Southern Empires

A lot has been said about the war filled history of North India. Typically many Indians equate the history of modern day India with that of its capital- Delhi. However, India only became a country in 1947. India, throughout, was a subcontinent, not a country. Many kingdoms, of all religions existed inside this subcontinent. Some of the histories of the other kingdoms are quite fascinating as well.

Unlike the conquest filled timeline of Delhi, the kingdoms of the South were relatively stable. They had fewer wars and thus, invested a lot into culture, learning and sciences. From the state of Tamil Nadu, four great dynasties ruled.

The Cheras, who were from modern day Kerala from 300 BC to 200 BC had their capital at Vanchimuthur near what is today the sleepy town of Karur in Tamil Nadu.

The Pallavas were the second, whose capital is what is today called Kanchipuram, near Chennai. They ruled from 300-900 AD. You can see some of their magnificent seashore architecture at Mamallapuram, which is named after the wrestling skills of their great king Narasimhavarman or Mamallan, Great Wrestler.

Rock Carvings of Mamallapuram,

The third were the mighty Pandyas, who ruled from the city of Madurai, which still exists today in Tamil Nadu and is a very large city. The Pandyas were considered a great dynasty which ruled between 800 AD and 1300 AD and existed as small kings even in the BC era. They built some magnificent temple architecture such as the Madurai Minakshi temple in Madurai. Some people say, that the Pandya Empire was once the richest in the world.

The fourth and most intriguing of all is the history of the Cholas who ruled from the city of Tanjavur(Tanjore) in Tamil Nadu. Their biggest legacy that still stands is the Big Tanjavur Temple of Brhadeesvara, the Airavateswara Temple at Darasuram and the Gangaikondacholapuram Temple.

Brhadeeswara Big Temple, Tanjore

King Karikala Chola, is said to have ruled around 120 AD and built a great Dam called the Anicut in Trichy, which still stands. That feat of engineering of 120AD has still not been matched. However, the second Golden Age of Tamil Kingdoms came about around 800 AD, with famous kings such as Parantaka Chola, Sundara Chola, Uttama Chola, Rajaraja Chola and Gangaikonda Chola(The Chola who won the Ganges river).

In my next write-up, I will tell you the story of the greatest coronation of all time, that of the King Rajaraja Chola who built the Tanjavur Big Temple.

Navaratri

Hinduism is the world’s oldest religion. So different places in India interpret Dasara in different ways.

We have 2 ancient scriptures called the RAMAYANA and the MAHA BHARATA………….. ( I will tell you those stories some other time if Youre interested)..

In the Ramayana, the good king defeats the demon king Ravana and rescues his wife. The day he wins the war is celebrated as Dasara in North India…. In North India, they build huge paper statues of Ravana and burn it with fireworks and crackers.

In East India,( near Calcutta).. Dasara is called Durga Puja. Durga is the mother of Ganesha( the elephant god)..

It is said that there was a demon called Mahis Asura who ruled the world. He was very cruel and arrogant but very powerful. He could not be killed by any man so only a woman could do it. Durga killed Mahisasura and that day is celebrated in Calcutta. They perform prayers and sacrifices.

Now, a city is named after Mahis Asura.. and when the British came, they found it very difficult to pronounce that name and so they renamed it MYSORE… Yes, the city you live in now..

So in Mysore, they celebrate the defeat of Mahis Asura. There is a temple here which has a statue of the demon.


Dasara actually lasts for NINE DAYS.. In Sanskrit, it is called NAVA RATRI or NINE NIGHTS… But now only some days are celebrated because we cannot afford to have nine holidays.


In further SOUTH parts of India, namely my hometown Chennai( Madras), we celebrate NAVA RATRI as a festival of prosperity. We have dolls exhibitions in every house called “KOLU”.. And we call visitors and meet people and exchange gifts etc… and we sing songs etc…

It is said that the gods of prosperity and food visit each house during this season and it is considered the most auspicious season.. Almost all important gods have their days during this season. So each one is special. Eg

SARASWATI……. Goddess of knowledge
LAKSHMI……….Goddess of Wealth and Prosperity and Food.


I will send you a picture of “KOLU” if possible after I can access net

India under the British

Indian Parliament

So far I told you the history of Delhi's seven cities namely.
1. Rai Pithora
2. Siri
3. Tughlaqabad
4. Jahanpanah
5. Firozeshah Kotla
6. Old Fort
7. ShahJahanabad (Old Delhi).

Now is the history of the 8th city of Delhi, the British Delhi that is today the capital of the Republic of India - New Delhi.

