavic Patello, Patelo, Patala

Sanskrit pAtAla n. (rarely m.; ifc. f. %{A}; perhaps fr. 2. %{pAta} as %{antarAla} fr. %{antar}; cf. Un2. i, 116) one of the 7 regions under the earth and the abode of the Nagas or serpents and demons … sometimes used as a general N. for the lower regions or hells; in MBh. also N. of a town in the serpent-world) … an excavation, hole in the earth MBh.; the submarine fire

As a sidenote, there is an archaeological site in Peru called Patallacta, very possibly indicating that thereabouts was the Hindu “Underworld” realm known as Patala/Patala Loka/Patal Loka. According to the generally accepted name origin of Patallacta: “Patallacta (possibly from Quechua pata elevated place / above, at the top / edge, bank (of a river), shore, llaqta place (village, town, city, country, nation).” As noted in the definition above, there was/is a town in the “serpent-world” known as Patala. If Patallacta happened to be a placename of Sanskrit origin, it would correspond rather succinctly to the Sanskrit/Hindu placename Patala-Loka (Patala “one of the 7 regions under the earth and the abode of the Nagas or serpents … a general N. for the lower regions … also N. of a town in the serpent-world”); loka (free or open space, room, place, scope, free motion … a tract, region, district, country, province. Loka is root to the English location, local, etc.). Though the Quechua “pata” translates as “above, at the top,” the Sanskrit pata generally indicates downward (pAta m. flying, flight; fall, downfall), as Patala is “the Underworld” to Bharat/India, further “down” than Naraka-Loka (“Hell”). In Tamil paTa is “a particle of comparison.” From the perspective of someone in Patala, up and down are inverted in relation to the perspective of someone on the opposite side of the globe. The direction that is “down” to someone in Eurasia is “up” to someone on the other side of the globe in the Americas/Patala, thus pata and Patala are down to someone in India, whereas pata and the land called Patala are “up” or “above” the ground, and above Naraka-Loka, “Hell,” to someone in a land once called Patala that existed in Peru, the Americas generally and thereabout, the “Underworld” to Eurasia and Africa. Recall the quote in chapter 1 from the Yoga Vasisthana,

To return to the discussion of Yahva Agni and fire, traces of Sanskrit and Tamil words for fire are rife in Native American Indian words for fire. Quechua word for fire nina might correspond to the Sanskrit nidah (nidah P. … to burn down, consume by fire ). Lakota word for fire pȟéta is phonetically close to the Sanskrit vidah (P. %{-dahati}, to burn up, scorch, consume or destroy by fire ), else is perhaps more likely related to pAtha (m. = %{patha} g. %{jvalA7di} ; fire L. ; the sun L ). Shoshone ku', kukki, kukkwe, kuna", kuna-I, kottooppeh, and any number of other Shoshone words for or related to fire beginning with ku or ko, would possibly correspond to the Sanskrit ka, kaNa, kuNDa, kukkuTa, etc., and Tamil kanal, kuTai-tal, kutapa, etc., and any number of other Sanskrit and Tamil words related to fire beginning with ka, ko and ku. The Cahuilla word for fire is kú-t. The Paiute words for fire are ku'su or ko'so, quite close to Sanskrit kuSAku. The Lenape word for fire is tentey, and the Huichol tatewari is the fire god of shamans, both Native American words for fire that are very possibly derived from Tamil words related to fire such as taNal, taNTilam, taTTai, tImaTu-ttal, etc. Hopi words for fire are uuwingwa, likely from Agni, and qööhi, göahi or qööhi, phonetically close to Tamil words for fire kocci or koLLi. Iroquois katsista is rather close to the Sanskrit kuSAku and Tamil kataz-tal, kaTaiyanal final deluge of fire, kATAkkini 1. great fire, conflagration; 2. a strong fire, kaTTazal “raging fire,” kASTAkkini, kuTai-tal, and other Tamil words for fire beginning with kat. The Mapuche (Chile and Argentina) word for fire is petrehue, quite similar to and likely derived from/related to a number of Sanskrit and Tamil words :

Sanskrit pAtha m. = %{patha} g. %{jvalA7di} ; fire L. ; the sun L. ; n. water L.

pAtraTira (?) m. (only L.) an ex-minister (W. `\" an able or competent minister \"\') ; a metal vessel; mucus running from the nose; rust of iron ; fire

pItu m. who drinks or dries up \"\' , the sun or fire

Tamil piramam 01 1. the supreme being; 2. Brahma1; 3. Vis2n2u; 4. Siva; 5. sun; 6. moon; 7. fire

pAtha m. = %{patha} g. %{jvalAdi} ; fire L. ; the sun L. ; n. water L

pItan 1. sun; 2. fire

pItu 1. sun; 2. fire; 3. chief elephant in a herd

In Australian aboriginal languages, there are more than a few likely Sanskrit or Tamil related words for fire, such as Nyoongar language karla, karlak, kalla or kaarl and Warumungu karrarlarla (Tamil kAlavam fire; karka mf(%{I4})n. … good, excellent … m. a white horse … fire; kaRkam 02 1. water jar; 2. white horse; 3. Fire; karugkal 1. boulder of black rock, large granite stone; 2. flint for striking fire; karuku-tal 1. to be scorched, scarred; to blacken by fire or the sun; koLLi 1. fire), Luritja waru and Warlpiri warlu (Sanskrit vArUDhA f. (only L.) fire; Tamil vaRu-ttal 1. to dry, grill, fry, parch, toast [-ttal indicates the preceding word is a verbal noun]), Guugu Yimidhirr yugu (yajJa m. worship, devotion, prayer, praise; act of worship or devotion, offering, oblation, sacrifice … a worshipper, sacrificer … fire), Wiradjuri wiiny (Sanskrit vahni m. … the conveyer or bearer of oblations to the gods (esp. said of Agni, `\" fire \"\', or of the three sacrificial fires see … partic. fire … fire in general or `\" the god of fire \"\'; vani f. wish, desire AV. m. fire; vinirdah P. %{-dahati}, to burn completely, consume by fire), Bundjalung bidi (vidah P. %{-dahati}, to burn up, scorch, consume or destroy by fire, vidheya mfn. … to be kindled (as fire)), Arabana maka (Tamil makAvIram 2. sacrificial fire; makAvIran 1. fire-god; makAccuvAlam a sacrificial fire; makAkkini sacrificial fire; makAnalam sacrificial fire), etc. Australia has certainly had contact with India and Southeast Asia for thousands of years, and the above examples of Sanskrit and Tamil related words in Aboriginal languages are not particularly exceptional.

Suffice it to say, Deva Agni, the “Hindu” god of fire, as well as other Sanskrit and Tamil words for fire, are echoed in words for fire and the names of fire gods and goddesses globally. Agni, called “Yahva” in the Rig Veda, the most ancient scripture in the world, was known in many places by many peoples globally, and as Yahva Agni is friend and priest to Lord Yama, he is very likely a significant part of the origins of the construction of the Hebrew god “Yahweh.”

That the Hebrews were very much into fire sacrifices before their temple was finally destroyed, “burnt offerings” and such, further indicates more than a resonance with the Sanskrit term yahva, as one of the meanings of yahva is “a sacrificer,” and Deva “yahva” Agni is the God of Fire, priest of Lord Yama. The Rig Veda even uses Yahva as a name for Agni in at least one case, and not merely as an adjective.

____________________________________________

To read the rest of the chapter, go to:

https://karma-dharma-bhutadaya.blogspot.com/2016/12/god-is-really-lord-of-hell-and-devil-is.html

or you can buy the whole book at https://shop.ingramspark.com/b/084?params=K7nn9bRJdcdJedko61wDnWBM8zzJOvCImypfzIaksFt else the e-book version at Barnes and Noble...

Excerpts from "To Be or Not To Be...brahman or Abrahman / The World Turned Upside-Down" . . . Evidence of Ancient Transpacific Contact

2026-01-01T14:24:00.000-07:00

There is a great deal of linguistic evidence that people from India and Southeast Asia were engaged in transit and interactions with the peoples across the Pacific Ocean long before Columbus, as the plethora of Sanskrit and Tamil cognates in Native American languages clearly indicate. Below is but a sample of the many lists of transpacific cognates included in To Be or Not To Be...brahman or Abrahman / The World Turned Upside-Down. Enjoy and consider . . .

Excerpts from To Be or Not To Be...brahman or Abrahman / The World Turned Upside-Down :

[i] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[ii] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, Search the Database: Glossary, https://www.wisdomlib.org/index.php.

Native American Language followed by possible or likely Sanskrit and Tamil roots/cognates/related words:

Yavapai literally “people of the sun” (from Enyaava “sun” + Paay “people”)[i]

Sanskrit ahnya n. daily course (of the sun)

pA P. ... to watch, keep, preserve; to protect from, defend against … to protect (a country) i.e. rule, govern … to observe, notice, attend to, follow

Tamil enRavan Sun

pAy servant

paya-ttal 01 1. to yield, produce, put forth fruit; 2. to come into existence; to be made; 3. to take place; to be productive of good or evil; 4. to be obtained; 1. to produce, create; 2. to beget, generate, give birth to; 3. to give; 4. to blossom; 5. to compose [The Tamil suffix -ttal indicates the preceding word is a verbal noun][ii]

Chiquito suur “sun”[iii]

Sanskrit surya “sun, God of the Sun”

sUra m. the sun.

Churápa súush “sun”[iv]

Sanskrit surya “sun, God of the Sun”

sUra m. the sun.

sahas prefix to a number of words related to the sun:

sahas mfn. powerful, mighty, victorious ... sahasradhalman (%{saha4sra-}) mfn. having thousand-fold splendour AV. TBr. ; m. the sun ; sahasradhAman a. having thousandfold might or splendour; m. the sun ; sahasradIdhiti m. `\" thñthousand-rayed \"\' , the sun ; sahasrAGka m. the sun L. ; sahasragu mfn. possessing a thousand cows ; thousand-rayed L. ; thousand eyed , ; m. the sun Var. ; N. of Indra ; sahasrakara m. `\" thousand-rayed \"\' , the sun ; sahasrakara m. the sun (thousand-rayed) ; sahasramarIci m. thousand-rayed N. of the sun; sahasrAMzu mfn. thousand-rayed ; m. the sun ... m. `\"sun-born \"\'N. of Saturn %{-sama} mfn. sun-like Ml. ; sahasrapAda m. `\" thousand-footed \"\' or `\"thousand-rayed \"\' , the sun L. ; sahasraruc m. the sun ; sahuri mfn. mighty , strong , victorious RV. ; m. the sun

Blackfoot Naato'si the Sun[v]

Tamil naTTucci the time of the day when the sun is exactly at the zenith

Cree kîsikâwi-pîsim sun or daytime sun[vi]

Sanskrit Kīśa (कीश).—a. Naked. -śaḥ 1 An ape, monkey … 2) The sun. Kisa (किस):—m. Name of an attendant of the sun

kavi m. a thinker, intelligent man, man of understanding, leader; a wise man, sage, seer, prophet … Name of the ancient sages or patriarchs (as spirits now surrounding the sun); of the Ribhus (as skilful in contrivance); [Name] of Pushan (as leader or guider) … the sun

pUSan m. N. of a Vedic divinity, often identified with the Sun.

Nahuatl Tula Spanish “place of reeds” from the Classical Nahuatl tōllin (“bulrush, sedge”).

Sanskrit tUla n. a tuft of grass or reeds

Nahuatl Tepoztli “Principal English Translation: a workable metal; copper, iron (see Molina); devices made from metal (see Karttunen); e.g., used as a noun to refer to metal bell(s), metal tool(s), armor; can also refer to steel. Orthographic Variants: tepostli, tepustli, tepuztli, tepoztl”[vii]

Sanskrit tapaneSTa n. `\" loved by sunbeams \"\', copper

Tamil Tappu 1. small copper coin[viii]

Muscogee/Mvskoke yvmvse (pronounced “Yamasee”) “tame”[i]

Sanskrit yama a rein, curb, bridle[ii]

S. Iroquois nvda moon[iii]

Sanskrit navodaya mfn. newly risen (moon)

Aztecs Aztecah[iv] Nahuatl for Aztec

Sanskrit Astika mf(%{I})n. (fr. %{asti} , `\" there is or exists \"\' … one who believes in the existence (of God, of another world , &c.) ; believing, pious, faithful.[v] This name origin would very much fit the central Aztec myth of their ancestors originally coming from another homeland, “Aztlan.”

Hopi words corresponding to Sanskrit and Tamil words:

"Kiva," round half-underground Hopi/Pueblo ceremonial houses with entrance on the roof.

Sanskrit ki, anthill,[vi]

va, dwelling[vii]

Hopi Sipapu the hole in the floor of every kiva that represents the place the people emerged from underground via a ladder made of a hollow log.

Sanskrit sopAna n. (perhaps contracted fr. %{sa} + %{upA7yana}) stairs, steps, a staircase, ladder to (gen. or comp.)

sopAna n. stairs, a ladder

sopAnabhUta mfn. become or being a staircase

sopAnamAlA f. winding stairs

sopAnapaGkti f. a line or flight of steps, staircase ib.

sopAnapatha m. a way of steps, staircase Ragh.

sepAnakaparamparA f. a flight of steps , staircase

Tamil sOpAnam step; stair

Hopi Taawa sun[viii]

Tamil Tavaṉaṉ sun[ix]

Hopi Muuyaw moon[x]

Tamil muyaRcaRai spots on the moon, as like a hare

muyaRkUTu moon[xi]

Hopi Kuuyi water[xii]

Tamil kOlA or kayam[xiii]

Hopi anu ant

Sanskrit aNu f. … small, minute, tiny, atomic[xiv]

Tamil aNu 1. atom, minute particle of matter; 2. smallness, subtleness[xv]

Hopi buxhu or pòoko dog[xvi]

Sanskrit bhaSa, bhaSaka or Tamil pAki, purOkam [xvii] “dog”

Hopi döva earth[xviii]

Sanskrit dhara[xix] earth

Hopi paayu river[xx]

Sanskrit payo- (prefix) payodhArA “stream”, payoraya “river current”[xxi]

Hopi patupha lake[xxii]

Tamil patu “pond, deep pool”[xxiii]

Hopi qööhi fire[xxiv]

Tamil koLLi fire[xxv]

Hopi tiva dance

Sanskrit tandava dance

Navajo/Diné words[xxvi] [xxvii] [xxviii] cognate to/related to Sanskrit Tamil and Punjabi words[xxix] [xxx]:

dAnazIla a. of liberal disposition, munificent.

dAnazUra m. = {dAnapati}. m. `\" liberality-lord \"\' , munificent man

The name of the Dene/ Diné people may also indicate they were of the offspring of Kashyapa’s wife Danu, the Danavas. The Sanskrit root da generally means “to give.”

Diné Aoo’ yes

Sanskrit Aho (अहो).—ind. 1) A particle showing (a) surprise or wonder; often agreeable (ah, how great or wonderful)[xxxi]

Punjabi Aaho yes

Diné ni you, yours

Tamil nI you

Diné cheii grandfather

Tamil cIyAn great-grandfather

ciyyAn maternal grandfather

Diné Klaychaa’i dog

Sanskrit kauleya m. dog (lit. family or domestic animal).

Kauleyaka mfn. sprung from a noble family … pertaining to a family W. ; m. … `\" domestic animal \"\' (or `\" of good breed\'?) , a dog (esp. a hunting dog)

Diné Tó water

Sanskrit toya n. water (p. {-vant}Å); acc. w. {kR} make a libation of water.

[i] “Mvskoke Word List Y,” Muscogee Nation, Muscogee (Creek) Nation 2016, accessed August 1, 2022, https://www.muscogeenation.com/word-list-y/.

[ii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “yama,” accessed August 1, 2022, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

“Vocabulary Words in the Iroquoian Language Family,” Native Languages of the Americas, accessed February 26, 2024, https://www.native-languages.org/famiro_words.htm.

[iv] “Aztecs,” Wikipedia, last edited August 31, 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztecs.

[v] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “astika.”

[vi] Ibid., s.v. “ki,” accessed March 1, 2021.

[vii] Ibid., s.v. “va,” accessed March 1, 2021.

[viii] “Vocabulary in Native American Languages: Hopi Words,” Native Languages of the Americas, accessed March 10, 2024, https://www.native-languages.org/hopi_words.htm.

[ix] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “tavanan,” accessed March 17, 2024, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/tavanan.

[x] “Vocabulary in Native American Languages: Hopi Words.”

[xi] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “moon.”

[xii] “Vocabulary in Native American Languages: Hopi Words.”

[xiii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “water,” accessed March 1, 2021, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[xiv] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “anu.”

[xv] Ibid.

[xvi] Glosbe Dictionary, translate English to Hopi, s.v. “dog,” accessed March 17, 2024, https://glosbe.com/en/hop/dog.

[xvii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “dog.”

[xviii] Glosbe Dictionary, translate English to Hopi, s.v. “earth,” accessed March 17, 2024, https://glosbe.com/en/hop/earth.

[xix] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “earth.”

[xx] Glosbe Dictionary, translate English to Hopi, s.v. “river,” accessed March 17, 2024, https://glosbe.com/en/hop/river.

[xxi] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “river.”

[xxii] Wiktionary The Free Dictionary, s.v. “patupha,” last edited on June 16, 2017, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/patupha.

[xxiii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “patu.”

[xxiv] Glosbe, s.v. “Hopi word fire”, accessed June 30, 2025, https://glosbe.com/en/hop/fire.

[xxv] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “kolli,” accessed June 30, 2025, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[xxvi] “Diné Bizaad,” Black Mesa Indigenous Support, accessed August 26, 2024, https://supportblackmesa.org/dine-bizaad/.

[xxvii] “Navajo Word List,” UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive, accessed August 26, 2024, https://archive.phonetics.ucla.edu/Language/NAV/nav_word-list_1983_01.html.

[xxviii] Leon Wall and William Morgan, Navajo-English Dictionary (1958), University of Northern Colorado: Scholarship & Creative Works @ Digital UNC, https://digscholarship.unco.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=navajo.

[xxix] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[xxx] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, https://www.wisdomlib.org/.

[xxxi] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “aho,” accessed February 26, 2024, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/aho.

[i] “Yavapai,” Wikipedia, last edited February 11, 2024, accessed February 26, 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yavapai.

[ii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “sun,” accessed August 1, 2022, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

[iii] Chiquitano language, Wikipedia, last edited January 7, 2024, accessed May 12, 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiquitano_language.

[iv] Ibid.

[v] “Blackfoot Mythology,” Wikipedia, last edited July 7, 2024, accessed June 18, 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackfoot_mythology.

[vi] Itwêwina Plains Cree Dictionary, s.v. “kîsikâwi-pîsim,” accessed June 28, 2025, https://itwewina.altlab.app/word/k%C3%AEsik%C3%A2wi-p%C3%AEsim/#:~:text=only%20one,+%20show%20more.

[vii] “tepoztli,” Online Nahuatl Dictionary, Stephanie Wood, ed., accessed September 30, 2025, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tepoztli#:~:text=Headword:-,tepoztli.,%2C%20steel%2C%20copper%2C%20workable%20metal.

[viii] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “t” English s.v. “copper,” accessed September 30, 2025, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html.

Dualism and the Dark Age (excerpt from chapter 2 of "To Be or Not To Be...brahman or Abrahman / The World Turned Upside-Down")

2025-12-31T14:44:00.001-07:00

Dualism and the Dark Age

The narrow-minded think

“This person is mine, and this one is not.”

For those of noble conduct the whole world is one family.

Maha Upanishad 6.72

dvaita n. (fr. 1. %{dvi-tA}) duality, duplicity, dualism (cf. %{-vAda}) , doubt (Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon)[i]

[ii] “The Mountain Meadows Massacre,” American Experience, PBS: WGBH Educational Foundation, accessed April 21, 2023, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/mormons-massacre/.

[iv] Merlin Stone, When God Was A Woman (New York: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1978), xvii.

A Madman's Task

2025-12-31T14:27:00.001-07:00

A madman's task, this. An errand knight's endeavor, a sorcerer's conjuring of secrets from the depths of our memories ancient and sublime, stark and dark truths that do invert assumptions and paradigmatic presumptions presented by the Official discourse; upending religious predispositions and such spells spun to lull the minds of the people to sleep; disturbing those subtle taboos surreptitiously existing between the lines which somehow prevent us from seeing the obvious stories of history; challenging, in fact, assumptions of which end is up and which is down in terms of the common paradigms proffered, indeed calling into question those constructions which purport to tell which direction is to “heaven” and which to “hell.” This treatise is a task of telling long obscured stories of collusion and subtle twists if not inversions in the tales of world history, religion and mythology, where indeed true tellings of the politics and play of the Gods and stories of transcendent transformation, passion and compassion, ironies and subtleties often leave the truth sounding more like a puzzle or a riddle, a science fiction or fantasy rendering than what is supposed to be “real life,” the “truth of history,” the “truth of religion” or “the truth of God.”

