remembering Bamiyan Buddhas

Bamiyan Buddhas were two VI Century colossal statues sculpted into a cliff face in the Bamiyan valley in Central Afghanistan. As per archaeologists the 30m tall Small Buddha or the Eastern Buddha was created in 570 CE and the 55m tall Big Buddha or the Western Buddha was created in 618 CE. These idols were the largest standing Buddha statues in the world when Taliban destroyed them by bombing on March 2, 2001. I still remember seeing the sad news on tv, it stayed in my mind for months. Such a mindless act by the bigoted religious leaders! What did they possibly gain by destroying them? Satisfaction of adhering to the tenets of their religion? The irony is those religious leaders want to go back to primitive times with the aid of modern machinery.

There were countless appeals to Taliban to spare the Bamiyan Buddhas. Then after the destruction, there was outrage from across the world. But Taliban being Taliban went on to justifying their misdeed. In the following years there were efforts to reconstruct the Buddhas but there's no significant progress in the past two decades.

During my tour of Badami, I happened to notice a book on Bamiyan Buddhas at the museum's book counter. Apparently it was the only copy, the counter in-charge was hesitant to sell it. After a few minutes talk he relented and let me have it. This book covers the history of Bamiyan Buddhas with a lot of photos and pictures of paintings / sketches. The book also covers ASI's efforts towards restoring the Buddhas in the XX Century. Then it also covers the time of Taliban takeover which leads to the destruction. This is a rare book with valuable information.

I hope one day the Taliban will be gone for good, and Bamiyan Buddhas are restored to their former glory.

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Krishna Deva Raya by Abhijeet Hiliyana

Of all the kings of our country, Krishna Deva Raya is one of the well known. It was under his leadership that Vijayanagara Samrajya reached its peak in terms of prosperity and power. It is said that Krishna Deva Raya was the most learned and talented king of Vijayanagara. He had mastered 64 subjects like administration, military strategy, diplomacy, trade, economics, religion, art & literature, and so on. He had led & fought in countless battles, had seen both triumph and defeat. Poets had dedicated their works to praise Krishna Deva Raya. Travelers from far-off lands have admired Krishna Deva Raya & Vijayanagara Samrajya. Despite a tragic end, the greatness of Krishna Deva Raya lived on well into the XXI Century. A number of books and cinema have been dedicated to the Sri Krishna Deva Raya, making him one of the most read characters.

My knowledge about Krishna Deva Raya was mainly gained from my school text books and Kannada cinema, and a visits to Hampae, Penukonda and other historical monuments of Vijayanagara times. Couple of months ago, I happened to learn about the recently published book "Krishna Deva Raya" by  Abhijeet Hiliyana. As you see in the image below, this is the first part subtitled "the boy who would be king." Before I started reading I guessed this would the younger days of Krishna Deva Raya. Hmm... sounds interesting!

I'm a slow reader, mainly because of my other activities, I rarely read more than 15 minutes at a stretch. However, with this book, I got hooked. It's a gripping story, flows at a steady pace, has sufficient details for a reader to picture the scenes, and character projection is superb. The author has balanced the historical facts and fictional aspects of the story which is what makes it interesting. Suspense, romance, intrigue and twists in the story makes it an ideal read across age groups. As I finished three quarters, I wished the story was longer. Thoroughly enjoyable read. 

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Hindu Temples: What happened to them

While going through my collection of books, I happened to realize that a book borrowed from an uncle some time 2013 was still with me. The name of the book- "Hindu Temples: What happened to them." I remember reading a few pages before abandoning it. While reading it again this month, I realized the book has another part. It was published by Voice of India publishers of religious and historical books. Their website is called Aditya Prakashan, I found two volumes of this book. Part-1, first published in April 1990, is called 'A Preliminary Survey'. Part-2, first published in 1991, is called 'The Islamic Evidence'. While ordering these two books, I ordered another book called "Heroic Hindu Resistance to Muslim Invaders" first published in 1984. All three books are authored by Sri Sita Ram Goel.

'A Preliminary Survey' gives a very detailed account of destruction of Hindu temples by the invaders from Middle East Asia. The writing is supported with archaeological evidence. The book has a state-wise list of temples along with details of destruction. There's a separate list covering the destroyed temples in Bangladesh. After looting and desecrating the temples, the broken sculptures were used in construction of mosques, tombs, palaces and other structures. The stolen stone idols were placed in front of mosques as steps so that people step on them. The author writes about the true intention of invaders which was not just looting treasure, it was to wipe out Hinduism and establish Islam on. The conquered people were forced to convert to Islam. Those who resisted were killed. In some cases heavy taxes were levied on Hindu population. These books expose the suppressed history of our land.