The first Europeans to land in India were the Portuguese around 1490 followed by Spain, Denmark and later England and France. The Portuguese Vasco da Gama is said to be very important in this regard as he was among the first to land here. He landed near Cochin in the South of India, and took back stories of India's oriental wealth. Even today in Goa, there is a city called Vasco da Gama. Vasco da Gama of Portugal

South India was welcoming to them since the sea was on that side. North India was too powerful at that time to attack. They came as traders and gradually fought each other.

At the end of 1720s only the British East India Company and French remained and they fought wars on Indian soil. The British had set up at Madras(now called Chennai) and the French too.

Soon they also got Bombay from the Portuguese. The Portuguese were allowed to keep Goa till 1961.

The British and the French took sides with the Indian kings and ended up defeating both of the Indian armies. This policy was called Divide and Rule .

The British conquered their first major war at Calcutta in 1757 and established their capital there. The headquarters of the British East India Company. So now from being traders, they had become masters of the land.

The great South Indian empire of Mysore fell in end 1790, and most of North India started falling soon.

In 1857, there was a revolt against the company by the Indians. it was called a war of independence by Indians and a soldier mutiny by the British. The company was then replaced by the stronger British Army and thus India was suppressed. Delhi, the crown jewel fell to British hands.

The British government ruled India directly for 90 years till 1947. A period of enormous looting and torture and exploitation. Nevertheless, the British did lots of good work such as abolishing child marriages, widow torture and the gruseome practice of Sati - a widow burns herself after her husband. Excellent law and order was imposed and they set up the world's biggest railway network which is today the world's biggest employer - the Indian Railway.

In 1911, the British decided to shift their capital from Calcutta to the more central Delhi. They built an entirely new city called New Delhi designed by a person called Edwin Lutyens. It was for the British government in India to stay.

The British used Indian soldiers to fight for them in World Wars I and II. To commemmorate their victories, they built the India Gate in the center of New Delhi.











India Gate(left)

On 15 August 1947, when India gained independence, New Delhi was retained as the country's capital and today houses the center of power of the Government of the Republic of India.

So while, Calcutta and Madras were more important city for the British, it is Delhi which has defined the history of India for a long time.

It is today one of the most culturally rich cities in the world, mother of a 4000 year old civilization. The capital city of one fifth of humanity.

Shown below is the Prime Minister's office in New Delhi which faces India Gate. Every year on 26 January, the military forces of the second largest military force in the world( after China) march down the road from the President's house to India Gate in what is one of the most impressive parades in the world.

The Story of Shah Jahan and Eternal Love

The Taj Mahal at Agra - one of the Seven Wonders of the World

Shah Jahan assumed his kingdom by snatching it away from his father Jahangir and putting him in jail. However the same fate awaited him in his life. Shah Jahan is remembered much more than Jahangir and that is largely because of his excellent buildings at ShahJahanabad and more famously the Taj Mahal

Shah Jahan had a wife called Mumtaz. She was so beautiful that the moon hid itself in shame before her said the poets. He loved her deeply and was pained that she was going to die. He asked her what he could do to immortalise their love and she told him the famous words

Build me the most beautiful monument of love in the world.

And so upon Mumtaz's death, Shah Jahan used the finest of marble and built the Taj Mahal as her tomb. The entire Taj Mahal is built of purest white marble. Mumtaz is buried there.

Shah Jahan's son Aurangazeb was a fanatic. Since he was the youngest son, he could not become king and so decided to kill all his elder brothers. He was Shah Jahan's favourite son but instead put him in jail in horrible circumstances. Whereas Shah Jahan had treated his father Jahangir well in jail, Aurangazeb was cruel. He allowed his father a small room with just a tiny opening. And he told him that opening was for him to view the Taj Mahal and die looking at it. No one was allowed into Shah Jahan's jail except his daughter who fed him once a day.

Shah Jahan spent years just looking at the Taj Mahal and died. His story is sad, but the monument he built is everlasting. Undoubtedly the finest creation of mankind, it stands a testimony to eternal love.

Today the Taj Mahal is always under dispute. The British broke parts of it and tried to take the entire monument to rebuild in London, The Pakistan Army wanted to attack it. Also several Muslim fanatic groups claim it as theirs. But the Taj stands still, a reminder to the golden era of India, a monument of love, compassion and tragedy.

Delhi - The Mughal rule

When Humayun came to power, he was a boy. And he was constantly under the threat of the ruler of the Afghans called Sher Shah Suri. Sher Shah conquered Delhi and made Humayun become a wanderer for most of his life. Sher Shah built the 6th capital city at Delhi at Old Fort.