Buy the full color hardback edition today !!

2025-11-24T15:08:00.004-07:00

From my recently published radical religious history To Be or Not To Be...brahman or Abrahman / The World Turned Upside-Down :

"A madman's task, this. An errand knight's endeavor, a sorcerer's conjuring of secrets from the depths of our memories ancient and sublime, stark and dark truths that do invert assumptions and paradigmatic presumptions proffered by the Official discourse; upending religious predispositions and such spells spun to lull the minds of the people to sleep; disturbing those subtle taboos surreptitiously existing between the lines which somehow prevent us from seeing the obvious stories of history; challenging, in fact, assumptions of which end is up and which is down in terms of the common paradigms proffered, indeed calling into question those constructions which purport to tell which direction is to 'heaven' and which to 'hell.'"

This "Madman's task" amounts to the deconstruction of the Abrahamic religions and of the paradigm proffered by "the West" generally, and offers a radical reconsideration of ancient history and of the origins and transmission of language, religion and culture, globally. Indeed, the author contends that the Abrahamic paradigm and related discursive constructions have essentially turned the paradigm of the ancient ancestors "upside-down."

A former Southern Baptist preacher who attended college at Oklahoma Baptist University and graduate school at the University of Chicago, author Jeffrey Charles Archer took a long hiatus from academic work as he discovered the remnant hippy culture still thriving in the late 90s, and on one auspicious occasion ended up at a Hindu temple and ashram in New Mexico for the celebration of Shivaratri, an experience that radically changed his perspective on religion and reality generally. After travelling the land hitchhiking, train-hopping, sailing the waters of the Hudson and wandering the highways and byways from coast-to-coast for a number of years, Archer determined the need to share some of the paradigm-shattering insights he has discovered along the way, insights that unveil a very different view of the ancient past and of the development of religion, globally.

This volume begins with the theory that Abraham, the Father of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, was an apostate Hindu, originally derived from the Sanskrit "Abrahman," and that the Judeo-Christian "Yahweh" is a refiguration of Deva Yama, Hindu Lord of Death and Hell, Judge of the Dead and Lord of the heaven realm known as the Pitrah-Loka (fathers'/ancestors' realm), in concert with his priest and friend Yahva Agni, the God of Fire, "the sacrificer." Archer then proposes the equally radical theory that Jesus Christ was an Avatar of Aadhi Maha Shasta, the Hindu Protector of Created Beings, the "only begotten Son" of Lord Shiva, God the Destroyer, and Lord Vishnu, God the Maintainer who is paramatma, the "Spirit of God" that abides in everyone's heart, whether they realize it or no. Shasta was born this one time when Vishnu meditated intensely upon Shakti, the Goddess, to be enabled to turn into a Divine and fertile transsexual named Mohini in order to infiltrate the court of a demon that threatened the world. When Mahadeva ("Great God") Shiva and Mohini (Vishnu manifest as a Goddess) met, the two ended up hooking up and Lord Shasta was consequently born, the first incarnation of many Avatars of Deva Aadhi Maha Shasta, one of whom may well have been Jesus Christ. Beyond these astounding contentions, this volume provides strong evidence that the ancient history of the movements of peoples, and especially in regard to the peopling of the Americas, is a very different story than the still too Eurocentric and Colonialist-minded establishment tells. Indeed, by these readings of ancient history and religion, the paradigm proffered by the Abrahamic religions has indeed turned the world "upside-down" in relation to the understandings of the ancients, understandings the author dubs "the Old Ways."

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LIST OF ENGLISH WORDS DERIVED FROM OR CLOSELY RELATED TO SANSKRIT AND OTHER INDIAN WORDS

2024-11-18T10:24:00.461-07:00

LIST OF ENGLISH WORDS DERIVED FROM OR CLOSELY RELATED TO SANSKRIT

AND OTHER INDIAN WORDS

(From the soon to be published book To Be or Not To Be: brahman or Abrahman /

The World Turned Upside-Down, by Jeffrey Charles Archer)

English Sanskrit English Sanskrit English Sanskrit

sister svasR brother bhrAtR mother mAta, mAtR

father pitR daughter duhitr son, sun sUnu

car car, carya cut cuT bath bad

bad badh cow go, gau shampoo sampU

same sama symmetry samma three tri

penta panch seven sapta eight ashta

deca dasha sugar sharkara pepper pippala

orange naaranga rice vrihi grass ghaasa

jungle jangala serpent sarpa cheetah chitra

languor laangulam mouse muusha panther pandara

cough kapha vomit vama voice vachas

dental danta mouth mukha heart hrit, hRdaya

nose naasa sinews snaayu smile smi

man manu mind man ignited agni

create kri myth mithyA new nava

ascetic asyati path patha monk muni

saint sant serve, service Sevaa gene, genesis jan (born)

stay sthA name naama door dvaawara

mix mishra mortuary mRta, mRtyu that tat

vehicle vAhika opal upala committee samiti

widow vidhavaa cot kaTa ass āsa

attic aṭṭaka bumble bee bambhara char cūr

cruel krūra dumb ḍimbha estate astatāti

genuine jenya hunter hantṛ cook kuka

litter lita little liṭya look lok

mad mad mass masa meet mith

money maṇi omen oman overlook avalok

owl ālu pence paṇasa posh poṣa

press preṣ proud prauḍha rite rīti

sad sāda saint sant scale sakala

shallow śarāva shock śoka Sir sūri

smart samartha spy spaś stale sthAlika

swear svṛ jump jhampa urge ūrj

use yuj wax vakṣ win van

wish vaś toll tul toss tas

union yūni urgent ūrjita vest, vesture veST, vastra

wage vāja wagon vahana wed vid

varnish varṇ zebra sabara fever jvar

entrails antral snake Sheshnag herpes serpes

gland granthi drip, drop(s) drups meter/-metry mAtR

hiccups hicca muscle mausal malign mallen

hooray hari amen aum idea vidya

is As two dva dinghy din.gi

shaman shramaNa call, calling kal ambient amb

cackle kakh fart, pardon pard to pound puND

rap (talk) rap lick lih dam dam

soot sutee pretty “fairly” prati rumble ramb

want vanta bond bandha domicile dama

divine divya nasty naSTi navy/naval nAva

far para parallel parA care karuNa

lexicon lekhaka run raMh surge sRj

hunter hantR will vR six SaS

duality dvaita care karuna knowledge jnana

calendar kal over ava God goda (“giving cows”)

capital kapAla decimal daśama decade daśaka

right Rta unrighteous anRta is asti

shrivel sriv homage homa stand sthAna

virulent vir meridian Mount Meru horizon harija

vocal voc/vac location loka idea vidyA

antara interior wander vihR ambrosia amrita

soup sUpa me mA corner koNa

swan svan axle akSa proper prapta

holiday holi holy holi sacred sakratu

nanny nanA careen cArin day dyu

new nu, nU still sthal regal, royal raja, Arya

some sama putrid pUta much maha

warn varn Sal (Tamil) shawl

trigonometry trikoNamiti

hydrocephalus ardra-kapaalaa

osteomalacia ashti-malashay (contamination of the bones)

dyspepsia dush-pachanashay (bad digestion)

surgeon salya-jan (one who yields a sharp instrument)

fertility falati-Iti (one who yields fruit)

anesthesia anashtashayee (one lying in improper state)

homeopathy sameo-pathy (treatment parallel to symptoms)

allopathy alag-pathy (treatment different from symptoms)

mortal marta m. a mortal, man.

martya mfn. who or what must die, mortal Br. Kaus3. ; m. a mortal , man , person … ; the world of mortals , the earth … f. dying , death (see %{putra-martyA}) ; n. that which is mortal , the body

home Old English ham "dwelling place, house, abode, fixed residence; estate; village; region, country," from Proto-Germanic *haimaz "home" (source also of Old Frisian hem "home, village," Old Norse heimr "residence, world," heima "home," Danish hjem, Middle Dutch heem, German heim "home

Sanskrit harmya n. stronghold, castle, mansion, palace, house, home.

virile viRal [Tamil] 01 1. victory; 2. bravery; 3. strength; 4. greatness; 5. distinctive excellence; 6. physical expression of emotion

bear (verb) bhR … to bear, carry, convey … to wear i.e. let grow (hair, beard, nails) … to balance, hold in equipoise (as a pair of scales) … to bear i.e. contain, possess, have, keep (also `\" keep in mind \"\') … to support, maintain, cherish, foster … to hire, pay … to carry off or along

yolk yoga, yuga (i.e., English “yolk the oxen”)

water vasu, vRSa, var (possibly via German Wasser)

hair har-/hir-/hR- (as prefix)

direction diśā, dik, deSTra

gravity, grab, graha (seizing, laying hold of, holding)

grasp

divide dvidhA (%{dvi4-}) ind. in 2 ways or parts , twofold , … n. the dividing into 2 , making twofold

dvaidha mf(%{I}) n. … twofold , … n. a twofold form or state , duality , duplicity, division

dvaita n. (fr. 1. %{dvi-tA}) duality , duplicity , dualism … doubt

saliva srava m. stream or gush of, adj. flowing with, out-pouring

go ga mf … going , moving … going in a carriage … going quickly

gA … to go, go towards, come, approach … to go after, pursue

little liTya Nom. P. %{liTyati} , `\" to be little \"\' or , `\" to think little of.

not, no neti, na

distance diSTa, diSTi

cave kevaTa m. a cave, hollow … kevaTa m. cave, pit; Tamil kevi 1. depth, deep valley; 2. cave, cavern

valley vala 1 m. `\" enclosure \"\', a cave, cavern

knowledge jñāna (possibly via the Greek gnosis)

sandhi [English grammar] modification of the sound of a morpheme (such as a word or affix) conditioned by syntactic context in which it is uttered (such as pronunciation of -ed as \d\ in glazed and as \t\ in paced or occurrence of a in a cow and of an in an old cow)

Sandhi (Sanskrit: सन्धि sandhi [sɐndʱi], "joining") is a cover term for a wide variety of sound changes that occur at morpheme or word boundaries. Examples include fusion of sounds across word boundaries and the alteration of one sound depending on nearby sounds or the grammatical function of the adjacent words.

night/ nakta 1 n. night … ind. by night (often opp. to %{divA}) … Lat. {nox} ; Lith.

nocturnal {naktis} ; Slav. &162101[524 ,1] {nos8ti} ; Goth. {nahts} ; Angl. Sax. {neaht} , {niht} , Engl. {night} , Germ. {Nacht}.]

summer samA f. half-year, season, year.

anti- anti adv. opposite, in front, before, near.

anterior anti adv. opposite, in front, before, near. As prep. = near, toward, to

antique anti 1 ind. before, in the presence of near RV. AV. ; (with gen.) within the proximity of , to [cf. Lat. {ante} ; Gk. $]. Though the generally touted etymologies trace the English words with the prefix anti- only so far back as the Latin ante,

military Sanskrit mil, milati, {milita} meet, assemble, join; Tamil milTEri 1. that which is military

curt kartR m. one who acts badly or basely

gulp gala m. throat, neck.

gAla a. produced by the throat.

gala 2 m. … `\" swallower \"\', the throat, neck

harlot hAra (“. . . f. a pearl L. ; a girl of bad reputation (unfit for marriage)”)

shit śiṭ to slight, despise, disregard; A sound made to express any sudden thrill of pleasure or pain (especially applied to the sound made during sexual enjoyment.)

lantern Tamil lAntar lantern … lantar lantern

salt salilottha mfn. risen from the ocean; saliga mfn. (said of the sea ; v.l. %{salIga}); salavaNa mfn. with salt

decoration dIkSA f. preparation or consecration for a religious ceremony

dance tandava via German tanzen

sound saMnad P. %{-nadati}, to cry aloud, sound, roar … to cause to resound, fill with noise or cries

man manu m. man, coll. Mankind

naked nagna mf(%{A4})n. naked , new , bare , desolate , desert RV. &c. &c. ; m. a naked mendicant

nagnATa f. and m. a naked wanderer

Tamil nakkan 1. naked person; nakkam nakedness

value Tamil valu 01 1. strength; 2. skill, ability; 3. weight; 4. coin above standard weight, opp. to melu ; 5. a species of big mosquito; 6. a cant term for eight; 7. prop; 8. a medicinal paste; 1. strong; 2. great; much

motive/ mativid mfn. knowing (one\'s) devotion or mind

motivation mativid a. knowing (one\'s) mind or heart.

valor Tamil vallAr 01 1. mighty persons; 2. clever, capable persons, val 1. strength, power; 2. Ability …

Though touted to be a “Proto-Indo-European” root, there are many words in Tamil, a “Dravidian” language, that bear that prefix as meaning “strength,” though in Sanskrit, an “Indo-European” language, val does not bear the same meaning, indicating the Latin root val (worth, health, strength) is more likely from/related to the Tamil or other “Dravidian” language use of val, again calling into question the official academic taxonomy of languages.

perimeter pari ind. round, around, about, round about; fully, abundantly, richly

miti 1 f. measure, weight, value.

milk Middle English melke, melc, mulk, mulc, Old English milc, meolc; Old Norse mjǫlk, etc.

Tamil mulai 1. woman\'s breast

mulaikkaTTu 1. accumulation of milk in the breast

mulaippAl mother\'s milk

mulaikoTu-ttal to suckle a child

The possible Tamil root(s)/related words “milk” listed above are phonetically closer to “milk” than the following, University-sanctioned etymology, I’ve included the translation mRj below. I believe Tamil nautical influence in the spread of various words to Europe and other places outside of SE Asia is even less acknowledged than Sanskrit’s global influence, and might better fill in quite a number of gaps in the genealogies of various words than any of the academy posited options . . .

Sanskrit mRj 1 (cf. %{marj} … to wipe, rub, cleanse, polish, clean, purify, embellish, adorn (A1. also `\" one\'s self \"\') RV. &c. &c. ; to make smooth , curry (e.g. a horse or other animal) RV. ; to stroke R. ; to wipe off or out , remove , destroy MBh. Ka1v. &c. ; to wipe off or transfer (impurity , debt &c.) from one\'s self upon (loc.) AV. ; to carry away , win … Gr. ; to rub or wipe off , clean , purify (A. also `\" one\'s self \"\'). [Cf. Gk. $ , $ , $ ; Lat. &251469[829 ,3] {mulgere} ; Slav. {mle8sti} ; Lith. {mi4lsti} ; Germ. , {melke} , {Milch} ; Eng. {milk}.]

hit, hate hata mfn. struck, beaten (also said of a drum) , smitten , killed , slain , destroyed , ended , gone , lost … hit by … visited or afflicted or tormented by , struggling with , suffering from … violated (sexually , as a woman) … ruined , undone , hopeless , miserable , wretched … worthless , useless ib. ; defective … n. striking , killing , hurting

hAta mfn. given up , abandoned

galaxy galaxy (n.) late 14c., from French galaxie or directly from Late Latin galaxias "the Milky Way" as a feature in the night sky (in classical Latin via lactea or circulus lacteus), from Greek galaxias (adj.), in galaxias kyklos, literally "milky circle," from gala (genitive galaktos) "milk"

gala 1 m. `\" oozing \"\', resin

gAla 1 m. flowing, liquefying

gala 2 m. `\" swallower \"\'

gara mfn. (2. %{gRR}) `\" swallowing \"\' (g. %{pacA7di}) see %{aja-} ; m. … any drink , beverage , fluid [Sumerian gara₂ (N) cream]

go m. bull, ox, ox-hide, leather, sinew; pl. cattle, herds, the stars or rays of light (as the herds of the sky); pieces of flesh, cow-milk (also sgl.). --f. cow, the earth (as the milch cow of kings); speech and Sarasvati, the goddess of speech.

gavya or {gavya3} a. consisting of, belonging to, coming from cows or cattle; f. {gavyA3} desire for cows or milk, ardour of battle; n. {ga3vya} cattle, milk, pasture-ground.

Milky Way The Cosmic “Sea of Milk” whereupon Vishnu and Laksmi rest upon the coils of Ananta Shesha as Vishnu dreams the Universe into being.

lactate locaka mfn. `\" gazing , staring \"\' , stupid , senseless L. ; one whose food is milk

mountain Tamil Mātiram noun 1. cf. mahā-diśa. Point of the compass; 2. Elephant; 3.mountain;

Mātiram noun cf. mātariśvan. Atmosphere; air;

Mātiram noun perhaps from mahā-sthirā. Earth, ground;

Mātiram noun [mathigam.] Circle, sphere;

And of course the accepted etymology only traces the term back to so far as Persia, else to “Proto-” (i.e., speculated) languages or Latin: "From Middle English mountayne, mountain, montaigne, from Anglo-Norman muntaine, muntaigne, from Early Medieval Latin montānia, a collective based on Latin montem (“mountain”)...(compare Welsh mynydd (“mountain”), Albanian mat (“bank, shore”), Avestan (mati, “promontory”)),"though obviously the Avestan language mati is quite close to the Tamil Mātiram.

hey!, ha hA 1 ind. an exclamation expressive of pain, anger, astonishment, satisfaction &c. (= ah! alas! oh! ha! often before or after a voc. case . . .)

etc., etc. . . .

Most of the Sanskrit and Tamil words can be found via the links below:

Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-santam/php/index.html

Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, https://www.wisdomlib.org/

Native American Placenames with Likely Sanskrit or Other Indian/SE Asian Roots

2023-09-18T12:49:00.001-06:00

From the Appendix to To Be or Not To Be: brahman or Abrahman / The World Turned Upside-Down . . . Coming Soon to a bookstore near you and Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc. !!

Native American Placename or other term, followed by the likely Sanskrit or Tamil, etc., equivalent(s), and sometimes followed by similar placenames in India or Southeast Asia [all emphases added]:

Pueblo Villages in the American Southwest, the descendants of the “Anasazi” people.

Navajo/Diné Anasazi The term is Navajo in origin, and means “ancient enemy.”[1]

Kewa Pueblo, NM Kivas are half-underground round ceremonial houses with the entrance on the roof that are used by the Pueblo people of the American Southwest.

Sanskrit ki m. n. an ant-hill[3]

va m. … a dwelling[4]

Thus in Sanskrit “kiva” is “anthill dwelling,” fitting the design of Pueblo kivas.

Hopi word for “ant” is anu, and the Sanskrit word aNu is defined as:

Sanskrit aNu mf n. fine, minute, atomic…[5]

Kiwale, Ravet, Dehu Road, Maharashtra, India

Maricopa, Arizona; Maricopa County, Arizona; Maricopa, California, named after the Maricopa/Cocomaricopa Tribe

Sanskrit marIcopapurANa Name of one of the Upa Puranas[6] The Puranas are Hindu scriptures.

Marikoppa, Karnataka, India

Lake Havasu Purportedly from the Mojave word “blue” or “blue-green water”

Mojave ‘Aha[7] or ha “short form of ‘aha,”[8] “water”

Quechan/Yuma aha “water”[9]

Sanskrit ha m. a form of Siva or Bhairava; water; a cipher (i.e. the arithmetical figure which symbolizes o); meditation, auspiciousness; sky, heaven, paradise ; blood ; dying ; fear ; knowledge ; the moon[10]

hari mfn. (prob. fr. a lost hṛ-,"to be yellow or green" … fawn-coloured, reddish brown, brown, tawny, pale yellow, yellow, fallow, bay (especially applied to horses), green, greenish etc.[11]

Vasu (वसु) refer to good or bright Gods, they are: Apa: containing water [“sometimes aha is substituted for āpa”[12]], Dhruva: polestar, Soma: moon, Dharā: earth, Anila: wind, Anala: fire, Pratyūṣa: dawn, Prabhāsa: light.[13]

vasu m. or n. dwelling or dweller …[14]

Havaspur, Bihar, India; Havasbhavi, Karnataka, India; Havanur, Karnataka, India; Havaligi, Andhra Pradesh, India

Havasupai Falls

Sanskrit hava m. an oblation , burnt offering , sacrifice … fire or the god of fire[15]

Supayas mfn. having beautiful water[16]

pA P. ... to watch , keep , preserve ; to protect from , defend against … to protect (a country) i.e. rule , govern Ra1jat. ; to observe , notice , attend to , follow

Consider also the above possible linguistic origins of Lake Havasu, as sometimes Sanskrit word combinations contain multiple compound meanings.

Havaspur, Bihar, India; Havasbhavi, Karnataka, India; Havanur, Karnataka, India; Havaligi, Andhra Pradesh, India; Supai, Bihar, India; Supaidi, Jharkhand, India

Supai Village, Arizona

Sanskrit Supayas mfn. having beautiful water[17]

Supai, Bihar, India; Supaidi, Jharkhand, India

Calistoga, California

Sanskrit kalistoma m. a particular Stoma.[18] [hymn]

ga mf going , moving (e.g. %{yAna-} … going quickly[19]

-ga is often applied at the end of river names, etc., and implies “flow.”

