Dinosaurs in ancient hinduism scriptures
Makara(Dinosaurs) as the vehicle of god and goddesses
In Scriptures, ‘Makara’ is known as the vehicle of sacred goddess ‘Ganga’-the guardian of the longest river of India. Furthermore, ‘Makara’ is also described as the vehicle of Deity ‘Varuna’-the sea god. Makara is also the emblem of lustful desires and hence, is depicted on the flag (known as Makara-Dhvaja) of KamaDeva(Deity of sex and passion). In Hindu astrology, ‘Makara’ is one of the 12 zodiac signs, known as Capricorn in English.
Scriptures says Deity ‘Varuna’ as the only fearless one who controls the ‘makara’ and can defeat the ‘Makara’. This description clearly implies that ‘makara’ is not crocodile since crocodile can be defeated by even a common well-trained man.
Makara(Dinosaurs) in ancient Indian scriptures
Makara of Chennakesava temple Belur,Karnatka
You wouldn’t find any information on dinosaurs or other similar species in any of the ancient western texts but it is in ancient Indian literary texts,dinosaurs and other species similar to dinosaurs could be found.
Makara
Sanskrit word ‘Makara’, meaning ‘spider’. ‘Makara’ was used to refer to a giant amphibian dragon that lived under sea. Was it a‘crocodile’ ? Not per description of ‘Makara’. Description and ancient paintings of ‘Makara’ across Asian countries like Cambodia, Burma, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan Vietnam and China presents a picture resembles dinosaurs.
Makara
Sanskrit word ‘Makara’, meaning ‘spider’. ‘Makara’ was used to refer to a giant amphibian dragon that lived under sea. Was it a‘crocodile’ ? Not per description of ‘Makara’. Description and ancient paintings of ‘Makara’ across Asian countries like Cambodia, Burma, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan Vietnam and China presents a picture resembles dinosaurs.
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| Makara of sambar prei kuk temple ,Indonesia |
Makara of sambar prei kuk temple ,Indonesia
If Dinosaurs existed in India during ancient times, then naturally it would find a place in written literature. Now that it has been proved that dinosaurs existed in vast regions of India, we can definitely say that the animals mentioned in ancient literature like Srimad Bhagavatam are species of dinosaurs. This also dates the literary texts of ‘Srimad Bhagavatam’ to be millions of years old, last thoroughly compiled in 1900 BC. Description of extinct animals proves that the author of such texts were either aware of such creatures because of the information passed by their ancestors/gurus through ages or they lived during the age when such creatures roam across the geographical regions of earth. This once again validates the superiority and authenticity of Indian scriptures.
‘Makara’ is depicted as the half aquatic-Half animal
aggressive monster having head of a crocodile, tail of a peacock, small horns
like that of a goat, body of an antelope and paws of a panther.
According to Mahabharata, Makara and Timingila(Shark or
whale) were the two powerful sea creatures that lived very deep within the sea
along with similar huge creatures. For example, consider the below verse
Verse 168.3, Vana
Parva, Mahabharata
“timingilah kacchapasca tatha timi timingilah
makarascatra drsyante jale magna ivadrayah”
Translation: “There
were seen Timingilas, tortoises, Timi-timingilas and Makaras, that were like
great rocks submerged in the water.”
Makara of candi kalasan temple, Indonesia
Also, There are many other texts like susruta samhita,
bhagavad purana and bhagavad gita that depicts ‘Makara’ and ‘Timingila’ as the
most dreadful amphibian species. For example consider the below verse
Chapter 45, Susruta Samhita
timi-timingila-kulisa-pakamatsya-nirularu
nandi-varalaka-makara-gargaraka-candraka
mahamina-rajiva prabhrtya samudrah
Translation:
"The Timi,
Timingila, Kulisa, Paka-matsya, Nirularu, Nandi-Varalaka, Makara, Gargaraka,
Candraka, Maha-mina, and Rajiva etc, constitute the family of marine
fish."
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| Makara head found in northern Qi dynasty, China(CE 550-577), |
Makara head found in northern Qi dynasty, China
Makara head found in northern Qi dynasty, China
In bhagavad gita, Lord Krishna used ‘Makara’ to represent
entire aquatic species thus referring ‘makara’ as the king of all aquatic
species.
Verse 31, Chapter 10, Bhagavad-gita
pavanah pavatam asmi ramah sastra-bhrtam aham
jhasanam makaras casmi srotasam asmi jahnavi
Translation:
“Of purifiers I am the wind. Of the wielders of weapons I am
Rama. Amongst aquatics I am the makara and of rivers I am the Ganga.”
In Srimad Bhagavatam,
‘Makaras’ and ‘Timingila’ are explicitly stated as dangerous predators that
attacked sage ‘Markandeya’
ksut-trt-parito
makarais timingilair upadruto vici-nabhasvatahatah
tamasy apare patito bhraman diso na veda kham gam ca
parisramesitah
Translation:
“Suffering from
hunger and thirst, attacked by Makaras and Timingila and battered by the waves
and the wind, Markandeya wandered through the infinite gloom that enveloped him.
Overcome by exhaustion, he lost all sense of direction and could not ascertain
what the sky was and what the earth was."
right is makara of
Banteay Srei, Cambodia
Does Makara refers to dinosaurs of Eocene or Cretaceous
Periods
Most of the verses in Indian scriptures are in poetical form
and so naturally, the author/poet used allegories to represent different
situations, objects, scenarios etc. Considering this point, if we apply the
above verses to modern scientific findings, we can easily come to the
conclusion that ‘Makara’ referred to a species of dinosaurs called
‘Ambulocetus’-(the most dangerous predator of Eocene Period) or ‘Pliosaur’-(the
most dangerous predator of Cretaceous Periods). The first fossil of ‘Pliosaur’,
estimated to be 155 millions old, was found in Dorset, England in 2003.