After Sher Shah died, Humayun recaptured Old Fort and became ruler for the last few days of his life. But he had an accident in his library and died. And so began the rule of Akbar the Great. The greatest Mughal ruler in 1556.

AKbar was only 13 when he became king. He did not know to read or write and purely relied on common sense but he became the most intelligent ruler ever. Akbar built a magnificent capital at Agra and called it Fatepur Sikri. Thus once again the capital was shifted from Delhi away. Agra was to become the most important city for 200 years. Akbar was the only Mughal ruler to promote friendship between Hindus and Muslims. Akbar conquered almost the whole of India and soon made the empire the richest in the world. Streets paved with gold and gems free of charge were in his empire.

Entrance to Akbar's capital (left). Panch Mahal in Fatepur Sikri(right) at Agra

It was AKbar's empire that the Europeans heard of and came first as traders. After Akbar ruled for 50 years, he left such an impact that the empire was able to rule itself completely for two generations under his son Jahangir. Jahangir interested only in arts and music still remained the world's richest country. And his son the unfortunate Shah Jahan. That period is called the Golden Era of Indian history.

Shah Jahan built the famous Taj Mahal at Agra and then decided to shift his capital back to Delhi. This time he built the 7th city of Delhi at ShahJahanabad. The whole city still stands and is today known as Old Delhi. You can see the Red Fort built by him below. It was the capital of the Mughal empire since Shah Jahan and till today remains a symbol of India.

the Red Fort at Old Delhi

Shah Jahan had a tragic end that I will tell you later. His son Aurangazeb ruled for 50 years an empire too big for him to rule. And since Aurangazeb was a fanatic , he completely destroyed the empire making everybody revolt and fight. Many Hindu kingdoms fought him and broke away. Finally at his death in 1707, the Mughal empire again became a little one.

Many Mughal kings after Aurangazeb came but none were succesful. Seeing this, the British also were becoming more and more powerful. In 1757, they conquered Calcutta, and in 1857, the crown city of India, Delhi fell to the British forces.

Next up the story of Shah Jahan and the ultimate monument of LOVE- Taj Mahal

Delhi - The Heart of India. . The Delhi Sultanate

The next few articles in the blog will deal with the history of one the world's greatest cities, Delhi.

Around 4000 years ago, the Hindus believe that there was an ancient city called Indraprastha. City of Indra - the chief of divine people. Indraprastha was a big kingdom that was the location of the Mahabharata War, the bloodiest war in Indian history. It is a big story that I shall explain later.

After the war, Indraprastha was burnt. It re emerged after 2000 years to become a small village of the Rajput kings of Jaipur. Gradually it became a huge city again and around 700 AD became the center of the Rajput Hindu kings of the desert. The most famous of the Delhi Hindus was Prithvi Raj Chauhan who established the first capital at Rai Pithora

Thus is the first city of Delhi. But Delhi has never been peaceful. In 1192, Prithvi Raj Chauhan was defeated at Delhi by the Muslim invader from Afghanistan called Mohammed Ghori. Thus began the Islamic rule of Delhi.

The Muslims became a part of India and in fact the kingdom became known as the Delhi kingdom. The Delhi Sultanate. Since the kings were called Sultans. It became separate from Afghanistan and became a huge center in India. Among the great buildings of the Delhi Sultans you still have the Qutab Minar even today. It is the tallest brick made building in the world even today and for 1000 years nobody has been able to surpass it.

They made four capitals in Delhi - Siri, Tughlakabad, Jahanpanah and Kotla in that order. All the cities exist today but the buildings have all been replaced by modern ones.

The Delhi sultans though were very loyal people. Thus many times, after a kings death, the throne was inherited by his faithful servant. Thus Delhi was often ruled by Slave Dynasties.

The Slave Dynasty too came to an end. This time to a much powerful Persian Army from Iran and Afghanistan under Babar. 1526 - Babar defeated the Delhi Sultan Ibrahim Lodi and conquered Delhi and made it part of his kingdom. Lodi's tomb is there in Delhi today. Babar ruled from what is today Lahore in Pakistan.

Interestingly Babar was the descendant of Timur the Lame, a great Uzbek king and Chenghiz Khan of Mongolia. He was very cruel to non Muslims and intolerant of other people. But he ruled for a very short time. When his son fell sick, he prayed to his god that his son be spared and he be taken instead. Babar thus died young and his child son Humayun became the emperor.