Kalisthan, Bariyarpur, Bihar, India; Kalisindh River, Madhya Pradesh, India

City of Sonoma, California; Sonoma Valley, California; Sonoma Mountains, California; Sonoma County, California

“disputed origin; likely from a Pomoan phrase meaning "valley of the moon.’”[20]

Sanskrit soma 1 m. (fr. 3. %{su}) juice , extract , (esp.) the juice of the Soma plant … Soma is identified with the moon [as the receptacle of the other beverage of the gods called Amrita , or as the lord of plants … and with the god of the moon , as well as with Vishn2u , S3iva , Yama , and Kubera … and appears among the 8 Vasus …

soma m. the Soma (plant or juice, often personified as a god); the moon or the god of the moon.

Somnath, Gujarat, India; Sonamarg, Jammu and Kashmir, India

Savannah, Georgia (a city on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean); Savanna, Illinois (a town on the east shore of the Mississippi River); Savannah, Missouri (town a few miles from the Missouri River)

Sanskrit sAvana mfn. (fr. 1. %{savana} , p. : 190) relating to or determining the three daily Soma libations i.e. corresponding to the solar time (day , month , year) … m. an institutor of a sacrifice or employer of priests at a sacrifice … the conclusion of a sacrifice or the ceremonies by which it is terminated L. ; N. of Varuna

varuNa m. …`\" Allenveloping Sky \"\'N. of an Aditya (in the Veda commonly the night as Mitra over the day , but often celebrated separately , whereas Mitra is rarely invoked alone ; Varuna is one of the oldest of the Vedic gods , and is commonly thought to correspond to the [Neptune] of the Greeks , although of a more spiritual conception … he is even called the brother of Agni ; though not generally regarded in the Veda as a god of the ocean , yet he is often connected with the waters , especially the waters of the atmosphere or firmament , and in one place [RV. vii , 64 , 2] is called with Mitra … `\" lord of the sea or of rivers \"\' ; hence in the later mythology he became a kind of Neptune, and is there best known in his character of god of the ocean … “Ocean” …[21]

Savanas, Maharashtra, India; Savanahalli, Karnatakaq, India; Savanalu, Karnataka, India; Savanadurga, Karnataka, India

Saratoga, Wyoming; Saratoga, New York; Saratoga, California; Saratoga, Arkansas

All of the above places named “Saratoga” are associated with springs, hot and cold.

Sanskrit sara mf(%{A})n. (fr. %{sR}) fluid , liquid … cathartic , purgative , … going , moving &c. … m. going , motion L. ; a cord … f. moving or wandering about … a brook … a cascade, waterfall … f. a cascade (cf. %{sari}) L. ; n. a lake , pool

sarat mfn. going , flowing , proceeding

ga 1) To go, move in general (often as suffix at the end of river names)

Gā (गा) 1b) A name of Sarasvatī.

Sarata, Maharashtra, India; Sarata, Odisha, India; Saratal, Odisha, India; Saratanpur, Gujarat, India; Togan, Chandigarh, India; Togas, Rajasthan, India

Nemaha, Nebraska; Nemaha County Kansas

Named after the Nemaha River, based on an Otoe word meaning "swampy water." (wiki Placen. N.A. origin Nebraska)

Sanskrit nimajj P. ... to sink down , dive , sink or plunge or penetrate into , bathe in (loc.) … to sink in its cavity (the eye) Sus3r. ; to disappear , perish … to immerse or submerge in water , cause to sink or perish … to cause to dive under water … to cause to penetrate into a battle , lead into the thick of a fight

nimajjana mf(%{I})n. causing a person (gen.) to enter or plunge into (water &c.) … n. bathing , diving , sinking , immersion

nimajjana n. diving, bathing.

Nemmara, Kerala, India; Nemawar, Madhya Pradesh, India; Nemalo, Odisha, India

Kasota, Minnesota

Dakota/Sioux Name of a village meaning clear, or clear off

Marathi Kasod{t)a (not Sanskrit): Two place names-of India. l) in Rajasthan, Baratpur. 2) in Maharashtra, Jalgaon, meaning why leave? in Marathi language suggesting a pleasant place to live.[22]

Kasoda, Maharashtra, India; Village Kasota, Madhya Pradesh, India; Prakash Kasota, Khatikamdi, Rajasthan, India

Makato (river) and Mankato (city), Blue Earth County, Minnesota

Dakota/Sioux Mahkato name of the Blue Earth river ma-ka: ground. earth + to: blue; green, and the intermediate shades[23]

Sanskrit maki: heaven and earth[24]

tru: green[25]

Makatpur, Giridih, Jharkhand, India; Makatpur, Koderma, Jharkhand, India; Mahkatartari Shiv Temple, Jamuguri, Assam, India

Manomin (lake) and Mahnomen (town)

Ojibway manomin: wild rice, the name of their important food cereal + min: berry

Sanskrit manda: the scum of boiled rice (or any grain) + mid or mind: to make fat, thus. that which fattens, or thickens, the scum on the rice water.[26]

Manomi, Karnataka, India; Mahnora, Uttar Pradesh, India; Mahnoodpur Korauli, Uttar Pradesh, India; Mahnoor, Jammu and Kashmir, India; Lake Manoor Kayal, Kerala, India

Onamia (lake), Minnesota

Ojibway Onamia “Name of an especially productive wild rice lake … possibly derived from onamani meaning vermilion color. Onaman, red clay (for painting); vermillion. Wild rice harvest feasts are, or were, celebrated here annually with prayers for absence of storms during the harvest period. Wild rice has been harvested in this region probably from about 800 A.D. on, in numerous villages occupied for most of the year in the late prehistoric period ...”[27]

Tamil Onam, in Kerala state, sw India, is a harvest festival lasting 4 days (Aug/Sept). Caparisoned elephants take part in processions and there is feasting, singing, dancing, and a boat race … the dancers' faces are usually painted red.[28]

Onam is a festival that commemorates the story of Vaman pressing King Bali to move his kingdom to “the Underworld.”

Onam, Uttar Pradesh, India; Onampilly, Kerala, India

Shakopee (city), Minnesota

Dakota/Sioux Shakopee six, the hereditary name of successive chiefs

Sanskrit: Shatka: consisting of six

api or sometimes pi: expresses ... proximity[29]

Shakoorpur, Uttar Pradesh, India; Shakoor, Punjab, India

Mississippi River

Wakpá Tháŋka or Haha Wakpa is the Dakota name for the river that connects all waters and all lives where we live.[30]

Dakota Wakpá (river) “Wakpa. The Dakota word for ‘river.’ But it is more than a word. Wakpa is the source of life. Rivers carry our first medicine, mni, that can nourish and heal us.”[31]

Tháŋka Tháŋka "to be large, great in size or renown; to be a grown up"[32]

Sanskrit vAkpradA Sanga

vAkpradA f. N. of the river Sarasvati[33] The Sarasvati was the archetypal sacred river of Indus/Saraswati Civilization until the flow of the Himalayan waters shifted to the Ganges.

Saṅga (सङ्ग).—i. e. sam-ga … m. 1. Joining, uniting … Meeting … Confluence of

rivers.[34]

Sanga/sangha/samga often becomes “tanga,” as in Africa’s Lake Tanganika, another confluence of waters, that drains into the Congo River, also derived from the root Saṅgha.

Dakota Haha Wakpa

Sanskrit ha 2 (only L.) m. a form of Siva or Bhairava; water

“Ha” or “aha,” “ap” or “apa,” etc., indicates “water” in a number of Native American languages and placenames, as is true of Sanskrit.

Thus the Mississippi is the “Water-Water River,” implying the massive flow of North America’s greatest river.

Chipewa Missi Sippi,” or “large flowing water.”[35]

Mechasipi “the ancient father of waters.”[36]

Sanskrit maha 1 mfn. great , mighty , strong , abundant[37]

Tamil makA 1. great, high, exalted, dignified, noble, honourable; 2. immense, prodigious, stupendous, monstrous, extreme; 3. superior, paramount, superlative; 4. intense[38]

This basic prefix for “great” is employed all over the world, from Sanskrit ‘Maha” to Tamil “Maka,” Greek and English “Mega” and English “much,” Spanish as “mucho,” and in the Americas as “Mechi,” “Missi,” Algonquin “Mishi,” Lenni-Lenape “maugh” and as in the Cheyenne word for “Great Spirit,” “Maheo.”

Sanskrit sApIDa mfn. emitting or discharging a stream of water[39]

Supayas mfn. having beautiful water[40]

Mechal, Kerala, India; Mahanadi (lit. ‘Great River”) River, Odisha, India; Supai, Bihar, India; Supaidi, Jharkhand, India

Sangamon River, Illinois

"Sangamon" is a Potawatomi word and translates to "where there's plenty to eat. And during the presettlement days, Native Americans who lived along the river feasted there.”[41]

Sanskrit saMgamana mf(%{I})n. gathering together , a gatherer RV. AV. ; m. N. of Yama … n. coming together, coming into contact with, meeting with … partaking of …[42]

Saṅga (सङ्ग).—i. e. sam-ga … m. 1. Joining, uniting … Meeting … Confluence of rivers.[43]

Sangamam, Dhanushkodi, India (beach on the fabled Rama Setu, the shoals between India and Sri Lanka where Lord Rama is anciently touted to have built a bridge to rescue His Consort Sita from Ravana); Sangamankulam, Avinashi, Tamil Nadu, India; Sangam, Devprayag, Uttarakhand, India (confluence of Ganges and Alakananda Rivers); Sangamangalam, Tamil Nadu, India

Sangaina Creek, Alaska

Sanskrit Saṅga (सङ्ग).—i. e. sam-ga … m. 1. Joining, uniting … Meeting … Confluence of

rivers.[44]

Sangain, Jharkhand, India (community next to the Hill River)

Baboquivari mountains in southern Arizona, traditional name given by O'Odham people, and a source of much gold and silver.[45]
Baba-Kubera, Sanskrit, "father"-"god of riches and treasure."[46]

Babowal, Punjab, India; Baboli, Chhattisgarh, India; Kubera, Odisha, India; Kubera, Rajasthan, India

Niagara Falls, New York

It is believed that Niagara is a derivative of the Iroquoian word, “Onguiaahra”, which was anglicized by missionaries. The name appears on maps as early as 1641. The generally accepted meaning is, “The Strait”. Some think it was derived from the narrow waterway that flows north from Lakes Erie to Lake Ontario. Early maps do not refer to the Niagara River but the Niagara Strait, which is more correct. Others believe the word Niagara is taken from another native word meaning, “Thundering Waters”. Another theory of the name's origin suggests Niagara is derived from the name given to a local group of Aboriginals, called the Niagagarega people.[47]

Sanskrit nyaJc ({nI3c} f. directed downwards, going down, deep (l. & f.); n. {nya3k} adv. downwards, down, w. {kR} bring down …

gara mfn. (2. %{gRR}) swallowing … any drink , beverage , fluid … f. swallowing L. … sprinkling , wetting

Gara (गर).—a. (-rī f.) Swallowing. -raḥ 1 Any drink or fluid, beverage.

gāra (गार).—a. Cold, very cold--water &c.

Nyagal Bari, Rajasthan, India; Nyagal Chhoti, Rajasthan, India; Nagar, Rajasthan, India; Nagaram, Telangana, India; Gara, Andhra Pradesh, India (next to Vamsadhara River); River Garampani, Assam, India

Kalispell, Montana

Name purportedly from Salish kali’spe that means “Flat land above the lake.” Despite the contention of some that the placename Kalispell is a false cognate to the Kali Ma of Hinduism, the resonance is still significant…if not, after all, veritably granting clues of ancient transpacific contact and shared religious understandings across the globe. Often placenames change meanings as centuries pass and as new tribes and cultures and languages become prominent in a given area, but those placenames often enough betray a resonance with the original linguistic and cultural source. (See below, “Salish Lake”)

Hindu Kali Goddess, Form of Parvati, Consort to Shiva

Tamil pAy servant

Kalisil River, Rajasthan, India; Kalisthan, Bariyarpur, Bihar, India; Kalisindh River, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, India

Salish Lake (Flathead Lake), Montana

Salish salish “givers of water”

Se'ułku, Se'uliq, Se'ułq Water

Sanskrit salila a. waving, flowing, inconstant; n. flood, stream, water.

salilAzaya m. water-receptacle, pond, lake.

salilasaraka s. a mug with water.

salilottha mfn. risen from the ocean[48] If this term happened to be the origin of the tribe name “Salish,” it would clearly imply the Salish’s ancestors anciently arrived via the ocean.

Saliste, Maharashtra, India; Saliskote, Jammu and Kashmir, India; Salisanda, West Bengal, India; Salisandai, Tamil Nadu, India

Silimihi, Santa Rosa Island, California

silimihi, a village on Santa Rosa Island whose name is said to mean 'always water' (but the name is also given as siliwihi)[49]

Sanskrit salila a. waving, flowing, inconstant; n. flood, stream, water.

Silimi, Odisha, India; Silimpur, Maharashtra, India; Silimpur, West Bengal, India

Mount Jurupa, California

Sanskrit gorUpa mfn. cow-shaped … n. the shape of a cow

Juru, Jharkhand, India; Gorupalem, Andhra Pradesh, India

Anacapa Island, California

“Anacapa, the name of the island off Ventura County, is absurdly given by Bailey, page 360, as Spanish for " Cape Ann. " The Chumash original is Anyapah, recorded by Vancouver as Enneeapah, misspelled Enecapah by the map engraver, and then Spanicized into Anacapa…[51]

“The name Anacapa comes from the Chumash word “anyapakh” which means ‘mirage’ or ‘ever-changing.’”[52]

Hindu Ayyappa, another name for Aadi Maha Shasta, Son of Shiva and Vishnu

Sanskrit anAyaka mf(%{A})n. having no leader or ruler , disorderly

Anyapur Pokhai, Bihar, India; Anyapatti, Tamil Nadu, India; Ayyappa Nagar, Krishnarajapura, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India; Ayyappan Thangal, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Marin County, California

“Marin County was named after Chief Marin (whose native American name was Huicmuse), an 18th century leader of the Licatiut, a branch of the Coast Miwok.”[53]

“Nevertheless, if a conclusion regarding the name Marin is needed, it may appear in Louise Teather’s exhaustively researched book Place Names of Marin (Scottwall Associates, 1986). ‘The name Marin,’ writes Teather, ‘honors a legendary Indian who was either a great chief or a skilled sailor, or one and then the other; or (it honors) a Spanish name given during the first charting of the bay in 1775; or all of the above.’”[54]

Sanskrit mArin mfn. (only ifc.) dying … killing

Umpqua River

The name "Umpqua" likely derives from a Tolowa word for "a place along the river." Other theories report that "Umpqua" means "thundering water," "dancing water" or "bring across the river."

Sanskrit uma m. a city , town L. ; a wharf , landing-place

ga “going , moving,” a suffix in the names of many rivers, i.e., “flow.”

Uma River, Maharashtra, India; Umar River, Madhya Pradesh, India; River Umiam, Meghalaya, india; River Umterien, Meghalaya, India; Umpung, Meghalaya, India; Umpanai, Assam, India

Napa, California

Tamil napA profit, gain, advantage

Napa Talpad, Gujarat, India; Napad, Gujarat, India; Napasar, Rajasthan, India

Aguanga, California next to a dry creek

Ganga, River and Goddess in India

Ouray, CO “an arrow”

Tamil oRRu-tal 01 1. to bring into contact; to press, hug close; 2. to stamp, as a seal; 3. to spy out; 4. to beat, as cymbals in keeping time; 5. to strike; 6. to press down; to press upon; 7. to attack; 8. to touch; 9. to embrace; 10. to wipe away, as tears; 11. to pry into; 12. to push, as a door; 13. to fell down; 14. to tie, fasten; 15. to tug; to strain; 16. to approach; 17. to shoot, as an arrow

ari 01 1. Indra\'s weapon; 2. diamond; 3. mouth; 4. Arrow

Gila River

Popular theory says that the word "Gila" was derived from a Spanish contraction of Hah-quah-sa-eel, a Yuma word meaning "running water which is salty".[8] Their traditional way of life (himdagĭ, sometimes rendered in English as Him-dak) was and is centered at the river, which is considered holy. (Wiki)

Sanskrit gila mfn. (= 2. %{gira}) ifc. `\" swallowing \"\

Gilaula, Uttar Pradesh, India; Gilalagundi, Karnataka, India

Niangua, Missouri; Niangua River, Missouri; Lake Niangua, Missouri

Sanskrit nyanta m. or n. proximity … near , near to.

ga flow, go, often related to river/water

Niangju, Meghalaya, India

Tujunga, California; Big Tujunga Creek, California; Little Tujunga Creek, California

Ganga/Ganges River, India

Sanskrit Ga go, flow

Tujung, Odisha, India; Tajungia, Odisha, India

Havana, Arkansas; Havana, Cuba

“capital city, founded 1514 by Diego Velázquez as San Cristóbal de la Habana ‘St. Christopher of the Habana,’ apparently the name of a local native people.”[55] “The Taíno word for Havana was ‘Habana,’ which means ‘a place where they worship the goddess Habaguanex.’”[56]

“The name Havana has multiple meanings and interpretations, depending on the context and culture. Here are some of the most common meanings associated with the name Havana: Place of worship: As mentioned earlier, the original meaning of Havana comes from the Taíno language and refers to a place where people worshipped a goddess.”[57]

Sanskrit Havana 1 m. fire or Agni the god of fire L. ; a fire-receptacle (= f.) L. [1293,3] ; (%{I}) f. the sacrificial ladle S3Br. Ka1tyS3r. ; a hole made in the ground for the sacrificial fire which is to receive a burnt-oblation L. ; (%{am}) n. the act of offering an oblation with fire , sacrifice … a sacrificial ladle

Havana 2 m. N. of a Rudra MBh. Hariv. ; n. calling , invocation , summons

Havanagi, Karnataka, India; Havaniya Rundi, Rajasthan, India

Arcata, CA

Arcata, in Humboldt County, is said by Gannett to mean "sunny spot" in Indian. Such a place-name would be very unusual in any California Indian language, nor does the sound suggest a word in the Wiyot language, which is the idiom spoken in the vicinity.

The name "Arcata" comes from the Yurok term oket'oh that means "where there is a lagoon"and referred to Humboldt Bay which is a barrier lagoon.

Sanskrit Arkatanaya (अर्कतनय).—'a son of the sun', an epithet of Karṇa, Yama, Manu Vaivasvata, Manu Sāvarṇi and Saturn; see अरुणात्मज (aruṇātmaja). -yā Name of the rivers Yamunā and Tāpti.

Arkatanaya (अर्कतनय).—m. (-yaḥ) The sons of Surya or the sun, applicable to Yama, to Sani, to the Munis Vaivaswata and Savarni, to Revanta, and to Karna. f. (-yā) The daughter of the sun, applied to the river goddesses Jamuna and Tapti. E. arka, and tanaya a son.

Yama/Yami/Yamuna (River in India) in Native American place names

Sanskrit yama m. a rein , curb , bridle RV. v , 61 , 2 ; a driver , charioteer ib. viii , 103 , to ; the act of checking or curbing , suppression , restraint (with %{vAcAm} , restraint of words , silence) BhP. ; self-control forbearance , any great moral rule or duty (as opp. to %{niyama} , a minor observance … any rule or observance … n. twin-born , twin , forming a … m. a twin , one of a pair or couple , a fellow … N. of the god who presides over the Pitris and rules the spirits of the dead … (he is regarded as the first of men and born from Vivasvat , `\" the Sun \"\' , and his wife Saran2yu1 … his twin-sister is Yami, with whom he resists sexual alliance , but by whom he is mourned after his death , so that the gods , to make her forget her sorrow , create night ; in the Veda he is called a king or … `\" the gatherer of men \"\' , and rules over the departed fathers in heaven , the road to which is guarded by two broad-nosed , four-eyed , spotted dogs … in Post-vedic mythology he is the appointed Judge and `\" Restrainer \"\' or `\" Punisher \"\' of the dead , in which capacity he is also called %{dharmarAja} or %{dharma} and corresponds to the Greek Pluto and to Minos ; his abode is in some region of the lower world called Yama-pura ; thither a soul when it leaves the body , is said to repair , and there , after the recorder , Citra-gupta , has read an account of its actions kept in a book called Agra-sam2dha1na1 , it receives a just sentence ; in MBh. Yama is described as dressed in blood-red garments , with a glittering form , a crown on his head , glowing eyes and like Varun2a , holding a noose , with which he binds the spirit after drawing it from the body , in size about the measure of a man\'s thumb ; he is otherwise represented as grim in aspect , green in colour , clothed in red , riding on a buffalo , and holding a club in one hind and noose in the other ; in the later mythology he is always represented as a terrible deity inflicting tortures , called %{yAtanA} , on departed spirits …[58]

yamunA f. N. of a river commonly called the Jumna1 (in Hariv. and Ma1rkP. identified with Yami1 q.v. ; it rises in the Hima7laya mountains among the Jumnotri peaks at an elevation of 10 ,849 feet , and flows for 860 miles before it joins the Ganges at Allahabad , its water being there clear as crystal , while that of the Ganges is yellowish ; the confluence of the two with the river Sarasvati1 , supposed to join them underground , is called %{tri-veNI} q.v.)[59]

Yampai, Arizona

The “River Yuman” language group includes the Yuman, Maricopa and Quechan languages.[60] The Yuman were nomadic.