I skimmed through the list and found the places I had visited. Let me name the sites in Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh- Belagavi fort, Bellary fort, Badami fort, Bankapur, Savanur, Sira, Raichur fort, Koppal fort, Mudgal fort, Yadgir fort, Shahpur fort, Hampi, Penukonda fort, Golconda fort, Medak fort, Gooty fort. There are other sites which have been vandalized by the invaders but not mentioned in this book like Manvi fort, Midigeshi fort, Madhugiri fort, and so on. One could name thousands of temples which includes Jain and Buddhist structures. The temple columns below Ek Minar Masjid of Raichur came to light recently when a part of the structure collapsed but this was already listed here by the author. The masjid at Penukonda fort is a Vijayanagara time stone temple which has been covered in green colored paint. It seems the temple had been snatched from a Archaka and handed over to a Mullah. If one visits these sites and observe the Islamic structures, the usage of broken pieces from temples is clear. One need not be an archaeologist to see that. The evidence is clear. The content of these books are not imaginary stuff, just facts.

The case of Ram Janma Bhoomi is discussed by the author. One has to read the book to know the hurdles, the struggle and the sacrifices made to protect our culture. Today when see the Ram Mandir being built at Ayodhya we can smile knowing that the efforts of countless people who fought for centuries didn't go in vain.

The second part i.e. The Islamic Evidence gives transcriptions of inscriptions and other ancient records found at mosques. The transcriptions gives names of temples & places and dates of destruction. They also state who gave the orders and who carried them out, how many Hindu people were converted to Islam, how many sold as slaves, how many killed, if a mosque or tomb was built and so on. 

The third book, as the title says, is about the fights put up by Hindu kings to defend the Indian subcontinent from the Islamic invaders between 636 CE and 1206 CE. Again here the author exposes the cooked up version of our history which projects Hindu kings as weak and submissive. The reality was that the invaders were driven away after every attack. After repeated conquests, the invaders made progress by first conquering present day Afghanistan and gradually reached Delhi. The book has six sections mentioned below-

• National perspective of Indian history
• Arab failure in Sindh, Kabul and Zabul
• Frustration of the Ghaznavids
• Perfidy wins where valor failed
• The lessons we have to learn
• The nature of national frontiers

These books are eyeopeners. Everyone must read them once to know the reality and then we will understand the motives of certain happenings in the current society. Islam is an alien culture and will never get along with Hindu culture or any other religious culture.

Before closing this post, let me quote Blaise Pascal: Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction. I wonder if the violent religious conquests by two Abrahamic faiths evoked such a quote in Pascal's mind.

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Around the World in 80 Days

I read this fascinating story when in school and dreamed of such journeys filled with action and adventure. Sometime early 80s a cartoon series was aired on Doordarshan. Each episode was 30 minutes, one episode per week, I think. I would sit glued to our black & white TV set. The show left a lasting impression in my teenage mind.

Decades later I read its book again. I think one of my colleagues had a copy. The story is available in different versions by different authors with varying levels of details. This particular book by Jules Verne is for children. I could read it in about one and quarter hour.

Do read it if you can get your hands on this book. If not, you can still get the gist of the story on Wikipedia: Around the World in Eighty Days.

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ASI booklet on Mirjan Fort

Transcription of the booklet-

Archeological Survey of India
Dharwad Circle, Dharwad

Mirjana (Lat 140-33' N and Log 740-26' E0 is a village on the north bank of river Aghanasini adjacent to the National Highway no. 17 and is 10kms. from Kumta. Towrads the west of this village is the Arabian sea and other sidea are surronded by hill ranges. It is a picturesque place on the west coast of Karnataka.

Mirjana is known as "Midge" in Kannada writings. This village has no refernec in early inscriptions. It is possible that it was the town of Mussuris, a well known port frequented by Roman merchants between 1st and 3rd centuries AD and also mentioned by Plini (C. 77 AD), Ptinger (C. 100 AD) and Periplus (C. 247 A.D.). The ancient Mussuris is same as the present day Mirjana according to Forbes (1784), Rennel (1784) and Roberson (1791). Between 3rd and 16th Century AD Mirjana was never a popular place. In about 17th century AD a fort was constructed here in which remains of a Shiva temple, a Mahishamardini sculpture and a few Memorial Stones are found.

The Fort
No reference to the construction of the fort is found. Yet it is known from the contemporary sources that Shareeff-Ul-Mulk (1608-1640 AD), ruling Ponda as the fuedatory of the Adil Shahi Sultan of Bijapur, got this fort constructed. Contemporary writings reveal that this fort which passed on to many hands of the rulers was an important port for overseas trade and commerce during the medieval period. This port built on the bank of river Aghanasini, played a dominantt role during the Vijayanagara perioBlack pepper, cinnamon and other forest produces were exported from this port and Arabian horses which was the mainstay of the Vijayanagara cavalry were imported, according to Dominigo Paes (C. 1520 AD) and De Barros (1580 AD). After the fall of Vijayanagara empire this fort successively went into the hands of the Bahamani Sultans, Adil Shahis of Bijapur, a small ruling family of Uttara Kannada region, the Portuguese, Hyder and Tippu and after the death of Tippu the British held this fort town.