Babar ruled very little but he established the empire of one of the greatest empires the world has ever known - The mighty Mughal (Moghul) empire.

Ashoka - Emperor of India

This is the story of India's greatest king Ashoka.

Around 300 BC Alexander the Great of Greece came to India. In fact it is the Greeks who gave this country the name India. Earlier the arabs called it Sindhu, the Greeks called us Indika after the Indus river and that became India.

The farthest reach of his empire was at a place called Pataliputra in East India. Today that city is the capital of India's poorest province BIHAR. The city is called Patna now.

In Pataliputra, he met a great king called Maurya who defeated the army of Alexander and forced him to return. Alexander died on his way back and a lot of his empire became India.

So Chandragupta Maurya was considered the greatest king of his time. When he was dying, however his favourite grandson came to him and asked him to bless him. He said there could never be a greater king than Maurya.

Hearing this Maurya looked at the small boys hands and told him.

The greatest king is not me, it will be you. You will be a king who is greater than all kings who will ever walk this earth.

After Maurya's death, the young prince Ashoka grew up but was ignored by his father. His father had two wives and each wife wanted her son to be king. And so Ashoka being the younger son was forced to leave the kingdom.

However Ashoka proved to me a very intelligent man. He was ahead of his times in planning and fighting and soon conquered the entire kingdom and killed all his brothers and family.
When he realised that he had become the most powerful king in the country, he became arrogant and conceited. He wanted to become the ruler of the world and so decided to conquer all countries.

He was cruel and ruthless. But he never went to the battlefield himself. He used pure control. He decided to conquer even friendly kingdoms.

There was a weak but rich kingdom called Kalinga in the East. It was a holy kingdom and was run by a 5 year old boy king. It was a sin to commit a crime against that country since they were so friendly and did not have an army.
However Ashoka decided to launch a brutal attack on Kalinga and completely wiped out the people there. This was the turning point in his life.

He decided to go and see for himself how big his kingdom was. But when he went there, he only saw people weeping and crying. Nobody wanted to come near him since they were so afraid of this king. Even women had fought the war and were lying dead with their babies in their arms.

Seeing all this he also spotted a man in the distance trying to help all the injured people and give them medicine. He went to that man and decided to make him his teacher. That man was the Buddha.

Ashoka asked the Buddha how could he be the greatest king by creating so much unhappiness. And the Buddha told him, you still will be the greatest king of all time.

Ashoka turned around, became a Buddhist and became the most loved king ever. He ruled a country that consisted of present day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. He was also very friendly to Sri Lanka and the Chinese. Trade during his time flourished and India became the richest country in the world.

Till today no king has had the same impact as Ashoka. He was a great builder and his symbol was the four lions back to back. That is still used as the symbol of the Republic of India today. the wheel below the lions is the wheel you see in the Indian flag is Ashoka's wheel which signifies the 24 hours in a day.

Throughout the kingdom of Ashoka, there are pillars with the symbol on top. It is there in every major Indian city including Chennai. There is a very big one at Delhi. It has lasted to this day

So his grandfather's prediction came true after all. He became the greatest king of all time. And he is the only person who is still called Emperor of India.

Hindu Mythology Brahma

Brahma- is the creator of Universe and the God of medicine, healing etc.. He is the person who gives the Vedas ( the holy books of knowledge to human beings)..….. His wife is Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge.. On her day, children need not study.... Ha HA HA..

Under Brahma work the Devas and Asuras.. Hindus worship Devas and the Zoroastrians( very few people remaining now ) worship the Asuras.. Zoroastrians are from Iran, but now they have all been chased away by the Islamic Iran Government, so they are all now in India, mostly in Delhi and Bombay……
The following are the Devas, who live in heaven..
INDRA .. God of rain, thunder and king of Devas
YAMA - God of Death
VAYU.. Wind god
SURYA .. sun God
VARUNA . Water God
BHOOMA .. Mother Earth…
AGNI.. Fire god
CHANDRA.. Moon God
KAMA.. God of LOVE
APSARAS.. They are the stars. All beautiful women.
7 RISHIS… The seven wise men/ teachers… In India, a teacher has the highest respect. They are called GURU… ( means teacher in Sanskrit)…

Hindu Mythology Vishnu

Vishnu is the preserver of the world.. Each time he comes to Earth in a different form to protect good from evil… His wife is Lakshmi, the goddess of food, prosperity, beauty etc…
I have sent a picture of Lakshmi.. She sits on a LOTUS…


Vishnu has come to earth in ten forms… In Scientific terms, this is similar to theory of evolution…. But this is mentioned in our books long before western scientist Charles Darwin found out “Theory of Evolution”….