Sanskrit yamunA f. N. of a river commonly called the Jumna

pA P. ... to watch , keep , preserve ; to protect from , defend against … to protect (a country) i.e. rule , govern … to observe , notice , attend to , follow

pay %{payate} , to go , move

Yuman pai “people”

Tamil pai 1. greenness, freshness; 2. colour; 3. youth; 4. beauty; 5. strength, vigour[61]

pAy servant[62]

paya-ttal 1. to yield, produce, put forth fruit; 2. to come into existence; to be made [The Tamil suffix -ttal indicates the preceding word is a verb]

Yampalle, Telangana, India; Yampur, Chhattisgarh, India; Yampha, Nagaland, India

Yuma, Arizona The Colorado River runs through Yuma.

Sanskrit yamunA f. N. of a river commonly called the Jumna

Yumthang, Sikkim, India; Jumnal, Karnataka, India; Jumanal, Karnataka, India

Yamhill County, named after the Yamhela people.

The best evidence of the origin of the name is that it was the early name given the Yamhelas Indian Tribe, part of the Kalapooian family.

Sanskrit kAla … time (as leading to events, the causes of which are imperceptible to the mind of man), destiny, fate … time (as destroying all things), death, time of death (often personified and represented with the attributes of Yama , regent of the dead , or even identified with him[63]

Tamil kalappu 1. cordiality, fraternity; combination; mixture; 2. meeting; 3. friendship; fellowship, intimacy[64]

Yamhon Old, Nagaland, India; Kalapura, Rajasthan, India; Kalapuram, Andra Pradesh, India

Yemassee, South Carolina Named after the Yamasee Tribe

Muscogee Yamasee/yvmvse “tame”[65]

Sanskrit yama m. a rein , curb , bridle RV., … the act of checking or curbing , suppression, restraint … restraint of words , silence) … self-control forbearance, any great moral rule or . . . (in Yoga) self-restraint (as the first of the eight An3gas or means of attaining mental concentration) … any rule or observance...

Yamasandi, Karnataka, India

Yampa River, Colorado; Yampa, Colorado

Sanskrit yamunA f. N. of a river commonly called the Jumna

pa or pA “to give drink” or “protect”

pA P. ... to watch , keep , preserve ; to protect from , defend against … to protect (a country) i.e. rule , govern Ra1jat. ; to observe , notice , attend to , follow

Yamuna River, Tributary to the Ganges, Northern India; Yampalle, Telangana, India; Yampur, Chhattisgarh, India; Yampha, Nagaland, India

Yamachiche, Quebec, Canada

Sanskrit yam, yacchati, -te ({yamati, -te}), pp. {yata3} (q.v.) hold, hold [[-,]] up, lift, raise, erect, sustain, support; hold back, restrain, check, stop; hold out, offer, grant, furnish, give

Yamakanmardi, Karnataka, India

Yamaska, Quebec Canada

Sanskrit suffix -aska indicates “lack of,” or “without.” Thus perhaps “absence of death.”

Yamasandi, Karnataka, India

State Names

Alaska

“From Eskimo word "alakshak”, meaning peninsula; also said to mean "great lands."[66]

Tamil al “night” or alternately “sunshine”

Sanskrit -aska suffix which indicates “lack of,” or “without.”

Thus “Alaska” would mean “absence of night or sunshine,” depending on the season.

Alasanatham, Tamil Nadu, India; Alas, Maharashtra, India; Alasin, West Bengal, India

Arizona

“Many authorities attribute the meaning to a word meaning arid zone or desert. Others claim the name is Aztec, from ‘arizuma’ meaning ‘silver bearing.’”[67]

Sanskrit ari 1 mfn. attached to faithful RV. … m. a faithful or devoted or pious man

Tamil ari 1. green; 2. yellow, brown, tawny, fawn colour; 3. gold, wealth; 4. colour; 5. beauty; 6. emerald;

Hindi Sonā (सोना):—(nm) gold; an excellent thing; (v) to sleep … gold and silver

Arizal, Jammu and Kashmir, India; Arizpur, Bihar, India; Sonapur, Bihar, India; Sonamukhi, West Bengal, India; Arisola, Odisha, India; Sonamarg, Jammu and Kashmir, India

Arkansas

Origin uncertain. As usual with words of Indian origin, there are various spellings for this State name, among them Alkansia, Alkansas, and Akamsea. The word, according to some, is of Algonquin origin, and the meaning is unknown.[68]

Sanskrit arkAMza m. a digit or the twelfth part of the sun\'s disc[69]

arka m. a ray , flash of lightning … the sun … number twelve … crystal

Arkalgud, Karnataka, India; Arkavathi River, Karnataka. India; Arkhar, Chhattisgarh, India; Arka Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh, India; Arkandi, Uttar Pradesh, India; Arkani, Uttarakhand, India; Arkandla, Telangana, India

California Generally agreed that Cortez first applied the name, the origin is traced to the name of an imaginary island in an old Spanish romance written by Montalvo in 1510. The island is described as an earthly paradise, abundant with gold and precious gems.

Sanskrit kAlItanaya m. `\" son (or favourite) of Durga1 \"\' , a buffalo L.

Idaho

Origin uncertain. Some claim it to sterol from an Indian word of unknown meaning, while others claim the meaning "gem of the mountains," which properly describes the State especially because Indian translations quite often referred to natural features of surrounding country. Another claim is the Shoshone translation of "Edah hoe," or "light on the mountains."[70]

Sanskrit iddha mfn. kindled , lighted , alight ; shining , glowing , blazing RV. … clean , clear , bright ; wonderful L. ; (%{am}) n. sunshine , light , heat ; a wonder[71]

aga (*a. not moving;) m. tree or mountain[72]

gir 3 m.= %{giri4} , a mountain[73]

Idda, Punjab, India; Iddalgi, Karnataka, India; Idahalla Kaval, Karnataka, India; Idahiya Navi Jot, Uttar Pradesh, India

Illinois

“From the Illini Indian word meaning ‘men’ or ‘warriors,’ supplemented by the French adjective ending ‘ois/’”[74]

“What were Illini Indian weapons, tools and artifacts like? Illini hunters and warriors used bows and arrows, spears, and clubs.”[75]

Sanskrit ilI f. a cudgel , a stick shaped like a sword or a short sword

nI to lead , guide , conduct , direct , govern

Ilia, Uttar Pradesh, India; Illindrada, Andhra Pradesh, India

Kansas

“Named for the Kansas or Kanza tribe of the Sioux family that lived along a river in the area and gave it the tribal name. The name translates as ‘south wind people,’ or ‘wind people.’"

Sanskrit kaMsazatru m. N. of Krishna

Kamsara, Odisha, India; Kamsali Bethapudi, Andhra Pradesh, India; Kamsanahalli, Karnataka, India

Kentucky

Origin and meaning controversial. Pioneer George Rogers Clark claimed the name was derived from the Indian word "Kentake," meaning "meadow land." The claim is also made that it stems from the Shawnee word meaning "at the head of a river" inasmuch as they used the Kentucky River in traveling throughout the area. It is also claimed to stem from the Wyandot word "Ken-tah-ten," meaning "land of tomorrow."

Joliet map of 1670 the word Kentayentonga is written across the northern part of Ky., just south present Cincinnati . and beneath it a legend setting forth the fine country and many fruits to

be found there. The name and the description undoubtedly refer to the comparatively level, limestone lands which the traveler down the Ohio meets when he passes below the rough. sandstone hills that border that riv. from its head to nearly Maysville, Ky.”[76]

Tamil kaNTAyam opening, outlet, avenue, passage

kantAyam 1. astrological period of four months … 5. harvest season

kANTaka mf(%{I})n. (fr. %{kaNTaka}) consisting of thorns

Sanskrit Saṅga (सङ्ग).—i. e. sam-ga … m. 1. Joining, uniting … Meeting … Confluence of

rivers.[77]

Sanga/sangha/samga often becomes “tanga,” as in Africa’s Lake Tanganika.

Kantakai, Odisha, India; Kantakapalle, Andhra Pradesh, India; Kantakamamba temple, Kantakapalle, Andhra Pradesh, India; Kantayapalem, Telangana, India; Tanga, Madhya Pradesh/Maharashtra/West Bengal/Uttarakhand, India

Minnesota

From Sioux word meaning "cloudy water" or “sky-tinted water,” deriving its name from the river of the same name.

Sanskrit maNi … “a large water-jar”

mIna m. fish

mInAlaya m. `\" abode of fish \"\' , the sea , ocean

sudAman mfn. giving well, bestowing abundantly, bountiful; m. a cloud

soma … heaven, sky, ether …

somadhArA f. the milky way … the sky, heaven

Hindi Sotā (सोता):—(a) sleeping; (nm) a stream, spring, brook; source …

Pali Sota, 2 (m. & nt.) (Vedic srotas, nt. , fr. sru; see savati) 1. stream, flood, torrent

Minaspur, Karnataka, India; Minasandra, Karnataka, India; Manipur, India (state); Minnapura, Karnataka, India; Minnal, Tamil Nadu, India, India; Manimala River, Kerala, India; Minavada, Gujarat, India (next to the Mohar River); Sotai, Haryana, India; Sotal, Punjab, India

Mississippi

Accounts by La Salle and Marquette, late 1600s French explorers, mention that the Chippewa Indians called the river the “Missi Sippi,” or “large flowing water.”

In the first decade of the 1700s, French governor D’Iberville in Mobile referred to the Mississippi as the St. Louis River in honor of King Louis XIV of France. French historian Antoine-Simon le Page du Pratz wrote a history of Louisiana in 1758. In it, he said Native Americans referred to the Mississippi as the “Mechasipi,” or “the ancient father of waters.”[78]

Sanskrit mah 2 mf n. great , strong , powerful mighty …

mah f. great, mighty, powerful, strong, abundant; old, aged. f. the earth (as the great one), ground, soil, land, country, kingdom; space; host; cow; du. heaven and earth; pl. rivers, waters.

maha 1 mfn. great , mighty , strong , abundant … ; m. (cf. %{makha} , %{magha}) a feast, festival … the festival of spring … a sacrifice L. ; a buffalo L. ; light , lustre , brilliance … f. a cow … n. pl. great deeds RV.

maha 2 a. great, rich, abundant,

mahi adj. great; adv. greatly, much.

Tamil makA 1. great, high, exalted, dignified, noble, honourable; 2. immense, prodigious, stupendous, monstrous, extreme; 3. superior, paramount, superlative; 4. intense

Sanskrit sApIDa mfn. emitting or discharging a stream of water

Supayas mfn. having beautiful water

Mechal, Kerala, India; Mahanadi River, Odisha, India; Supai, Bihar, India; Supaidi, Jharkhand, India

Missouri

The word "Missouri" often has been construed to mean "muddy water" but the Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology has stated it means "town of the large canoes."[79]

There are five large waterfalls on the Missouri River.

Sanskrit mizr (also written %{misr} , properly Nom. fr. %{mizra} below) … to mix , mingle , blend , combine … to add … Lat. {miscere} ; Slav. … {mi4sti} , {maisztas} ; Germ. {misken} , {mischen} ; Angl. Sax. {miscian} ; Eng. {mix} sari f. a cascade, waterfall

sarila n. = %{salila} water

Mizoram, India (state); Sari, West Bengal, India; Sari, Uttarakhand, India; Sari, Bihar, India; Sari, Gujarat, India

Michigan

From Algonquin word "Mishigamaw," meaning “big lake” or “great water,” deriving its name from the lake of the same name. Also said to be from "Michi" meaning "great" and "Gama" meaning “water.”[80]

Tamil mIcaram 1. that which is superior or great; 2. plenty; 3. Speed

makA 1. great, high, exalted, dignified, noble, honourable; 2. immense, prodigious, stupendous, monstrous, extreme; 3. superior, paramount, superlative; 4. intense

Sanskrit maha 1 mfn. great , mighty , strong , abundant

gara mfn. "swallowing" ; m. any drink , beverage , fluid

ga 2 mf(%{A})n. (%{gam}) only ifc. going , moving (often attached at the end of river names, as with the River Ganga . . .)

Mahagama pokhar (Lake), Jharkhand, India; Mechi River, Border between India and Nepal; Mishipur, West Bengal, India; Mishirdi, Jharkhand, India; Mishilimi, Nagaland, India

New Mexico

the name "Mexico" comes from Nahuatl Mēxihco, of unknown derivation.[81]

The etymology of the word ‘Mexico’ has been widely discussed as there is no definitive proof about its sole origin. The theory that is mostly accepted points out that it is formed from three Nahuatl words: ‘metztli’ meaning ‘moon’; ‘xictli’ translate as ‘belly button’ or ‘centre’; and the affix ‘-co’ indicating ‘place’.[82]

Sanskrit nava 1 mf n. new , fresh , recent , young , modern (via Spanish “nava”)

Mākṣika (माक्षिक).—n. (-kaṃ) 1. A mineral substance, of which two kinds are described; the svarṇamākṣika or gold Makshika, of a bright yellow colour, apparently the common pyritic iron ore: and the rūpyamākṣika or silver Makshika, which answers in appearance to the Hepatic pyrites of iron; other names of these ores occur; as viṭmākṣika and kāṃsyamākṣika, or feculent Makshika and mixed metal Makshika they are however, perhaps rather synonyms of the gold and silver ore, respectively, than names of distinct species. 2. Honey. E. makṣikā a bee, aṇ aff. of derivation; the name is applied to the ore, from its honey-like colour.

Maksi, Madhya Pradesh, India; Maksaspur, Bihar, India; Maksaspur River, Harijan Tola Road, Bhagalpur, Bihar, India

Wisconsin

From an Indian name whose meaning is uncertain. Named after its principal river and said to mean "wild rushing channel;" also refers to "holes in the banks of a stream in which birds nest." Spelled Ouisconsin and Misconsing by early chroniclers.

Sanskrit viSkanda m. dispersing, going away[83] (like the waters of a river)

Viskama Temple, Ekma, Bihar, India; Wiskalan, Uttar Pradesh, India

Wyoming

According to the Wyoming Secretary of State, “the name Wyoming is a contraction of the Native American word mecheweamiing (“at the big plains”), and was first used by the Delaware people as a name for the Wyoming Valley in northeastern Pennsylvania.”

Depending on who you talk with, the word “Wyoming” in Delaware Indian language means either "large plains" or “mountains and valleys alternating;” in Munsee language "at the big river flat;” or in Algonquin “a large prairie place.”[84]

(cap) vAyumant a. joined or connected with wind.

Vayu Nagar, Deen Dayal Nagar, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India; Wayanad, Kerala, India

This last example of a United States of America state name that seems to bear etymological relation (else at least esoteric resonance) to a possible Sanskrit cognate is also an example of the subtle play of the Divine that my “mind’s eye” generally employs as a lens to view reality, as “Gods and Goddesses” and other such players planting little clues in the everyday of the spirited order of Nature. For though the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania is not terrifically windy, the state of Wyoming, named after that valley in Pennsylvania, is unequivocally known for the wind, Vayu . . .

[1] “WHAT DOES “ANASAZI” MEAN, AND WHY IS IT CONTROVERSIAL?” Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, accessed August 11, 2023, https://indianpueblo.org/what-does-anasazi-mean-and-why-is-it-controversial/#:~:text=The%20term%20is%20Navajo%20in,%E2%80%9D%20or%20%E2%80%9CAncestral%20Puebloan.%E2%80%9D.

[2] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “anazaya,” accessed June 10, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html.

[3] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “ki,” accessed June 10, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html.

[4] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “va,” accessed June 10, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html.

[5] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “anu,” accessed August 27, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html.

[6] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “maricopa,” accessed August 29, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html

[7] “Vocabulary in Native American Languages: Mojave Words,” Native Languages of the Americas, accessed August 25, 2023, https://www.native-languages.org/mojave_words.htm.

[8] Pamela Monro, Nellie Brown, Judith G. Crawford, “A Mojave Dictionary,” UCLA Occasional Papers in Linguistics 10, UCLA Department of Linguistics, PDF, accessed August 25, 2023, https://linguistics.ucla.edu/publications/opl_10.pdf

[9] “Vocabulary in Native American Languages: Quechan (Yuma) Words,” Native Languages of the Americas, accessed August 27, 2023, https://www.native-languages.org/quechan_words.htm.

[10] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “ha,” accessed June 10, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html.

[11] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “hari,” accessed August 27, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html.

[12] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “vasu,” accessed August 25, 2023, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/vasu.

[13] Ibid.

[14] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “vasu,” accessed June 10, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html.

[15] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “hava,” accessed August 27, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html.

[16] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “supayas,” accessed August 27, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html..

[17] Ibid.

[22] Donald B. Lawrence, Makarand Jawadekar, “Some Aboriginal Minnesota Names Borrowed From Sanskrit and Japanese,” Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science, Volume 45, Number 2, Article 6, 1979, accessed August 11, 2023, https://digitalcommons.morris.umn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1635&context=jmas.

[23]

[24] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “maki,” accessed June 10, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html.

[25] Ibid.

[26] Ibid.

[27] Ibid.

[28] Ibid.

[29] Ibid.

[30] “We are on Dakota homelands,” Friends of the Mississippi River, accessed August 12, 2023, https://fmr.org/where-we-work#:~:text=Wakp%C3%A1%20Th%C3%A1%C5%8Bka%20or%20Haha%20Wakpa,of%20these%20lands%20and%20waters.

[31] “Wakpa,” Public Art Saint Paul, September 30, 2022, https://publicartstpaul.org/wakpa-definition/#:~:text=Wakpa.,filling%2C%20sounds%20of%20water%20falling.

[32] “Dakota Language,” Wikipedia, accessed August 14, 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakota_language.

[33] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “vAkpradA,” accessed August 12, 2023, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/sangam.

[34] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “sanga,” accessed August 12, 2023, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/sangam.

[35] “Ask Rufus: The origin of ‘Mississippi’,” The Dispatch, Columbus, Mississippi, August 30, 2023, https://cdispatch.com/opinions/ask-rufus-the-origin-of-mississippi/.

[36] Ibid.

[37] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “great,” accessed August 29, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html.

[38] Ibid.

[39] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “water,” accessed August 29, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html.

[40] Ibid.

[41] Marcus Jackson, “What's in a name? Sangamon River,” The News-Gazette, Community Media Group, June 25, 2019, https://www.news-gazette.com/news/whats-in-a-name-sangamon-river/article_4bc5c00c-2500-5e82-8baf-1439e358d9d3.html.

[42] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “samga,” accessed August 29, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html.

[43] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “sanga,” accessed August 12, 2023, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/sangam.

[44] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “sanga,” accessed August 12, 2023, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/sangam.

[45] William Ascarza, “Mine Tales: Baboquivari Mountains not far from Tucson yielded gold and silver,” Arizona Daily Star, May 14, 2018, Updated May 10, 2019, https://tucson.com/news/local/mine-tales-baboquivari-mountains-not-far-from-tucson-yielded-gold-and-silver/article_09df29a1-f219-533d-8ffd-96fce71a407d.html.

[46] Ibid.

[47] “WHERE DOES THE WORD NIAGARA COME FROM?” Niagara Falls Canada, September 27, 2018, https://www.niagarafallstourism.com/blog/where-does-the-word-niagara-come-from/.

[48]

[49] Richard B. Applegate, “Chumash Place Names,” The Journal of California Anthropology, 1(2), University of California Merced, December 1, 1974, https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3s34f5ss

[50]

[51] A. L. Kroeber, “California Placenames of Indian Origin,” University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology, June 15, 1916, accessed September 13, 2023, https://www.dotycoyote.com/pdfs/sources/kroeber_california_place_names.pdf.

[52] Rober Schwemmer, “Chumash Midden, Channel Island National Park,” National Parks Service, accessed September 15, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/places/000/chumash-midden.htm#:~:text=The%20name%20Anacapa%20comes%20from,Pathways%20Lead%20the%20Chumash%20Home.

[53] “Marin County,” Marin Association of Realtors, accessed September 10, 2023, https://marincountyrealtors.com/index.php?submenu=MarinCounty&src=gendocs&ref=MarinCounty&category=OurCommunity#:~:text=Marin%20County%20was%20named%20after,branch%20of%20the%20Coast%20Miwok.