The fort spread in an area of 11.8 acres is built out of laterite blocks, octogonal over an elevated mound. The fort has four enterances of which the northern one is big and important too. the fort is surronded by a moat to which water is continously supplied by the nearby stream Kudurehalla. The walls built out of large dresses blocks is quite spacious and has eleven circular sloping bastions all-around. Above the walls are series of merlons and gun holes (100 holes) are provided in between. the top of the wall has a small path enough for a man to walk over. In front of the main enterance is a bridge (causeway0 over the moat that connects the gate and the land on the other side. This fort built using Islamic and Portuguese technology with best of the protective devices is one of the big and strong forts fo North Kannada district. All-round these portifications are found traces of underground passages but their clear network, at present, cannot be made out. There are three wells with stone lining dug inside of the fort.

Excavations
Mirjana Fort with its long historical importance has been declared as a protected monument. To trace the history of this fort and also to ascent its role in the social and economic ethos of its history the Archeological Survey of India, Dharwad Circle, conducted archeological excavations in the year 1999.

Excavations conducted inside the fort, over an area of 3900 square meters brought to light a huge structure built north-south and many other laterite structures and other remains. Of the structures excavated, the most important was the building built facing north. This measures 35 x 29.5 mts and it is in 'U' shape. Its east, west and southern sidea are surronded by other structures. the southern structure is taller than those on other sides. Large quantity of earthen tiles were found here and the post holes noticed lead us to conclude that this 'U' shaped structure had a tiled gable roof.

This structure was built to house the administrative offices. The chief of this, it appears had his assembly sitting at a high place on the south side with people assembled on the sides. A similar structure has also been discovered in the excavations at Hampi, the capital of Vijayanagara empire. Towards the south-west of this structure are rectangular buildings wherein during the course of the excavation, charred black pepper, rice along with a saddle quern, iron pan, coconut scraper are found. these allow us to conclude that this was the kitchen of those days.

Likewise towards the west of the 'U' shaped building at a a distance of 16 meters is a nearly finished circular stone trough. The trough is plastered with lime mortar inside. Attached to the trough are disturbed masonry channels. Adjacent to these is a stone masonry soak pit. Water to these channels from a well found on the western side. At a short distance from these channels, towards the south, is a subterranean chamber (5 x 5.3 mts in area) without the provision of steps. It is possible that this chamber was used to store explosives. From the evidence derived from these structures it becomes evident that this fort is a construction of 17th century and this fort played an important role in the maritime trade activities.

Methodical excavation conducted at the site revealed several antiquities. Important among these antiquities are the 75 cannon shot (balls). They have a diameter of 8.5 cms. and weigh 10 to 15 kg each. Other antiquities found are dumb-bells (5 nos.0, copper and lead coins, terracotta sealings, Chinese porcelain, copper rings, adze, axe, hammer, nails, etc.

Other important datable antiquities found in the excavations are 113 copper coins of Hyder Ali's period. They have elephant on the observe and on the reverse legends in Arabic script, which is effaced and not possible to decipher. Terracotta sealing with Arabian and Persian languages written in Nastaliq characters read 'Rehman Khan Valad Gazi Fahim' in ornate characters. these sealings bear the date Hijira 1183 AD, which corresponds to AD 1769-70. From this sealing it appears that Hyder Ali (1763-82 AD) had appointed Rehman Khan to look after Mirjana Fort.

Another important discovery is a gold coin dated 1652 AD minted in Goa by the Portuguese. it weighs 3.79 gm, and has a diameter of 1.9 cm. the observe has image of St. Thomas. The figure in it's left hand holds a plough like object. This coin was released by the Portuguese governor Conde De Sarzedes (Ad 1650-60). He was ruling from Goa during the reign of Monarch De Jovo IV (AD 1640-56) as evidenced from the legend on the reverse of the coin. This coin contains a hook soldered on to its edge. This suggests that it was used as a pendent for a necklace.

Pieces of Chinese white porcelain are also found. They have the depictions of peacock and snakes made in blue color. Pots and pottery pieces, implements of daily use like knife, axe, adze, spoon, coconut scraper, plier, nails, etc. are also found.

From these evidences it becomes clear that this fort played an important role between 16th and 18th centuries in the overseas trade of Karnataka.

ARCHEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

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