First Form : MATSYA – the fish….. First form of life on earth was water animals..

2. KuRMA.. the turtle .. Second form was the amphibian animals…

3. VARAHA… The Boar…. Third form of life was the mammals, herbivorous animals that is vegetarian.

4. NARASIMHA – meat eating animals… the LION

5. VAMANA… the cave man dwarf..

The coming of Vamana is celebrated in Kerala, during ONAM.. which was the first festival which you saw when you came to India…

6 PARASURAMA – the woodcutter and learned man– the first signs of human civilizations.. Bronze Age and Stone Age
7 BALARAMA – The wise man- signifies the coming of simple knowledge to humans
8 RAMA – The story of the RAMAYANA… One of the earliest kings.. His life is the story of the RAMAYANA… one of the two greatest Hindu books.
9 KRISHNA – The story of MAHABHARATA – He is probably the most popular god, there are hundreds of stories about him… In Bangalore, there is a new temple called ISKCON.. Many foreigners are his devotees.. He is like a superhero… And he is a flirt, means most females like him very much…
Krishna has a famous girlfriend called "Radha". But he also has around 2000 other girlfriends. As a child he was very naughty and used to tease all the girls around him. But he charms them with his flute music. He is a farmer by profession so many cows around him. That is why the cow is so holy to all Hindus. Krishna was a cow farmer.
10 . KALKI………. He is the future, has not yet come…….

Hindu Mythology - Shiva

This is elementary Hindu Mythology….
There are many status of gods.. The three main gods, their wives and their children..
Then come the Divine People, namely the Devas… and the Asuras.. two kinds of people who are always fighting…. Devas live in Heaven and Asuras live in Hell…
For Hindus, Hell is not bad nor is Heaven very good, it all depends on individuals. Nobody is good or bad.. Everybody has his/her own bad qualities and good qualities..
at the bottom MORTAL MEN, who live in the earth….
Chief Gods: There are three of them,
Brahma – the Creator of the World and the Universe, he is the oldest god and most respected… He has four heads and is responsible for giving knowledge to the people.
Vishnu - the preserver of life.. he is worshipped as the Chief Gods by some Hindus.. Every time he comes to Earth in a different form to protect its people.
Shiva – the Destroyer, Hindus like me, consider him the Chief God.. He is the most powerful god who is also very bad tempered. His job is to punish bad people… But his wife makes him very nice sometimes..

Shiva: Is the Destroyer God.. He wears a King Cobra around his neck, which is the most poisonous.

He is also the God of Dance since he dances over his enemies dead bodies after killing them… Whenever he dances, the world shakes and is badly affected..
He is supposed to live in Mt Kailash, which is today in Tibet, China…
Durga/Kali/Parvati : She is called by many names and is Shiva’s wife.. She is the daughter of the Himalaya Mountain and she is like a mother. She is the daughter of the Himalaya mountains.. She is very kind and at the same time, can get very angry and destroy bad people.. When she is angry( Kali)., even Shiva trembles before her… As Parvati, she is the person who makes Shiva also kind and loving sometimes.. When she is angry( Kali), she looks extremely scary and ugly, she drinks blood etc… and rides on a lion..
The festival of Dasara is celebrated for her..

Their children… Ganesha and Karthik
Ganesha : He is a very friendly, cheerful god.. He has an elephants face.. He is the god of travel.. HE is very fat and loves to eat..
Karthik : He is the younger son of Shiva and Parvati. He is a very innocent child….In my province, he is very popular.. He is the messenger of gods and is a very good dancer, singer etc… He rides on a PEACOCK….

WHY GANESHA HAS ELEPHANTS FACE::
When Parvati was sleeping, she created a boy who would guard the door to her bedroom.. This boy was very handsome and very powerful.. She instructed him not to let ANYBODY inside… So he obeyed his mother..
Sometime later SHIVA came and demanded to go inside his room.. Seeing this boy blocking the way, he got angry. Since he did not want to harm a small boy, he tried shouting at him, but the boy refused to listen.. So Shiva got angry and fought with him.. In the fight, Ganesha proved to be so powerful that Shiva had to use force.. So Shiva used his weapon to cut off his head… and kill him….
He went inside, but when his wife saw what Shiva had done, she got very angry!!!!!!!!!!! And sad……………… So Shiva told her, he would bring this boy back to life… So to find a new head, he had to find the head of an animal.. The first animal he saw, was an elephant and so Ganesha came back to life as the elephant god….