[54] Jim Wood, “Origins of the Name of Marin County,” Marin Magazine, February 13, 2018, https://marinmagazine.com/arts-events/things-to-do/origins-of-the-name-of-marin-county/.

[55] “Havana General Information,” The Havana Grid, accessed September 12, 2023, https://havanagrid.com/et/info.

[56] Emma Carole Paradis and Kimberly Carole, “Understanding the Havana Name Meaning A Comprehensive Guide,” Impeccable Nest, accessed September 12, 2023, https://impeccablenestdesign.com/name-meaning/understanding-the-havana-name-meaning-a-comprehensive-guide/.

[57] Ibid.

[58] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “yama,” accessed August 29, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html.

[59] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “yamuna,” accessed August 29, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html.

[60] “Quechan Language,” Wikipedia, last edited June 5, 2023, accessed August 29, 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quechan_language#:~:text=Quechan%20belongs%20to%20the%20River,both%20the%20elderly%20and%20young.

[61] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. suffix “pai,” accessed August 29, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html.

[62] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “pay,” accessed August 29, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html.

[63] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “kala,” accessed August 29, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html.

[64] Ibid.

[65] “Mvskoke Word List Y,” Muscogee Nation, Muscogee (Creek) Nation 2016, accessed August 1, 2022, https://www.muscogeenation.com/word-list-y/.

[66] “Origin of Names of US States,” U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Affairs, January 4, 1974, https://www.bia.gov/as-ia/opa/online-press-release/origin-names-us-states.

[67] “Origin of Names of US States,” U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Affairs

[68] “Origin of Names of US States,” U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Affairs.

[69] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. prefix “arka,” accessed August 29, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html.

[70] “Origin of Names of US States,” U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Affairs, January 4, 1974, https://www.bia.gov/as-ia/opa/online-press-release/origin-names-us-states.

[71] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “light,” accessed August 29, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html.

[72] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “aga,” accessed August 29, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html.

[73] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “mountain,” accessed August 29, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html.

[74] “Origin of Names of US States,” U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Affairs.

[75] “Illini,” Tribes of Iowa, Smore, accessed September1, 2023, https://www.smore.com/38r2f-illini.

[76] “Kentucky Name Origin,” Morehead State University, PDF, accessed September 1, 2023, https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1340&context=kentucky_county_histories.

[77] Wisdom Library Search the Database: Glossary, Wisdom Library Peace-Love-Dharma, s.v. “sanga,” accessed August 12, 2023, https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/sangam.

[78] “Ask Rufus: The origin of ‘Mississippi’,” The Dispatch, Columbus, Mississippi, August 30, 2023, https://cdispatch.com/opinions/ask-rufus-the-origin-of-mississippi/.

[84] https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/wyoming-name

Africa and India...A Mirror Across the Indian Ocean ...

2023-07-04T09:25:00.003-06:00

(Excerpt from

To Be or Not To Be: brahman or Abrahman

/ The World Turned Upside-Down

"King Agnidhra and Africa")

Below are quite a number of places in Africa that bear Sanskrit or other Indian language names, some even named after Gods worshipped in Hinduism, and many sharing place names with locales in India:

Salabani, Kenya* a town on the shore of Lake Baringo.

Sanskrit sala, “water” + bANi/vANI, “Saraswati”/“of a river.”

Salabani, Odisha India

Kamarabuyon, Kenya*

Sanskrit kamara, “desirous.”

Kamarajapuram, Tamil Nadu, India

Namanyama, Uganda

Sanskrit nAma, “name/named” + yama, Lord of Death and Hell and Judge of the Dead/“righteous restraint.”

Kampala, Uganda*

kAmapAla, “gratifier of human desires,” a name applied to Vishnu and Shiva. Kampala, Odisha, India

Jinja, Uganda city at the beginning of the White Nile north of Lake Victoria; Gingi River, Congo; Gingi River, Angola; Gonga, Tanzania*

Ganga River Goddess and Consort to Shiva

Gingani, Gujarat, India; Gingi, Tamil Nadu, India

Siaya, Kenya

Shiva/Shivaya

Kalii, Kenya*

Sanskrit Kali, “black” and name of Goddess Kali.

Kali, Gujarat, India; Kali, Tamil Nadu, India

Ramisi, Kenya; Ramisi River, Kenya; Ramu, Kenya; Ramula, Kenya; Ramafuta Island, Uganda;

Rangwi, Tanzania

Hindu God Rama, Consort to Sita.

Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, India; Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu, India; Ramnagar, Uttarakhand, India; Ramagundam, Telangana, India

Sitalike, Tanzania; Sitarehe, Tanzania; Seeta Seeta, Uganda; Seeta Nalakonge, Uganda; Seeta Banda, Uganda; Seeta Mangaliba, Uganda; Sitatunga, Kenya; Sitaman, Kenya; Sitabicha, Kenya*

Hindu Goddess Sita, Consort to Rama.

Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, India; Sita Marhi, Bihar, India; Sita, Manipur, India; Sita Lentol, Tengnoupal, Manipur, India

Seeta-Namuganga, Tanzania*

Hindu Devi (Goddess) Sita + Nama (name) Ganga (Goddess and river name)

Seetagondi, Telangana, India; Seetaramapalle, Telangana, India; Seetanagar, Ramagundam, India

Simba, Kenya

Swahili simba “lion”

Sanskrit simha “lion”

Kisii, Kenya; Kisarawe, Tanzania*; Kilwa Kisiwani, Tanzania*; Kisiwa, Tanzania*

“Kisa” likely from God “Krishna.”

Sanskrit kisa m. N. of an attendant of the sun.

Kisannagar, Telangana, India; Kisan Nagar, Karimnagar, Telangana, India

Shimbi Mashariki, Tanzania

Shiva + maha + rishi/RSi, “Shiva Great Sage”

Msindaji, Tanzania* a community overlooking the Indian Ocean.

Sanskrit sindhu name of Varuna as god of the ocean + jI, “Sir/mister.” Sindagi, Karnataka, India

Lingaula, Tanzania*

Sanskrit liṅga “phallus”/“sign of Shiva.”

Lingala, Telangana. India; Lingala, Maharashtra, India

Nangurukuru, Tanzania

Sanskrit nanA, “mother" + guru “teacher” + kuru a people/ancient kingdom of northern India.

Matapatapa, Tanzania a village on the ocean shore precariously perched at the top of a steep sand dune.

Sanskrit mata, “mother” or “considered” + patApata ”going or inclined to fall”

Banda, Uganda* and Banda, Tanzania*

Swahili banda “shed, barrack, barn, hut; hovel: ~ la farasi stable; ~ la ndege air shed; ~ la gari garage; ~ la kuku poultry yard. kibanda nm.” ;

Sanskrit bandha m. binding, tying, a bond, fetter . . . damming up (a river) . . . custody . . . connection or intercourse with (comp.) . . . putting together, uniting, contracting, combining, forming, producing . . . joining . . . constructing, building (of a bridge &c) . . . a border, framework, enclosure, receptacle . . .” Root to English “bond.” Banda, Madhya Pradesh India; Banda, Maharashtra, India; Bandara, Uttar Pradesh, India

Lake Sagara, Tanzania*

Sanskrit sAgara, “the ocean . . . an ocean . . . n. relating to the sea , marine. Sagara, Karnataka India

Tara, Uganda*

Devi Tara, one of the names of Shiva’s Consort Parvati.

Tara, Palamu Division, Jharkhand India

Shangarai, Tanzania,* just south of Meru in Arusha.

Shankara, name of Shiva meaning “beneficent.”

Shankara, West Bengal, India; Shankara, Karnataka, India; Sankara, Rajasthan, India.

Kihindi, Tanzania*

Hindi is a name of Durga and of the language.

Kahindi, Bangladesh.

Miguruwe, Tanzania*

guru, a teacher

Guruwa, Jharkhand, India

Zinga Ngahama, Tanzania

Sanskrit linga symbol of Shiva + Ga (Shiva) or sanga + naga (serpent beings/tribal people of Nagaland, India) + hama a partiular personification of Gautama-dharma-śāstra or “similar; equal; together”

Sanga, Uganda; Mitanga, Tanzania; Sanga Sanga, Tanzania*

Sanskrit sanga, confluence, gathering.

Sanga, Jharkhand, India; Sanga, Haryana, India; Sanga, Madhya Pradesh, India; Sanga, Bihar, India; Sanga, Sanga, Rajasthan, India

Kapala, Uganda* and Kapalala, Tanzania

Sanskrit kapala/kApAla cup or bowl, skull, name of a sect of Shivites.

Kapala Village in Bhopalpattnam (Bijapur) Chhattisgarh, India

Aganga, Uganda, a community next to the Victoria Nile.

Sanskrit gangA,

Ganges River, India

Atura, Uganda*

Sanskrit atura, “not liberal, not rich.”

Atura, Bangladesh

Arusha, Tanzania* Arusha’s soil is quite red.

Sanskrit aruSa 1 mf n. red reddish (the colour of Agni and his horses , of cows , of the team of Ushas … m. the sun , the , day … m. pl. the red horses of Agni f. the dawn. Arusa, Uttar Pradesh India

Usa River, Tanzania*

Sanskrit uSa 1 m. early morning, dawn, daybreak, Ushas, Hindu Goddess of Dawn.

Usha, West Bengal, India

Mount Ngualla, Mount Hanang, Ngorongoro Crater, Ngaramtoni, Ngarenaro, Tanzania; Ngara, Mount Ng'iro, Kenya; Ngarama, Ngai, Nganda, Mount Ngaliema, Uganda/Democratic Republic of the Congo; Ngamba Island, Uganda*

Sanskrit naga semi-divine serpent people; inhabitants of ancient Kashmir; a mountain.

Nagaland, India (state in N.E. India); Nagaur, Rajasthan, India; Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, India; Nagore, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, India; Mount Nagalaphu, Uttarakhand, India

Mombasa, Kenya and Mumbai, India.

Notably and emblematically, the name of the coastal city Mombasa sounds rather like Mumbai (Bombay), an ancient city on the opposite side of the Indian Ocean from Mombasa, Kenya, two ports that have likely seen trade and other modes of exchange with each other for thousands of years.

Siwa Oasis, Egypt*

Deva (God) Shiva.

Shiva, Gujarat, India; Siwan, Bihar, India; Siwan, Haryana, India; Siwana, Rajasthan, India.

Siwa side-horn Sub-Saharan Africa/Swahili

Shiva

Siwa common surname in South Africa

Shiva

Surname in Hindi, Oriya, Tibetan, Arabic, Hassaniya-Arabic, most commonly found in South Africa.

Gandi, Nigeria*

Sanskrit gANDI f. a rhinoceros

Hausa karkanda (“g” became “k”) rhinoceros

Gandi, Andhra Pradesh, India; Gandi, Uttar Pradesh, India

Mali*

Hindi Mālī (माली):—(nm) a gardener; garlander

Sanskrit Māli (मालि).—name of a nāga king… Mali (मलि).—f. Possession, enjoyment.

Marathi māḷī (माळी).—m (mālī S) A florist or horticulturist, a gardener.

Mali, Gujarat, India; Mali, Bihar, India.

Kali, Ethiopia*

Devi (Goddess) Kali Ma.

Kali, Gujarat, India; Kali, Tamil Nadu, India.

Argun Mountain, Ethiopia

Arjuna, hero in the Bhagavad Gita

Argun, West Bengal, India

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo*

Krishna + Sanskrit gaNi 1 m. (for %{-Nin} , only at the end of names) one who is familiar with the sacred writings and the auxiliary sciences.

Sanskrit kisa m. N. of an attendant of the sun + gaNi

Kisannagar, Telangana, India; Kisan Nagar, Karimnagar, Telangana, India.

Kisandji, Democratic Republic of the Congo*

Krishna + jI m. `\" sir , mister , Mr. \"\' (attached to names as a mark of respect) else

Sanskrit kisa m. N. of an attendant of the sun + jI

Kisannagar, Telangana, India; Kisan Nagar, Karimnagar, Telangana, India.

Lingala, Central African Republic*

Sanskrit liṅga, “phallus”/“sign of Shiva.”

Lingala, Telangana, India; Lingala, Maharashtra, India

Indirigwa, South Sudan*

Hindu god Indra

Indri, Haryana, India

Rammash, Sudan; Raml, Sudan; Ramili, South Sudan; Rama, Ethiopia; Ramis, Ethiopia; Ramis River, Ethiopia; Ramid Ethiopia; Ramazani, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Ramadala, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Ramia, Mozambique; Ramia, Zembe, Mozambique; Ramotswa, Botswana; Ramatlabama, Botswana; Ramokgwebana, Botswana; Ramokgonami; Ramotlabaki, Botswana; Rwamagana, Rwanda; Ram Soka, Chad; Ramciel, Jonglei, South Sudan*

Hindu God Ram/Rama

Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, India; Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu, India; Ramnagar, Uttarakhand, India; Ramagundam, Telangana, India

Sita, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Sitatonga II, Mozambique (mountain peak); Sitima Parish, Zomba, Malawi; Sita Gaborone, Botswana; Sita Pan, Gasita, Botswana; Sita, Zani, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Sitaib, Sudan; Sita, Chad*

Hindu Goddess Sita, Consort to Rama.

Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, India; Sita Marhi, Bihar, India; Sita, Manipur, India; Sita Lentol, Tengnoupal, Manipur, India; Seetagondi, Telangana, India; Seetaramapalle, Telangana, India; Seetanagar, Ramagundam, India.

Nagagi, Nagaza, Nagero, Nagbata, Nagorodo, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Naguema, Ngapa, Nguma, Ngeue, Mozambique; Nagali, Nagati, Nagbata, Nago, Nagbenang, Central African Republic; Ngoma, Ngware, Zambia; Ngami, Ngotwane River, Botswana; Mount Ng’ombechinda, Nkwadzi Hill, Malawi; Mount Nyangani, Zimbabwe; Mount Ngaliema, Uganda/Democratic Republic of the Congo; Nigeria and Niger, countries in western Africa

Sanskrit naga semi-divine serpent people; inhabitants of ancient Kashmir; a mountain.

Nagaland, India (state in N.E. India); Nagaur, Rajasthan, India; Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, India; Nagore, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, India

Kuru, South Sudan; Kuru, Mountain in Ethiopia*

Kuru, Ancient kingdom in India and name of one of Agnidhra’s sons.

Kuru, Jharkhand, India; Kuru, Uttar Pradesh India

Raga, South Sudan*

Sanskrit rAga m. the act of colouring or dyeing … colour , hue , tint , dye , (esp.) red colour , redness … inflammation Car.; any feeling or passion, (esp.) love , affection or sympathy for , vehement desire of , interest or joy or delight in…loveliness , beauty (esp. of voice or song) … a musical note , harmony , melody

rAja 1 m. a king, sovereign, chief or best of its kind, as the word “Raja” is applied to several placenames within Raga, South Sudan.

Raga, Gujarat, India.

Tambura, South Sudan

Tambura Indian string instrument

Naandi, South Sudan; Nandi County, Kenya*

Nandi Shiva’s Bull vahana (vehicle)

Nandi, Karnataka, India; Nandi, Madhya Pradesh, India; Nandi, Himachal Pradesh, India.

Guru, South Sudan; Gurúè, Mozambique

Sanskrit guru, “teacher”

Gurugram, Haryana, India; Guruvayur, Kerala, India

Nguru, Nigeria

Sanskrit Naga semi-divine serpent people; inhabitants of ancient Kashmir; a mountain + Guru, “teacher.”

Gopanle, Somalia a watering hole in the desert that has been host to herds of cattle for untold centuries; Gopora, Zimbabwe; Gopane, South Africa; Gope, Botswana*

Sanskrit gopAla m. a cowherd … earth-protector … a king (and `\" cowherd…)

and Gopi f. milkmaid

Gopanapalli, Telangana, India; Gopalganj, Bihar, India; Gopi, Uttar Pradesh, India

Tara, Democratic Republic of the Congo*

Devi (Goddess) Tara

Tara, Palamu Division, Jharkhand India.

Mbandaka, Democratic Republic of the Congo* An elevated town at the confluence of the Congo and Ruki rivers.

Lingala language ndaká, pl. bandaka agreement, promise

Sanskrit bandhaka m. a binder , one who is employed in binding (esp. animals) . . . a catcher . . . a violator , ravisher . . . a band , tie . . .a dam , dike . . . a promise , vow. . . exchanging , barter

Bandaka, Odisha, India.

Gungu, Democratic Republic of the Congo a town next to the Kwilu River; Jinja, Uganda, a city at the beginning of the White Nile north of Lake Victoria; Gingi River, Congo; Gingi River, Angola; Ganga, Democratic Republic of the Congo,* a community next to the Uere River.

Ganga, Hindu River Goddess.

Ganges River, India; Gingani, Gujarat, India; Gingi, Tamil Nadu, India.

Guna, Mountain in Ethiopia; Guna Ethiopia; Guna, Democratic Republic of the Congo*

guNa m. a single thread or strand of a cord or twine … string or thread, rope … a garland; a bow-string … a sinew; the string of a musical instrument.

Guna, Madhya Pradesh, India; Guna, Rajasthan, India.

Mara, Chad; Marra Mountains, South Sudan; Marawi, Zimbabwe*

Hausa language Mara mara. 1. Negative expression.

Sanskrit 1 mara m. . . . dying , death (see %{pari-mara}) ; the world of death i.e. the earth; mfn. killing (see %{nR-mara}) ; m. pl. the inhabitants of hell

2 mAra mfn. ( %{mR}) killing , destroying ; m. death , pestilence . . . slaying , killing . . . an obstacle , hindrance

Mara, Andhra Pradesh, India; Mara, Madhya Pradesh, India; Mara, Rajasthan, India, Marawa, Uttar Pradesh, India

Ghana* “warrior king”

Sanskrit ghana mf. . . . a striker, killer, destroyer . . . compact, solid, material, hard, firm, dense . . . a collection, multitude, mass, quantity …

Ghanaur, Punjab, India; Ghanauli, Punjab, India.

Benin* a land with a long tradition of hair braiding

Sanskrit veNin m. `\" having a hood like braided hair \"\' … f. a woman with braided hair.

Beninagar, Uttar Pradesh, India; Beninagar, West Bengal, India

Lake Abijatta, Ethiopia

Sanskrit abhijAta mfn. born in consequence of ; born , produced ; noble , well-born ; obtained by birth , inbred , fit , proper … wise learned … handsome … n. nativity … high birth , nobility .

Lake Shala, Ethiopia*

Sanskrit sala m. (cf. %{sara}) a dog; water

Shala, Himachal Pradesh, India; Shala, Madhya Pradesh, India; Sala, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Shashamene, Ethiopia (an area near several gold mines); Shashe River, Zimbabwe/Botswana

Shesha+mani Many-headed serpent that is Vishnu’s Couch + maNi f. a jewel, gem, pearl … any ornament or amulet, globule, crystal, root to English “money.”

Shesha, Rajasthan, India; Shisha, Gujarat, India

Issa, Mozambique*

Sanskrit Isa/Isha translates as “Lord,” among other things, and often refers to Shiva or Vishnu.

Isha temple, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India

Chande, Mozambique*

Sanskrit chanda mfn. pleasing , alluring , inviting

Chandra moon or god of the moon

Chanda, Uttar Pradesh, India; Chanda, Maharashtra, India

Chai, Mozambique*

Chai “tea”

Chail, Himachal Pradesh, India; Chaibasa, Jharkhand, India

Patala, Mozambique* A small community in Mozambique where the soil is distinctly pink

Sanskrit pATala mf(%{A})n. pale red , pink , pallid … m. a pale red hue, rose colour

Patala, Maharashtra, India; Patala, Odisha, India

Tamela, Mozambique

Sanskrit tamAla m. `\" dark-barked (but white-blossomed) \"\' Xanthochymus Pictorius; a sort of black Khadira tree L. ; Crataeva Roxburghii L. ; tobacco , … sectarial mark on the forehead (made with the juice of the Tama1la fruit) L. ; a sword L. ; m. n …. the bark of the bamboo

Kapala Hill, Malawi*

Sanskrit kapAla a cup , jar , dish (used especially for the Purod2a1s3a offering) … the alms-bowl of a beggar … a cover , lid … the skull , cranium , skull-bone … multitude , assemblage , collection. Very likely origin to the English words “cup” and “cap.”

kApAla relating to the skull or cranium … made of skulls … follower of a particular S3aiva [Shivite] sect of ascetics.

Kapala Village in Bhopalpattnam (Bijapur) Chhattisgarh, India

Capelelene, Mozambique (see above definition)

Kapala, Mali* (2) (see above definition)

Kapala, Democratic Republic of the Congo* (2) (see above definition)

Kapala River, Democratic Republic of the Congo* (see above definition)

Kapala, Sikasso, Mali* (see above definition)

Kapalala, South Sudan* (see above definition)

Kapita Suka, Democratic Republic of the Congo* (see above definition)

Kaya, Burkina Faso*

Sanskrit kAya 1 mf(%{I})n. relating or devoted to the god Ka

Kaya, Rajasthan, India

Kandi, Benin*

caNDi f. Name of Durga

Kandi, Telangana, India

Simba, Mozambique; Bolokwa-simba, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Swahili simba=lion

Sanskrit siMha m. (ifc. f. %{A} ; prob. fr. %{sah}) `\" the powerful one \"\' , a lion (also identified with %{Atman}) RV. &c. &c. ; the zodiacal sign Leo or its … a hero or eminent person … chief or lord of … to express excellence of any kind …

Lake Manyame, Zimbabwe near to many mines, including gold, nickel, diamond, etc.

maNi m. (%{i} f. a jewel, gem, pearl (also fig.), any ornament or amulet, globule, crystal

Lake Chivero, Zimbabwe near to many mines, including gold, nickel, diamond, etc.

Kubera Lord of Riches and wealth

Ruki River, tributary to the Congo

ruci f. light , lustre , splendour , beauty … colour Ka1v. ; liking , taste , relish , pleasure, appetite, zest AV. &c. &c. (ifc. taking pleasure in , desirous of. longing for

These cognates/near cognates, identical placenames and other linguistic relationships were found by a very cursory study. Certainly, a more thorough study would uncover many more similarities and cultural kinships between India and the vast neighboring continent across the Indian Ocean, Africa, two great southern lands that were at various times source to the outflow of humanity and culture, both to be revered and respected as ancestors to all peoples and cultures.

The "Hindu" Mount Meru is in Africa ?! (except from the as yet unpublished manuscript for To Be or Not To Be: brahman or Abrahman /The World Turned Upside-Down)

2023-06-07T18:29:00.002-06:00

Africa’s Mount Meru is just south of Kenya. Nila in Sanskrit means "blue," and the Blue Mountains of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are on the west shore of Lake Albert, which is one source of the Nile (Sanskrit nila) River, and thus the above passage from the Vishnu Puranam is likely describing the area between the land around Mount Meru in Tanzania and the Blue Mountains that are north and west of Meru, one source to the Nile, as being granted to Kamya, i.e., including the land later known as Kenya!! There is a tribe in Kenya known as the Nandi people. Nandi is the bull that is Lord Shiva's vehicle according to Hinduism. One of the tribes of Tanzania is the Shambaa tribe who speak the Shambala language, rather quite close to the name of Hindu God Shiva Shambo and to the mythical Kingdom of Shambala of Hindu and Buddhist lore. Among the many place names in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda that are very likely derived from Sanskrit (* indicating that the same place name is found in India): Salabani* (Sanskrit sala, “water”[1] + bANi/vANI Saraswati/“of a river.”[2] Salabani, Odisha India), a town on the shore of Lake Baringo in Kenya; Kamarabuyon, Kenya (Sanskrit kamara, “desirous”[3]); Namanyama, Uganda (Sanskrit nAma, “name/named”[4] + yama, Lord of Death and Hell and Judge of the Dead[5]); Kampala, Uganda* (kAmapAla, “gratifier of human desires,” a name applied to Vishnu and Shiva.[6] Kampala, Odisha India); Siaya, Kenya (Shiva/Shivaya); Kalii, Kenya (Kali, “black” and name of Goddess Kali. Kali, Gujarat and Kali, Tamil Nadu, India); Simba, Kenya (Swahili “Simba” = “lion,” Sanskrit simha, = “lion”); Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kisandji, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kisarawe, Tanzania, Kilwa Kisiwani, Tanzania, Kisiwa, Tanzania (“Kisa” likely from God “Krishna,”); Shimbi Mashariki, Tanzania (Shiva + maha + rishi/RSi, “Shiva Great Sage”); Msindaji, Tanzania*, a community overlooking the Indian Ocean (Sanskrit sindhu, name of Varuna as god of the ocean[7] + jI, “Sir/mister.”[8] Sindagi, Karnataka India); Lingaula, Tanzania* (Sanskrit liṅga, “phallus”/“sign of Shiva.” Lingala, Telangana and Lingala, Maharashtra India), Nangurukuru, Tanzania (Sanskrit nanA, “mother" + guru “teacher” + kuru a people/ancient kingdom of northern India[9]), Matapatapa, Tanzania, a village on the ocean shore precariously perched at the top of a steep sand dune (Sanskrit mata, “mother” or “considered” + patApata ”going or inclined to fall”[10]); Banda, Uganda* and Banda, Tanzania* (Swahili banda “shed, barrack, barn, hut; hovel: ~ la farasi stable; ~ la ndege air shed; ~ la gari garage; ~ la kuku poultry yard. kibanda nm.”[11]; Sanskrit bandha m. binding, tying, a bond, fetter . . . damming up (a river) . . . custody . . . connection or intercourse with (comp.) . . . putting together, uniting, contracting, combining, forming, producing . . . joining . . . constructing, building (of a bridge &c) . . . a border, framework, enclosure, receptacle . . .”[12]); Lake Sagara, Tanzania* (Sanskrit sAgara, “the ocean . . . an ocean . . . n. relating to the sea , marine); Tara, Uganda* (Devi Tara, one of the names of Shiva’s Consort Parvati); Shangarai, Tanzania, just south of Meru in Arusha (Shankara, name of Shiva meaning “beneficent”); Kihindi, Tanzania (Hindi is a name of Durga and of the language); Miguruwe, Tanzania (guru, a teacher); Zinga Ngahama, Tanzania (linga/symbol of Shiva + Ga (Shiva) + hama a partiular personification”); Mitanga, Tanzania, Sanga Sanga, Tanzania* (Sanskrit sanga); Kapala, Uganda* and Kapalala, Tanzania (kapala/kApAla cup or bowl, skull, name of a sect of Shivites); Aganga, Uganda, a community next to the Victoria Nile (gangA, Ganges River, India); Atura, Uganda (atura, “not liberal, not rich”). The name of the coastal city Mombasa similarly sounds rather like Mumbai (Bombay), an ancient port city on the opposite side of the Indian Ocean from Mombasa, Kenya.

[1] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “sala,” accessed February 21, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html.

[2] Ibid., s.v. “vani.”

[3] Ibid, s.v. “kamara.”

[4] Ibid, s.v. “nama.”

[5] Ibid., s.v. “yama.”

[6] Ibid., s.v. “kamapala.”

[7] Ibid., s.v. “sindhu.”

[8] Ibid., s.v. “ji.”

[9] “Kuru Kingdom,” Wikipedia, last edited May 13, 2023, accessed June 5, 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuru_Kingdom#:~:text=Kuru%20(Sanskrit%3A%20%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%81)%20was,900%20BCE).

[10] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “patapata,” accessed June 5, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html.

[11] Swahili-English Dictionary, s.v. “banda,” Nino Vassella, accessed June 5, 2023, https://www.swahili.it/glossword/index.php?a=term&t=ae5bafa4aca3a8ab61.

[12] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), s.v. “bandha,” accessed June 5, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html.

Updated and expanded English and Sanskrit cognates/nigh-cognates

2023-04-19T17:39:00.004-06:00

Updated and expanded English and Sanskrit cognates/nigh-cognates

To be printed in soon to be published in To Be or Not To Be: brahman or Abrahman / The World Turned Upside-Down https://www.facebook.com/WorldTurnedUpsideDown

To Be or Not To Be: Brahman or Abrahman | Facebook

Below are but a few of likely thousands of English words derived from Sanskrit words, compiled from multiple sources.[1] [2] [3] [4]

English Sanskrit

sister SvasR brother bhrAtR mother mAta, mAtR

father pitR daughter duhitr son sunu

car car, carya cut cuT bath bad

bad badh cow go, gau shampoo sampU

same sama symmetry samma Three tri

Penta panch Seven sapta Eight ashta

Deca dasha Sugar sharkara Pepper pippala

Orange naaranga Rice vrihi Grass ghaasa

Jungle jangala Serpent sarpa Cheetah chitra

Languor laangulam Mouse muusha Panther pandara

Cough kapha Vomit vama Voice vachas

Dental danta Mouth mukha Heart hrit, hRdaya

Nose naasa Seniews snaayu Smile smi

Man manu Mind man Ignited agni

Create kri Myth mithyA New nava

Stay sthA Path patha Monk muni

Saint sant Serve Sevaa Gene jan

Stand sthA Name naama Door dvaawara

Mix Mishra Mortuary mRta, mRtyu That tat

Vehicle vah Opal ` upala Committee samiti

Widow vidhavaa Cot kaTa ass āsa

attic aṭṭaka bumble bee bambhara char cūr

cruel krūra dumb ḍimbha estate astatāti

genuine jenya hunter hantṛ cook kuka

litter lita little liṭya look lok

mad mad mass masa meet mith

money maṇi omen oman overlook avalok

owl ālu pence paṇasa posh poṣa

press preṣ proud prauḍha rite rīti

sad sāda saint santa scale sakala

shallow śarāva shock śoka Sir sūri

smart samartha spy spaś stale sthālika

swear svṛ jump jhampa urge ūrj

use yuj wax vakṣ win van

wish vaś toll tul toss tas

union yūni urgent ūrjita vest veṣṭ

wage vāja wagon vahana wed vid

varnish varṇ zebra sabara fever jvar

entrails antral nasal/nose naas herpes serpes

gland granthi drip, drop(s) drups hydrocephalus ardra-kapaalaa

hiccups hicca muscle mausal malign mallen

hooray hari amen aum idea vidya

is As two dva dinghy din.gi

shaman shramaNa call, calling kal ambient amb

cackle kakh fart pard to pound puND

rap (talk) rap lick lih dam dam

soot sutee pretty (“fairly”) prati rumble ramb

want vanta bond bandha domicile dama

divine divya nasty naSTi navy/naval nAva

far para parallel parA care karuNa

osteomalacia ashti-malashay (contamination of the bones)

dyspepsia dush-pachanashay (bad digestion)

surgeon salya-jan (one who yields a sharp instrument)

fertility falati-Iti (one who yields fruit)

anesthesia anashtashayee (one lying in improper state)

homeopathy sameo-pathy (treatment parallel to symptoms)

allopathy alag-pathy (treatment different from symptoms)

can (i.e., “can him” kill/get rid of) can

yolk (i.e., “yolk the oxen”) yoga

etc., etc.,

[1] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon (from Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary'), accessed January 5, 2023, https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html.

[2] Antara R. Bansal, “Do you know these common English words of Sanskrit origin?” Language Curry, accessed January 5, 2023, https://blogs.languagecurry.com/articles/do-you-know-these-common-english-words-of-sanskrit-origin.

[3] Constantine Borissoff. “English – Sanskrit similar words,” borissoff Personal site of Constantine Borissoff, November 12, 2012, https://borissoff.wordpress.com/2012/11/12/english-sanskrit-similar-words/.

[4] Stephen Knapp, Proof of Vedic Culture’s Global Existence (Detroit: The World Relief Network, 2000), 30.

Reading from the Introduction to To Be or Not To Be: brahman or Abrahman / The World Turned Upside-Down

2022-12-17T18:48:00.004-07:00

A little reading from the Introduction to To Be or Not To Be: brahman or Abrahman /

The World Turned Upside-Down

and another tiny teaser . . .

List of English words derived from Sanskrit (In Progress)

2022-12-03T16:41:00.003-07:00

Just starting on this endeavor . . .

Why is Sanskrit not taught as root to much of the English language, as well as root to Greek and Latin?!?!

(beginnings of) a list of English words that are directly related to Sanskrit words:

English words from Sanskrit from Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html

Sister

svasR f. (of doubtful derivation) a sister (also applied to closely connected things of the fem. gender , as to the fingers , the waters &c.) RV. &c. &c. [Cf. Gk. $ ; Lat. {soror} ; Lith. {sesu4} ; Goth. &387312[1282 ,3] {swistar} ; Germ. {Schwester} ; Eng. {sister}.)

Brother

bhrAtR m. (connection with %{bhR} doubtful) a brother (often used to designate a near relative or an intimate friend , esp. as a term of friendly address) RV. &c. &c. ; du. brother and sister Pa1n2. 1-2 , 68. [Cf. Zd. {bra1tar} ; Gk. $ &c. ; Lat. &234074[770 ,2] {frater} ; Lith. {broter-e7lis} ; Slav. {bratru7} ; Goth. {brothar} ; Germ. {bruoder} , {Bruder} ; Eng. {brother}.]

bhrAtra m. a brother (see %{mAtur-bh-}) ; n. brotherhood , fraternity RV.

Mother

mAta 1 mfn. . . , made , composed (?) RV. v , 45 , 6 . . . mother "' ; cf. %{deva-mAta}).

Father

pitR m. . . . a father RV. &c. &c. (in the Veda N. of Br2ihas-pati , Varun2a , Praja1-pati , and esp. of heaven or the sky ; %{antarA@pitaraM@mAtaraM@ca} , `" between heaven and earth "' RV. x , 88 , 15) ; m. du. (%{-tarau}) father and mother , parents RV. &c. &c. (in the Veda N. of the Aran2is [q.v.] and of heaven and earth) ; pl. (%{-taras}) the fathers , forefathers , ancestors , (esp.) the Pitr2is or deceased ancestors (they are of 2 classes , viz. the deceased father , grandfathers and great-grandfathers of any partic. person , and the progenitors of mankind generally . . .

car

car . . . to move one's self , go , walk , move , stir , roam about , wander (said of men , animals , water , ships , stars , &c.) RV. AV. &c. ; to spread , be diffused (as fire) VarBr2S. xix , 7 ; to move or travel through , pervade , go along , follow . . .

carya mfn. (Pa1n2. 3-1 , 100) to be practised or performed Mn. iii , 1 ; m. (= %{cara}) the small shell Cypraea moneta L. ; n. ifc. driving (in a carriage) MBh. viii , 4215 ; (%{A}) f. going about , wandering , walking or roaming about , visiting , driving (in a carriage) . . .

cut

cuT . . . to split , cut off Dha1tup.: cl. 1. %{coTati} (%{cuNT-} , %{cuND-}) , to become small ib. (cf. %{cuTT} and %{buT}).

Cow

go . . . m. an ox f. a cow , (pl.) cattle , kine , herd of cattle RV. &c. (in comp. before . . . `" anything coming from or belonging to an ox or cow

Shampoo

sampU P. A1. %{-punAti} , %{-punIte} , to cleanse thoroughly , purify RV. A1s3vGr2.: Caus. %{-pAvayati} , to make thoroughly clean , cleanse , purify S3Br.

Same

sama 2 mf . . . even , smooth , flat , plain , level , parallel . . . same , equal , similar , like , equivalent , like to or identical or homogeneous with (instr. e.g. %{mayA@sama} "' , like to me . . .

List from https://blogs.languagecurry.com/articles/do-you-know-these-common-english-words-of-sanskrit-origin

Mother from maatr

Father from pitr

Brother from bhraatr

Sister from svasr

Son from sunu

Daughter from duhitr

Three from tri

Penta from panch

Seven from sapta

Eight from ashta

Deca from dasha

Sugar from sharkara

Pepper from pippala

Orange from naaranga

Rice from vrihi

Grass from ghaasa

Jungle from jangala

Cow from gau

Serpent from sarpa

Cheetah from chitra

Langoor from laangulam

Mouse from muusha

Panther from pandara

Cough from kapha

Vomit from vama

Voice from vachas

Dental from danta

Mouth from mukha

Heart from hrit

Nose from naasa

Seniews from snaayu

Smile from smi

Man from manu

Mind from man

Me from maa

Ignited from agni

Create from kri

Myth from mithya

New from nava

Stay from sthaa

Path from patha

Monk from muni

Saint from sant

Serve from Sevaa

Gene from jan

Same from sama

Name from naama

Door from dvaawara

Mix from mishra

Mortuary from mrita

That from tat

Vehicle from vah

Opal from upala

Committee from samiti

Widow from vidhavaa

Cot from kaTa

From https://borissoff.wordpress.com/2012/11/12/english-sanskrit-similar-words/

ass āsa seat, the lower part of the body, behind, posteriors

attic aṭṭaka an apartment on the roof

bumble bee bambhara a bee

char cūr to burn

cruel krūra cruel, fierce, ferocious, pitiless, harsh

dumb ḍimbha an idiot, an infant

estate astatāti home

genuine jenya genuine, true

hunter hantṛ a slayer, killer

cook kuka a cook

litter lita broken, torn asunder asunder, scattered, dispersed, destroyed

little liṭya to be little

look lok to see, behold, perceive

mad mad to rejoice, be glad,exult, delight or revel in, be drunk (also fig.)

mass masa measure, weight

meet mith to unite, pair, couple, meet (as friend or antagonist)

money maṇi jewel, gem, pearl (also fig.)

omen oman help, protection

overlook avalok to look upon or at, view, behold, see, notice, observe

owl ālu an owl

pence paṇasa a commodity , an article of sale or commerce

posh poṣa thriving, prosperity, abundance, wealth, growth, increase (see more in http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2012/02/what-is-the-origin-of-posh/)

press preṣ to drive on, urge, impel, send forth

proud prauḍha proud, arrogant, confident, bold, audacious, impudent

rite rīti general course or way, usage, custom, practice, method, manner

sad sāda sinking down, exhaustion, weariness

saint santa true, real, actual, genuine, sincere, honest, truthful, faithful, pure, virtuous, good, successful, effectual, valid

scale sakala consisting of parts, divisible

shallow śarāva a shallow cup, dish, plate, platter

shock śoka sorrow, affliction, anguish, pain, trouble, grief for

Sir sūri a learned man, sage

smart samartha very strong or powerful, competent, capable of. able to

spy spaś one who looks or beholds, a watcher, spy

stale sthālika the smell of faeces

stupor, stupid sthāpita caused or made to stand, fixed

swear svṛ (also written {svar}) to utter a sound, sound, resound

jump jhampa a jump

urge ūrj to strengthen, invigorate

use yuj to make ready, prepare, arrange, fit out, set to work, use, employ

wax vakṣ to grow, increase, be strong or powerful

win van to conquer, win, become master of, possess

wish vaś to desire, wish, long for, be fond of, like

toll tul to lift up, raise

toss tas to throw

union yūni connection, union

urgent ūrjita endowed with strength or power, important

vest veṣṭ to dress, to wrap up, envelop, enclose, surround, cover, invest, beset

wage vāja the prize of a race or of battle, booty, gain, reward

wagon vahana a square chariot with a pole

varnish varṇ to paint, colour, dye.

wed Sanskrit vid (https://www.hitxp.com/articles/linguistics/list-of-dhatus-root-words-sanskrit-dictionary/)

zebra śabara variegated, brindled / śarvara mfn. variegated, spotted (equals karvara-; see also śabara-, śabala-) (https://sanskritdictionary.com/?q=sabara)

Below from https://www.hitxp.com/articles/linguistics/list-of-dhatus-root-words-sanskrit-dictionary/

52	बाड्	bad	baːɖ	to bathe to dive
53	बध्	badh	bəd̤	to bind, to restrain to loathe to be disgusted with, to shrink from
54	बाध्	badh	baːd̤	to oppress, to torment

From Stephen Knapp’s book Proof of Vedic Culture’s Global Existence

Medical Terms

English Sanskrit

Fever jvar

Entrails antral

Nasal/nose naas

Herpes serpes

Gland granthi

Drip, drop, drops drups

Hydrocephalus ardra-kapaalaa (damp brain)

Hiccups hicca

Muscle mausal

Malign, malignant mallen

Osteomalacia ashti-malashay (contamination of the bones)

Dyspepsia dush-pachanashay (bad digestion)

Surgeon salya-jan (one who yields a sharp instrument)

Fertility falati-Iti (one who yields fruit)

Anesthesia anashtashayee (one lying in improper state)

Homeopathy sameo-pathy (treatment parallel to symptoms)

Allopathy alag-pathy (treatment different from symptoms)

Removed my appendix and decided to put it here instead . . .

2022-06-28T10:15:00.001-06:00

Decided not to include this as an appendix to To Be or Not To Be: brahman or Abrahman / The World Turned Upside-Down, so thought to publish these remnants of my unfinished Master's thesis for the Master of Arts Program in the Social Sciences at the University of Chicago as would have appeared in my book here in the blog. Enjoy . . .

APPENDIX

Upon revisiting the remnants of my never-completed Master's thesis, an endeavor undertaken after I had resigned my ministry and more or less set Christianity aside, I immediately recognized that my thinking already quite succinctly showed more than subtle resonances with what I have since come to know as sanAtana dharma, “keeping it together forever,” and especially with Advaita, “non-dualism.” Upon revisiting so many memories of my experiences of this life lived, I realize that a path of yoga, yolk or union—body and mind, space and time, self and other—had already begun in my path and pilgrimage. Being conveyed to Taos and to the Hanuman Temple for Shivaratri in 1997 and the apparent shift of paradigm that came to me from that experience was in fact only a continuation of the same dharma that had been guiding me along my path all the while, and likely even long before this life lived.

If you choose to read this addendum, you will certainly note a continuity between the ideas and concepts I incorporated those years ago when endeavoring to sort through the dualistically constructed conflicts between Judaism, Christianity and Islam—the primary crux of most wars and dangerous tensions facing the peoples of the world since the Cold War ended and in fact since long before—and my embrace of “Hinduism” and the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta and those contingent theories I have proffered in the preceding. Indeed, I have come to understand my explorations of post-modernism and deconstruction in my last year of college into graduate school as a perfect segue between Christianity and sanAtana dharma, all pertinent and poignant parts of the Play of the Gods in this Golden Age of the Dark Age.

Unfortunately, about 70-80 pages of my MA Thesis, fruit of my labors at the U of C, are no longer extant, lest there's a 3½” floppy disk in storage and well enough hidden somewhere amongst my personal effects. Nonetheless, I am still pleased enough with these remaining pages to include them as at least an appendix to this text, as I feel they help to present my intellectual as well as spiritual pilgrimage from an early devotion to Nature and the mountains, to devoted Christian minister, to student of cultural history and critical theory at the University of Chicago, to wandering devotee of Shakti advocate of Advaita Vedanta and proponent of some rather radical theories. Likewise, these words further elucidate my general contentions of To Be or Not To Be: brahman or Abrahman / The World Turned Upside-Down with an academic rigor that is rather outside my regular parlance these days, and will certainly grant those academics that chance to read and consider the previous chapters a bit more insight into the theoretical underpinnings and general intellectual influences that lay somewhere behind the formulation of the preceding rather paradigm shaking theories.

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

NON-ESSENTIALLY OCCIDENTAL:

HETEROGLOSSIA IN THE WESTERN DISCOURSE ON ISLAM

MASTER’S THESIS

MASTER OF ARTS PROGRAM IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

JEFFREY C. ARCHER

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

JUNE 1996

In the past few decades, a number of critical works have appeared dealing with the nefarious “Orientalism” and other such Western discourses on “others.” While serving to bring up a great many important issues about ethnocentrism, colonialism, post-colonialism, and relations of power in general, many of these critiques also seem to implicate the West as a whole as subsumed within a homogenous, essentializing discourse when engaged in writing about these “others.” From Edward Said’s famous (or infamous) work Orientalism^{^[1]} to the recent proliferation of a self-reflective discourse in anthropology and in the history of the “non-West,” “the West” has begun to appear as the only topos where it is legitimate to speak of a unitary discourse or, to use Foucault’s term, episteme. Indeed, the metadiscursive practices which have become en vogue of late seem so concerned with the tropes of representation used to discuss the world of the “outside” that they have been largely blind to the effects of their own simultaneous essentialization of the “inside.” It seems this oversight has done a small but significant disservice to those encompassed in “the West” (whatever exactly that term designates); for to critique a singular, homogenous discourse of “the West” is indeed as much a misrepresentation as it is to critique as homogeneous the societies of “the East.”

I do not intend to imply that these metadiscourses are not necessary (at least provisionally), that there is no real disparity in the way this “West” has related to the “outside”—especially in material terms. Yet it might serve “us” to note that when “we” talk about a Foucaultian type discourse which encompasses all attempts at the representation of the “other,” the “outside,” of “them” that we are in fact reifying these distinctions. Even if this discourse is limited, as a neo-Marxian reading would dictate, to the bourgeois, the male, the academic, the official, the dominant media, etc., and excludes the most obvious “others” within “the West” itself, a significant “self” is nevertheless constituted, and one which contrasts in its singular force, dynamics, and indivisibility, to “the rest.”

Again, I must assert that a critique of “the West” as an agent of unparalleled exploitation carried out on “others” is not without merit. It is also not unfounded to argue that this exploitation was and is vitalized by the use of language in a certain way--“power in discourse”^{^[2]}--and that this inadvertent usage of language has a significant genealogy. Indeed, it is vital to attack the abuses which have been carried out in the name of “the West.” Yet we must acknowledge that this “West” (capitalized, signifying a proper noun; an entity) is itself a construct; indeed, the “reality” of which has allowed for the very designation of the “other”--“barbarian,” “infidel,” “savage,” “primitive,” etc. And despite the efforts of many conscientious scholars, this “West,” whose penetrating gaze has looked down from the towering heights of its monolithic edifice to survey the rest of the globe’s inhabitants yet stands.

To invert a category of “the other” found in a European mythological discourse on the other^{^[3]}, this “West” might be compared to a cyclops, with but one eye to survey its surroundings. Its (or it might be said, “his”) monocular gaze scans the horizon with no sense of depth, only able to make out the surface of all he sees. Yet one other likeness between this cyclops and “the West” which must not be overlooked (or, perhaps more accurately, left “unspoken”) is that the latter is a myth just as the former; the latter inscribed with such potency in the imagination that its reality is rarely brought into serious question. The sense of a unity which is produced in any such discourse on “the West” in which “West” is capitalized (in all senses of the word^{^[4]}) and left out of quotation marks--whether it be a “critical” reading or a self-indulgent--leaves this monster alive, albeit perhaps not completely unfettered.

In discussing the all-important distinction between “self” and “other,” Tzvetan Todorov points out in his book The Conquest of America: The Question of the Other that “We can discover the other in ourselves, realize we are not a homogenous substance, radically alien to whatever is not us: as Rimbaud said, Je est un autre.” ^{^[5]} Indeed, to categorically situate a homogenous discourse of the West against a plethora of unessentializable “others” still maintains the distinction of an “us” and a “them” with no in-between.

Lila Abu-Lughod makes an argument in her recent writings which works to pluralize the “lives” of her subjects, yet which maintains the above distinction. By writing against even the taken-for-granted, liberal humanist category of “culture” which has been used to describe anthropology’s “others”^{^[6]} (and it must be added, to describe the “self” as well), yet maintaining the use of what she terms a “tactical” humanism (with its shades of a very “Western” attachment to the self-actualizing individual), Abu Lughod goes only halfway toward reducing the texual/discursive violence done. Her writing accepts “the myth . . . of the self-constituting subject, that a consciousness of being which has an origin outside itself is no being at all.”^{^[7]}Rather, this must be erased from the text which endeavors to represent the other without violence.

From such a rejection, we can proceed to the idea that though histories and identities are necessarily constructed and produced from many fragments, fragments which do not contain the signs of any essential belonging inscribed in them, this does not cause the history of the subaltern to dissolve once more into invisibility. This is firstly because we [ought]apply exactly the same decentering strategies to the monolithic subject-agents of elite historiography; ^{^[8]}

Thus it seems even Abu Lughod’s assertions, perhaps among the most radical of the self-reflective oevres in anthropology today, fails to apply the same critical perspective when discussing the discursivity of the “West”; and indeed, this works to the detriment of the project’s coherence. Rather, we must recognize the “other” in the “self”; that the “West” is not so easy to distinguish, at least in some marginal realms of discourse, from the “other,” and that the other is not always placed into the confining categories of discourse in the course of textualization.

As repeatedly stated above, there is a substantial difference in the play of power in the discourses of “West” on “the other” versus “West” on the “self” (the very constructedness of these entities notwithstanding). Europe and America have indeed been the exploiters; they have largely controlled the various modes of production, whether one’s vantage is from a materialist or discourse analytic perspective (or both). It is perhaps less immediately important from the perspective of a simple political justice, conceived in the most colloquial terms, to treat the figure of “the West” with as much self-reflexivity as the representation of those encompassed by the “non-West.” And yet, if these various critiques of the essentializing techniques of discourse are to maintain validity, they must apply across the board—across the borders between the constructs of “us” and “them”—and deconstruct the discourses on “us” as well as those on “them.” Or at least they must find discontinuities, ruptures, resistance, competitions, and contra-dictions within the “discourse of the West,” and specifically that realm of discourse on “the other.” Indeed, perhaps only when this is done can Abu-Lughod’s project of writing against culture be accomplished. Only then can the field of power-discourse be in some way leveled. The contention of this paper is, then, that “the Occident” must be deconstructed in all its facets as well as “the Orient” and other “others” created in the imagination of the dominant discourse of “the West.” Indeed, if there is still a coherently constructed “self”-consciousness remaining—even as an object of critique—there will inevitably remain an “other” as the “outside” and the definite opposite of this “self.”

James Clifford, another important critic in the field of anthropology, indeed does argue against “occidentalism,” as the inverse of orientalism (in Said’s usage), but does not carry this criticism down to the level of identity at its most fundamental level (i.e., the “ontological” or linguistic category of the “self”), and often makes inadvertent reference to the “Western and non-Western,” even if only referring to the realm of professional academia.^{^[9]} His critique of Said’s Orientalism does sum up, with some insight, the problems with the latter.

Indeed Said’s methodological catholicity repeatedly blurs his analysis. If he is advancing anthropological arguments, Orientalism appears as the cultural quest for order. When he adopts the stance of a literary critic, it emerges as the process of writing, textualizing, and interpreting. As an intellectual historian Said portrays Orientalism as a specific series of influences and schools of thought. For the psychohistorian Orientalist discourse becomes a representative series of personal-historical experiences. For the Marxist critic of ideology and culture it is the expression of definite political and economic power interests. Orientalism is also at times conflated with Western positivism, with general definitions of the primitive, with evolutionism, with racism. One could continue the list. Said’s discourse analysis does not itself escape the all-inclusive “Occidentalism” he specifically rejects as an alternative to Orientalism (328).^{^[10]}

This very apt and insightful example notwithstanding, Clifford himself is open to the criticism that he does not take this critique of a critique of the critique of “the other” far enough. Perfectly willing to disavow the use of dichotomizing concepts such as “the West-rest (“Third World”),”^{^[11]}he does not carry out the necessary next step, which would be the deconstruction of identity itself (both of “the West” and, as a prior necessity, of even the individual as a bounded object). Clifford also admits his inability to do without the concept of “culture,” which he nonetheless admits is an essentializing technique.^{^[12]}

To quote P. Stephen Sangren on Clifford and the postmodern critique in anthropology in general: “by making textual authority stand for cultural authority in general, the literary critic, as fabricator and deconstructor of that authority, places him-/herself in a position of transcendent power--if not that of a king, at least that of a high priest.”^{^[13]} Though I disagree with most of the rest of Sangren’s argument against postmodern criticism, it seems this at least might be in some way accurate. This chorus of critics seeking to right the wrongs of their predecessors necessarily usurp their power, if not to represent the “other” in a totalizing way, then to represent the “West” in such a manner--or to stand as representatives of “the West” themselves, i.e., as its self-conscience. In order to complete the project of constructing a discourse in which the other is no longer dominated or subjugated or placed under “the West,” the existence of this very “West” as a construct must be made known and shown inadequate or incomplete from its very foundation.

The bounded self has been a recurrent element of discourses in the west (plural; lower case) from the earliest of texts, as has the call for a self-critical discourse (“recurrent” emphasized because they are not the only; are not always nor in all ways present). Bryan S. Turner notes that the confessional manuals of the “Middle Ages” “provided the disciplines whereby a new concept of the interior self could flourish.”^{^[14]} Turner cites Caroline Walker Bynum’s contention that in the twelfth-century “religious writing showed a specific interest in the inner landscape of the psyche and a concern for the development of models of moral consciousness and ethical behavior.”^{^[15]} Yet we may take this cursory genealogy further.

From the earliest Christian writings, the book of I Corinthians exhorts, “But let a man examine himself” (11:28); and Galatians, “But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another” (6:4). Neither is the Torah/Old Testament without statements which indicate a “self”-consciousness and self-critical discourse. Proverbs 20:27, for instance, tells that “The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, Searching all the inner depths of the heart.” Thus, as Jacques Derrida notes,

We all know this program of Europe’s self-reflection or self-presentation. We are old, I say it again. Old Europe seems to have exhausted all the possibilities of discourse and counter-discourse about its identification. Dialectic in all its essential forms, including those that comprehend and entail anti-dialectic, has always been in the service of this autobiography of Europe, even when it took on the appearance of a confession. For avowal, guilt, and self-accusation no more escape this old program than does the celebration of self.^{^[16]}

“The West” can confess its sins against the rest of the world with the sincerest of conviction, and yet the long-standing border--the definite difference--still remains. The ontologically derived notion that “the West” has a history (as opposed to histories, perhaps) necessarily leaves the foundation intact which has led to the racisms, colonialisms, and various other exploitations of the world not-us. Conceding that the history of the West has produced some good along with the bad, it remains that until “we” can recognize how much this discourse is a construct, and not the only one which might be used with coherence, “the West” will still stand against “the rest,” and the latter as a definite, essential entity. And as Derrida contends, “every reduction of the other to a real moment of my [or “our”] life, its reduction to the state of empirical alter-ego, is an empirical possibility, or rather eventuality, which is called violence.”^{^[17]}

What can be offered as an alternative, then, to the history of “the West”—a project which will always end at “violence”--which would break apart this presumed whole, which might finally loose the discourse of domination from its very ground? Certainly, Foucault might be of some use in this, except for his (later) critiques, especially on power, which tend toward the totalistic—at least in our area of concern, i.e., in discourse. Though his “archaeologies” might look for ruptures, discontinuities, etc., and might be of some promise to these ends,^{^[18]} Foucault’s later “genealogies” have been all too easily appropriated by those who would construct a homogenous meta-discourse on “the West” (e.g., Said). The work of Jacques Derrida and Mikhail Bakhtin, however, seems to offer the more possible possibility (Derrida would see it possibility of the impossible) of a basis by which this sort might be begun. In Bakhtin’s dialogic and carnivalesque--the realm of laughter and a “self”-contending discourse of parody and the grotesque, and in Derrida’s juxtaposition and blurring of “self” and “other” in the realms of the most fundamental levels of language and being, there seems to be at least the possibility of other histories of the history of “the other.”

________________________________________________________________________

This can be said, inversely or reciprocally, of all identity or all identification: there is no self-relation, no relation to oneself, no identification with oneself, without culture, but a culture of oneself as a culture of the other, a culture of the double genitive and of the difference to oneself. The grammar of the double genitive also signals that a culture never has a single origin. Monogenealogy would always be a mystification in the history of culture.

Jacques Derrida, The Other Heading

Thanks to the duality of tone, the laughing people, who were not in the least concerned with the stabilization of the existing order and of the prevailing picture of the world (the official truth), could grasp the world of becoming as a whole. They could thus conceive the gay relativity of the limited class theories and the constant unfinished character of the world--the constant combination of falsehood and truth, of darkness and light, of anger and gentleness, of life and death. The dual tone of the people’s speech is never torn away from this whole nor from the becoming; this is why the negative and positional elements do not seek a separate, private, and static expression. The dual tone never wants to halt the spinning wheel, to find and outline the top and the bottom, the front and the back; on the contrary, it marks their continuous change and fusion. In popular speech the accent is always placed on the positive element (but we repeat, without tearing it away from the negative).

Mikhail Bakhtin, Rabelais and His World

A “gay relativity”--not relativism. Gazes into the past that would not find one discourse dominant, nor all discourses (separately) equivocal--i.e., on a metaphysical level. For indeed the function of a still-constituted-being extant in the modernist rhetoric of relativism is still well within the “self”-reflective discourse which Derrida finds in the official language of “Old” Europe.^{^[19]}As Dominick LaCapra points out in a discussion of Bakhtin,

extreme documentary objectivism and relativistic subjectivism do not constitute genuine alternatives. They are mutually supportive parts of the same larger complex. The objectivist places the past in the “logocentric” position of what Jacques Derrida calls the “transcendental signified.” It is simply there in its sheer reality, and the task of the historian is to use sources as documents to reconstruct past reality as objectively as he or she can . . . The relativist simply turns objectivist “logocentrism” upside-down. The historian places himself or herself in the position of “transcendental signifier” that “produces” or “makes” the meaning of the past (LaCapra 1985: 137-8).^{^[20]}

Indeed, Bakhtin’s “gay relativity” is caught up in his notions of the dialogic, the polyphonic/heteroglot, and the carnivalesque and the grotesque as fields which destroy the boundaries of the subject itself--much like Derrida’s “supplementarity” or “differance.^{^[21]} Bakhtin’s “dialogic” is the realm of an open-ended discourse, the place of speech between opposing sides. Constituted in this dialogue the language is not owned by either speaker, as in a monologic discourse, but indeed constitutes both the voice of the speaker and of the “other” of the specific utterance. As LaCapra points out,

Bakhtin insisted instead on the dual reference of language or discursive practices. The problems of reported speech in all its variants--from direct quotation through indirect discourse to modes of quasi-direct or free speech--were for him the crux of a theory of language in both literature and life. Especially significant for him was that it did ‘not at all contain an “either/or” dilemma; its specificum [was] precisely a matter of both author and character speaking at the same time, a matter of a single linguistic construction within which the accents of two differently oriented voices are maintained.^{^[22]}

Thus Bakhtin’s dialogic can be understood as deriving from a critique of both Hegelian/Marxist dialectics, as there is never the violence of the synthesis, and Sausseurian linguistics^{^[23]} emphasizing the overlapping of any binary opposites, and thus blurring the distinction between such things as “self” and “not-self” as definite categories.

Bakhtin’s heteroglossia or polyphony is the space where these voices, past and present, contend with a dominant (“official”) discourse. This takes place most succinctly in the realm of the “carnivalesque” or “grotesque,” and has no resemblance to the pathetic “points of resistance” in Foucault’s power relationships^{^[24]} For Foucault, resistance can never escape the dominant discourse of power, but rather constitutes opposites within it^{^[25]} In the polyphony of the carnivalesque, the resistance is not only to the hegemony of the official discourse, but to its whole ontological basis of the “self” or any unit of speech as an essentializable entity (i.e., set in a solid, boundaried opposition to “not-self” or any opposites). Thus “the carnival attitude generates an ambivalent interaction between all basic opposites in language and life--a ‘jolly relativity’ in which poles are taken from their pure binarism and made to touch and know one another.^{^[26]} Again, Bakhtin:

The ancient dual tone of speech is the stylistic reflection of the ancient dual-bodied image. As the ancient image disintegrated, an interesting phenomenon in the history of literature and spectacle took place: the formation of images in pairs, which represent top and bottom, front and back, life and death . . . The dialogue of these pairs is of considerable interest, since it marks the as yet incomplete disintegration of the dual tone. In reality, it is a dialogue of the face with the buttocks, of birth with death^{^[27]}

. . . and thus of “self” and all that is “not-self.” Seen in this way, the polyphony of the carnival, the dialogic of the grotesque, serves to realize Derrida’s project of “supplementarity”: finding in the “remainder,” the unaccountable left-over of any system of “analytic or polar opposites,” the “undecidable interplay of excess and lack between the same and the other^{^[28]} This deconstructed self in Derrida is derivative of a critique of Sausseure, as well. In “differance,” a Derridaian neo-logism working at the level of structural binaries, “one (e.g., one pair of opposites) is the same as the other but as differed or deferred.^{^[29]} To limit the other to the circumscribed space of a binary correlative is as much a potentiality for violence as it is to view the other as completely unrelated.

The implications of these modes of blurring the self/other distinction applied to the history of “the West,” or more specifically, the histories and other modes of representation of the west on the other, are radical. Though Said and many other critics have called for “the West” to re-evaluate its discourse as has been used to enclose and essentialize “the Orient,” a carnivalesque reading of “Western” discourse would find the breaks, ruptures, and discontinuities in this supposedly all-encompassing discourse--i.e., the impossible possibility of the other-in-self in the remnants of past discourses. Only in this way could the polyphony of voices stand to counter the official construction of “others”--not so completely other, nor same, after all--and a hegemonic “self” which is the construct constituting “the West.”

This “historical” project would have radical implications for a majority of the “disciplines” in the university as it is structured today. The seemingly solid distinction between the fields of literary criticism, history and cultural anthropology, for instance, would become unrecognizable. For not only would the study of “other” cultures as such be called into question, but the “West” as a coherent, essentializable historical object as well--and all the disciplines constituted by such objectifications to study, dissect, and taxonomize. There would remain no epistemological-ontological borders between the traditionally constituted fields of inquiry of the “one” and “the other.” A perspective which would look for discourses without the usual identifying practices of the social sciences would transcend the distinctions of bounded fields in all senses, and would look for the “other” in the “self”--whether this “self” as one’s own or as the other’s. Closed systems, or as Bakhtin calls them, “-isms,” would thus be questioned at their most foundational level:

“Reason (ratio) itself,” the practice of dividing, categorizing, opposing, “might be seen as an attempt to ration and limit the play of supplementarity. Analysis provides clear and distinct ideas which define boundaries and confine ambiguity or overlap to marginal, borderline cases. Insofar as analysis defines polar opposites, it constructs ideal types of heuristic fictions^{^[30]}

Thus the very basis of “the West” as it has often been imagined; of positivism; of the “scientific” practice of dividing, limiting, defining; of logic; would be found lacking in their attempt to describe the human situation. The imminence of the “dominant discourse” could thus be laughed at in a Bakhtinian sense, and perhaps finally made impotent to commit further violences within such a discourse of “jolly relativity.”

Rather than dissecting, differentiating, delimiting the other, the approach I have been advocating would look for what anthropologist Unni Wikan calls “resonance” to find its impetus to inscribe.^{^[31]} This practice of “feeling-thought” which Wikan translates from the Balinese word “keneh” is understood by Wikan’s informants to stand for the empathetic union of things, ideas, etc., which would “rationally” seem to be contradictory.^{^[32]} One of Wikan’s informants notes, “But Westerners have no resonance . . . because they use their thoughts only, and so ideas and understandings do not spring alive.^{^[33]} What we must do is to look for our thoughts to “spring alive,” and look for the margins of discourse where they always do. To find “other voices” from our past with “the other” means to look beyond the “rational” distinctions social scientists have been trained to uncover. This does not mean to reduce the other to its common denominators, to what is its easiest synonym in the familiar language. Rather it is to harmonize with alterity, to let it sound chords on the very sinews of the self.

In the western relationships with Islam, the great majority of textual remnants extant from the archives of the former are either polemic or essentializing or about the different nature of “the infidel,” “the Turk,” and the European. Yet there are also significant traces where ruptures occur of so easy a generalization. Even within the oeuvres of particular authors who may generally show contempt for Islam, one can often find traces of admiration, and even self-identification.

Fragmentary sources such as these, though most often hidden under the mass of the “official” discourse, indicate at least the undercurrent of diffused inversions or blurrings of the succinct bounds of European self-identification and self-enclosure. To find such a history or “archaeology of subjugated knowledges and practices"^{^[34]} or “genealogy” of these marginalized realms of discourse would be to find in our own past a ground for building a more ethical response to supposed others--that is, a “culture of oneself as a culture of the other . . . and as the difference to oneself.^{^[35]} Thus the goal of this study will be to uncover just such ruptures, inversions, and blurrings in the diversity of discourses on the “other” of Islam.

________________________________________________________________________

She was dressed in a caftan of gold brocade, flowered with silver, very well fitted to her shape, and showing to advantage the beauty of her bosom, only shaded by the thin guaze of her shift. Her drawers were pale pink, her waistcoat green and silver, her slippers white, finely embroidered, her lovely arms adorned with bracelets of diamonds and her broad girdle set round with diamonds; upon her head a rich Turkish handkerchief of pink and silver, her own fine black hair hanging a great length in various tresses, and on one side of her head some bodkins of jewels. I am afraid you will accuse me of extravagance in this description. I think I have read somewhere that women always speak in rapture when they speak of beauty, but I can’t imagine why they should not be allowed to do so. I rather think it virtue to be able to admire without any mixture of desire or envy.

Lady Mary Wortley Mantagu, desription of an Ottoman official’s “Lady,” Turkish Embassy Letters (emphasis mine)

“To admire without any mixture of desire or envy.” Perhaps the “impossible possibility,” expressing the liminal space between sameness and difference. For envy must maintain a definite “other”; desire, an object. The body, experienced sensually as if desired; taken into the eye, but not consumed. Perhaps something “feminine”—wanting of the desire to penetrate, yet gazing beneath the outer layers: “her shape, only shaded by the thin guaze of her shift.”

When “Europe” is supposed (by many recent critics) only able to figure the other one dimensionally, as a target of contempt, or as an object of possessive desire, Lady Montagu’s letter to Lady Mar leads the reader to discern an alternative. The recognition of alterity--an identity not bound by the limitations of linguistic representation, i.e., here as one encountered in “rapture,” as inexpressible, the “unlimited Desire” Levinas associates with the “absolutely other,^{^[36]}--that is, that which remains unknown even under the direct gaze of passion--and without the base, lusting desire to captivate, to use for selfish pleasure, to “know,” reduce, own, or control.

Lady Montagu’s representation of Fatima may fall short of the ideal lower-body stratum in Bakhtin--still too refined, masked in propriety. Yet it does locate in her body and dress (or rather, in the gaze which falls upon the body and dress) a space which might serve as an opening for the texts which will follow. The appreciation which is expressed by numerous European authors for Islam is indeed often sensual, exotic, and even erotic without necessarily being imbued with a penetrative intent. The Romantic is never necessarily reduced to Neitzche’s Apollolian, or to a closed system of discourse as Foucault would have it. Rather, as Bakhtin noted, strands of the carnivalesque still resonate in some spaces within expressions of the Romantic, releasing the body from the bonds of essential description.

“Rapture” opens in the text the possibility of uncoercive description. Rapture shuns closure, as it evades the compulsion to commit the being of another entirely into the text without the possibility of escape. The unutterable Saying opposing (while not lieing opposite to) the Said^{^[37]} Here Fatima is freed from the enclosure the previous sentences of description would command. The other remains other--but not alien--in the encounter inscribed as “rapture.”

To return to the “something feminine” from above, it is perhaps this inversion of the dominant discourse which is in many ways the architypical other. As Levinas contends, “I think the absolutely contrary contrary [ le contraire absolutement contraire], whose contrariety is in no way affected by the relationship that can be established between it and its correlative, the contrariety that permits its terms to remain absolutely other, is the feminine.^{^[38]} In spite of critiques condemning Levinas here for sexism, it seems there is indeed something substantial in his discussion of “Eros,” perhaps disclosing a realm of other not necessarily subjectable to the simple binary relationship (rationalized, logified if you will). Levinas contends that there is an “absence of any fusion in the erotic,”^{^[39]} thus that there is no violence done the other in the act, in spite of the metaphors which attempt to place intercourse in terms of knowledge--”knowing” in the Biblical parlance, for example--and thus in the position of the subject.

Levinas concludes his discussion of Eros:

Can this relationship with the other through eros be characterized as a failure? Once again, the answer is yes, if one adopts the terminology of current descriptions, if one wants to characterize the erotic by “grasping,” “possessing,” or “knowing.” But there is nothing of all this, or the failure of this, in eros. If one could possess, grasp, and know the other, it would not be other. Possessing, knowing, and grasping are synonyms of power^{^[40]}

Thus the “other” from the voice of the official (in this case the “phalologocentric” discourse) is not obtainable, not subjectable, indefinable.

Furthermore, the relationship with the other is generally sought out as a fusion. I have precisely wanted to contest the idea that the relationship with the other is fusion. The relationship with the Other is the absence of the other; not absence pure and simple, not the absence of pure nothingness, but absence in a horizon of the future, an absence that is time^{^[41]}

Above I wrote of the “sentences of description” which would “command . . . enclosure.” In what Levinas terms the “terminology of current description” these sentences would indeed do just that. Yet it might be rendered otherwise:

The caress is a mode of the subject’s being, where the subject who is in contact with another goes beyond this contact. Contact as sensation is part of the world of light. But what is caressed is not touched, properly speaking. It is not the softness or warmth of the hand given in contact that the caress seeks. The seeking of the caress constitutes its essence by the fact that the caress does not know what it seeks. This “not knowing,” this fundamental disorder, is the essential. It is like a game with something slipping away, a game absolutely without project or plan, not with what can become ours or us, but with something other, always other, always inaccessible, and always still to come [à venir]^{^[42]}

To render the above “description” of Fatima otherwise, it might rather be understood as a verbal “caress.” To read again,

Not quite drawing Fatima into the realm of the rationed, the circumscribed, the subjected, this fragment speaks the movement of the eye over the body: over, then under, the “thin guaze of her shift” which only shades her figure; up the legs (“Her drawers were pale pink”) to her waistcoat; on to her feet, her “lovely arms,” her girdle, her “fine black hair.” This caress, however, is no violation, no rape. A rape, figurative as well as literal, seeks to subdue, control, and subject the other; to conquer violently, to place her under the ownership of the violator, to subject her to the categories of the “known.” The above is rather an encounter between one “Westerner” and one other-than-she, where the boundaries of self and other touch, not to feel out the terrain of the unknown in order to make it known, but to seek her unknowable self which will remain so even under the caress, under the gaze of her other.

________________________________________________________________________

Accompanied by two young men, his son and nephew, he arrives with his hand extended and a smile on his lips. He accepts a chair and takes his seat with lordly grace--and I send the news to my two traveling companions that I have the bogeyman of the desert in my tent^{^[43]}

Thus begins Pierre Loti’s account of Mohammed-Jahl, the Bedouin bandit-sheik whose desert domains Loti and his pilgrim’s caravan must cross in order to reach Gaza on their way to the Holy Land, as is recounted in Le Désert.

A fine and superb old bandit’s face. Gray beard and eyebrows. A cameo profile. Flashing eyes, which on the spur of the moment can be imperious and cruel or else disarmingly gentle. He is dressed in a red Brusa silk robe embroidered with yellow flames; its dangling sleeves almost touch the ground; over this a generous Bedouin tunis. On his head a veil (couffie) of heavy Mecca silk, held in place by a crown of gold cords with black wool knots. Tiny feet, bare in leather sandals; tiny child’s hands playing with the traditional stick shaped like a lotus leaf that serves as a camel whip.

This “description” bears at least superficial resemblance to the Lady Montagu’s text above: a sensually inscribed portrait of an individual who is other to the writer. Yet there are many “descriptions” offered by travelers to the lands of Europe’s fascination--to the east and to the west. Such writing understood as “description” would indeed place the other within the perimeters of the sentence, between the initial capital letter and the last mark of punctuation. But were it to be seen otherwise, with a view to alternate readings, it might be read as might the text of Fatima above: sensuality taken in with a gaze, but not emptied of possibilities in this gaze; a figure remaining free to surprise, to defy any bounds seemingly prescribed by the text.

In the following we “catch sight of Mohammed-Jahl, holding his riding crop as if it were a scepter, his eyes flashing with rage from under his beautiful veil tied with gold cords. He is roaring like a lion, old but still frightening and in charge”; where only four pages before he was “our guide on his knees [emphasis mine] before the governor. The guide has an attitude both supplicant [emphasis mine] and sly, watching and pressing for the definitive yes that would permit us to continue our trip.” Both on his knees and donning a scepter; a supplicant and a king. The place which one should assign this figure must be somewhere between the two, in the space Derrida terms differance. Neither really this, nor that; something truly other--but not altogether unfamiliar or alien, either.

I might well point out that both Loti and Lady Montagu were suspected of maintaining affections for both sexes, a coincidence to be sure^{^[44]} But such biographical conjecture is out of place here. What is not, however, is a discussion of the gendering of a text.[{place here a footnote to the appropriate texts: Jung on bi-sexuality}]. For it seems these two texts occur in a sort of liminal space, both offering sexually ambiguous portrayals, leaving both the identity of the imagined writers, and indeed of the subjects of the writing (though not necessarily in regard to their sexual preferences), in question. The effect, thus, is that there can be no essentialization of these subjects who are other. They remain so by the refusal of the text to define them once and for all--by their occupation of a space emploted in ambiguity.

There is no essentialization, no definite confinement of Fatima or Mohammed-Jahl. Their finitude, their definition, is not assured by their placement in “dead words”; for these texts leave them open to becoming whomever they might later become, either later in the text or later in the imagination [{Foucault on imagination in The Order of Things}]. This is perhaps an immanent function of sexually ambiguity--working something like Bakhtin’s carnivalesque, but not falling into the specificum of the space he plotted out as such--where the relation of imagined writer and inscribed being are uncertain, where the possibility of a “masculinity” and a “femininity” are present in both. Especially for Loti, who belonged to time which, according to Foucault, demanded of the scientific categories of sexuality a definitive expression of one’s being, the portrayal of a sexually ambiguous sensuality leaves the portrait with an uncertain degree of precision--i.e., in that space so troubling to the nineteenth century: that which defies a specific emplotment in the grid of scientific knowledge, that which seems between two opposite categories of the known--and thus free to complete itself elsewhere, outside the bounds of possible description.

(feminine/inversion/etc here).

[English philosopher Roger Bacon, for instance, traces the revival of philosophy to the Muslim Avicenna^{^[45]} One knight who had first hand experience with the Turks in the late eleventh-century argues with great conviction that “they are of a Frankish race.^{^[46]} This notion of a racial self-identity with the Turks is echoed in the assertion that the Turks, whose name was supposed by some to have derived from Teucri, the descendants of the Trojans. This assertion, strongly refuted by Richard Knolles in the early seventeenth century^{^[47]} would both justify the Turkish conquest of Constantinople as an act of revenge against the Greeks for their ancient trickery, and recognize them as the kin of the Romans--i.e., contemporary Italians. Such fragments, of which there are many more, indicate that it is not so easy to do a mono-genealogy of Europe’s self-closure to their most immanent “other.”

Boccaccio, a noted exemplar of the carnivalesque during the Renaissance, recalls a story about a wise Jew who tells a parable to escape a rhetorical trap set by Saladin. The story equivocates Islam, Judaism, and Christianity as the religions are represented as three beloved sons^{^[48]} The numerous courtly romances portraying Saladin as a heroic figure, though most often in a European aristocratic guise, occasionally give a glimpse of him as an authentically non-European figure whom Europeans could admire. Travelers to the Ottoman lands throughout the centuries of contact brought back varying accounts, both positive and negative, which were consumed by the public with much fervor. Many of the accounts either compare the Turks favorably with their European counterparts, or identify certain attributes of the latter with the former. In the eighteenth-century, a tract was even published entitled Mahomet no impostor, or a Defense of Mahomet.^{^[49]} Many other such sources and points of rupture exist in texts throughout the European discourses on Islam, even in the century of the most notorious “Orientalization” of the “Orient.”]

BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR “NONESSENTIALLY OCCIDENTAL:

HETEROGLOSSIA IN THE WESTERN DISCOURSE ON ISLAM”

Abu-Lughod, Lila. “Writing Against Culture.” Chapter in Recapturing Anthropology, ed. Richard Fox, 137-62. Santa Fe, NM: School of American Research Press, 1991.

Bakhtin, Mikhail M. Rabelais and his World. Translated by Hélène Iswolsky. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1984.

Clifford, James. The Predicament of Culture. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1988.

Derrida, Jacques. Writing and Difference. Translated by Alan Bass. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978.

The Other Heading: Reflections on Today’s Europe. Translated by Pascale-Anne Brault and Michael B. Naas. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1992.

Foucault, Michel. The Archaeology of Knowledge. Translated by A.M. Sheridan Smith. New York: Pantheon Books, 1972.

The History of Sexuality, Volume 1. Translated by Richard Hurley. New York: Random House, 1978.

Knolles, Richard. The Turkish History from the Original of the Nation to the Growth of the Ottoman Empire: with the Lives and Conquests of their Princes and Emperors. Library of Congress; Washington, D.C.: Wing, 1975. Text-fiche.

LaCapra, Dominick. Rethinking Intellectual History: Texts, Contexts, Language. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1983.

History and Criticism. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. 1985.

Limón, Jóse, Dancing with the Devil: Society and Cultural Poetics in Mexican-American South Texas. Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1994.

Mason, Peter. Deconstructing America: Representation of the Other. London: Routledge, 1990.

Morson, Gary Saul. “Bakhtin and the Present Moment.” The American Scholar 60 (Spring 1991): 201-222.

Maxime Rodinson, Europe and the Mystique of Islam. Translated by Roger Veinus. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1987.

Said, Edward. Orientalism. New York: Vintage Books, 1979.

Sangren, P. Stephen. “Rhetoric and the Authority of Ethnography: ‘Postmodernism’ and the Social Reproduction of Texts.” Current Anthropology 29, no. 3 (June 1988): 405-35.

Todorov, Tzvetan. The Conquest of America: The Question of the Other. Translated by Richard Howard. New York: Harper & Row, 1984.

Turner, Brian S. Orientalism, Postmodernism, & Globalism. New York: Routledge, 1994.

Wikan, Unni. “Beyond the Words: The Power of Resonance.” American Ethnologist 19, no. 3 (August 1992): 460-82.

[1] Edward Said, Orientalism (New York: Random House, 1979).

[2] See Foucault, The History of Sexuality: An Introduction. Volume 1, trans. Robert Hurley (New York: Random House, 1978), pp. 92-96.

[3] Peter Mason, Deconstructing America: Representations of the Other (New York: Routledge, 1990), 44, 57, 73-4, 99.

[4] For the implications/explication of this term, see J. Derrida, The Other Heading, trans. by Pascale-Anne Brault and Michael B Naas (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1992).

[5] Tzvetan Todorov, The Conquest of America: The Question of the Other, trans. Richard Howard (New York: Harper & Row, 1984), 3.

[6] Lila Abu-Lughod, “Writing Against Culture,” in Recapturing Anthropology, ed. Richard Fox (Sante Fe, NM: School of American Research Press).

[7] Rosalind O’Hanlon, “Recovering the Subject: Subaltern Studies and Historiographies of Resistance in Colonial South Asia” Modern Asian Studies 22, no. 1, quoted in Talal Asad, Genealogies of Religion: Discipline and Reasons of Power in Christianity and Islam (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993), 14, emphasis mine.

[8] Ibid.

[9]James Clifford, The Predicament of Culture (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press), 53-54.

[10] ibid., 271.

[11] ibid., 273.

[12] ibid., 10.

[13] P. Stephen Sangren, “Rhetoric and the Authority of Ethnography: ‘Postmodernism’ and the Social Reproduction of Texts” Current Anthropology 29, no. 3 (June 1988), 423.

[14] Bryan S. Turner, Orientalism, Postmodernism, and Globalism (London: Routledge, 1994), 193.

[15] ibid.

[16] Jacques Derrida, The Other Heading: Reflections on Today’s Europe, trans. Pascale-Anne Brault and Michael B. Naas (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1992), 26.

[17] Jacques Derrida, Writing and Difference, trans. Alan Bass (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978), 128.

[18] Michel Foucault, The Archaeology of Knowledge, trans. A.M. Sheridan Smith (New York: Pantheon, 1972).

[19] Dominick LaCapra, History and Criticism (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1985), 137-8.

[20] Ibid., 152.

[21] Dominick LaCapra, Rethinking Intellectual History: Texts, Contexts, Language (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press), 298.

[22] Gary Saul Morson, “Bakhtin and the Present Moment” The American Scholar 60 (Spring 1991), 206.

[23] Foucault 1978, 95.

[24] ibid., 94-95.

[25] LaCapra 1983, 298.

[26] Mikhail M. Bakhtin, Rabelais and His World, trans. Hélène Iswolsky (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1984), 433-4.

[27] LaCapra 1983, 152.

[28] ibid.

[29] ibid.

[30] Unni Wikan, “Beyond the Words: the Power of Resonance” American Ethnologist 19, no. 3 (August 1992).

[31] ibid., 463.

[32] ibid.

[33] see Jóse Limón, Dancing with the Devil (Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1994), 125. In his discussion of his theoretical approach to writing this ethnography on Mexican-Americans in south Texas, Limón finds the “archaeological” practices of Foucault appropriate to exploring the counter-discourse of this marginalized group. He also uses a Bakhtinian reading to inform his interpretation of the realms of resistance to the encroachment of post-modern hegemonic discourse--the latter notion which he finds wanting in light of the presence of regenerative carnivalesque features in modern Mexican-American discursive practices.

[34] Derrida (1992), 10.

[35] Mason, 2.

[36] See Simon Critchley, The Ethics of Deconstruction: Derrida and Levinas (Oxford and Cambridge, MA: Blackwell, 1992), 30-31.

[37] Emmanuel Levinas, Time and the Other, transl. by Richard A. Cohen (Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne University Press, 1987), 85.

[38] ibid., 89.

[39] ibid., 90.

[40] ibid.

[41] ibid., 89.

[42] Pierre Loti, The Desert, transl. by Jay Paul Minn (Salt Lake City, UT: University of Utah Press, 1993), 88.

[43] Alexander Pope, engaged in a bitter battle with Lady Montagu in the press, called her “lewd lesbia” and “Sappho” (Anita Desai, in her introduction to Turkish Embassy Letters). Likewise, Jay Paul Minn states of Loti: “His sexual prowess hints strongly at bisexuality, although solid proof of the male side is lacking. However, he did have deep emotional attachments to several men” (from Minn’s introduction to The Desert).

[44] Maxime Rodinson, Europe and the Mystique of Islam, transl. by Roger Veinus. (Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1987), 16.

[45] ibid., 22.

[46] Richard Knolles, The General Historie of the Turkes . . . 3rd ed. (London, 1621).

[47] The Decameron, The First Day, Third Story.

[48] Rodinson, 16.

[49]