Famous Paleontologist
‘Richard Forrest’ in an interview to BBC said “This is an iconic specimen - one
of the most exciting we have seen in years. It was probably the most fearsome
predator that ever lived. Standing in front of the skull you can imagine this
enormous beast staring straight back at you, fixing you with its binocular
vision, and attacking. This creature bulky body was powered in waters by four
paddle-like limbs that has never been found and may not have fossilized”
On ‘Ambulocetus’,
reports describe it as an amphibian creature that existed 60 million years ago.
Fossil of Ambulocetus found in Pakistan, is said to be of a time when the land
mass of Indian subcontinent was slowly drifting from Africa toward the
continental shift of Asia.
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| Makara at Nanpaya Temple, Burmaat |
Makara at Nanpaya Temple, Burmaat
About other species of dinosaurs?
About other species of dinosaurs?
Now your mind may be wobbling up with many questions like
“Makara and timinglas are fine but if Indian ancient scriptures really have
description about dinosaurs, then why not the details of other huge creatures
that roamed on earth”.
Well, the answer to this specific question is that Ancient
scriptures do refer to many other mammoth creatures. However the information is
limited since such texts were composed for spiritual reasons and not as
entertaining books/stories on dinosaurs. You may be aware that Indian
scriptures are full of stories on fights between gods and demons. In such
battles, both demons and gods are shown as seated on their specific vehicle,
mostly a deadly predator. One of the verses that state the use of strange
creatures in battles is as follows
Chapter 8, Verse 10-12, Bhagavad Purana
grdhraih kankair bakair anye syena-bhasais timingilaih
sarabhair mahisaih khadgair go-vrsair gavayarunaih
sivabhir akhubhih kecit krkalasaih sasair naraih
bastair eke krsna-sarair hamsair anye ca sukaraih
anye jala-sthala-khagaih sattvair vikrta-vigrahaih
senayor ubhayo rajan vivisus te ’grato ’gratah
Translation
“O King, some soldiers fought on the backs of vultures,
eagles, ducks, hawks and bhasa birds. Some fought on the backs of timingilas,
which can devour huge whales, some on the backs of sarabhas, and some on
buffalo, rhinoceroses, cows, bulls, gavaya [jungle cows] and arunas. Others
fought on the backs of jackals, rats, krkalasa, rabbits, human beings, goats,
black deer, swans and boars. In this way, mounted on animals of the water, land
and sky, including animals with deformed bodies [vikrta-vigraha], both armies
faced each other and went forward.”
Some of the creatures
in the above verse are not identifiable. Nobody knows the English or Hindi
equivalent of animals like ‘bhasa’, ‘krkalasa’, ‘gavaya’, ’sarabhas’, ‘arunas’,
and ‘vikrta-vigraha’. All of them are said to be aggressive predators. These may
be the names of extinct species of dinosaurs or some other extinct species.
Furthermore, in sanskrit, ‘vikrta-vigraha’ means ‘Animals
with distorted body’, krkalasa means ‘Big lizard or chameleon’ and gavaya means
‘wild bull’. So, when the opponent is
riding on an elephant, rhinoceros or wild buffalo, one would definitely opt for
a big lizard like dinosaurs as his vehicle... isn’t it?
Makara and kirtimukha at Hindu temple in kathmandu, Nepal
Species of dinosaurs in Mahabharata
You may say that one example is not enough...So, Let us take
one more, this time from Mahabharata.
In Mahabharata, there is a mention of dinosaurs in symbolic
form of dangerous serpents. There is description of species that throws fire
(Dragon) and species that can kill a live tree with one just bite.
Exact Story is as
follows
Parikshit, Son of Arjuna, was cursed by a sage to die of
snake bite. After his death, Son of Parikshit, ‘Janamejaya’ decided to take
vengeance against the whole serpent dynasty (dragons and dinosaurs belongs to
serpents race). He organized a grand sacrifice to destroy all serpents dwelling
on earth. Many serpents died in this yagna and just before the entire serpent
race was about to wipe out, Janamejaya was stopped by a learned sage named
‘Astika’, Son of Naga mother and Brahmin father. The mass sacrifice that
started on the banks of river Arvind at Bardan (Presently Parham, shortcut of
‘Parikshitgarh’) ended all the enmity between the pandavas and nagas. Masonry
tank built by Janamejaya to mark this event can still be seen at Parikshit
kund(commonly known as Gowdvana) at Mainpuri district in Parham.
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| Makara and Nagas of Wat suthat, Bangkok, Thailand |
The exact verse that describes some dinosaur like wild
creatures are as follows
"Preists lit
fire and chanted mantras to start the sacred ceremony of yagna. When the flames
were high and sound of mantras vibrated the environment, all sorts of serpents
in different colors started spitting venom and combusted into ashes. Hundreds
and thousands of snakes, some of length spanning several yojana(1 yojana=8-15
km) got dragged in fire and burned down into ashes. These serpents are
1) Descendants of Vasuki (Kotisa, Hiranyavahu,
Purna, Cala, Pala, Halmaka, Manasa,
Kaunapa, Pichchala, Kalavega,
Carana, Cakra, Kakshaka, Prakalana and
Kaladantaka)
2) Descendants of
Takshaka (Mandalaka, Puchchandaka,
Ravenaka; Uchochikha, Pindasektri,
Bhangas, Carava, Vilwatejas,
Sili, Salakara, Virohana; Muka,
Pravepana, Sukumara, Sisuroman, Mudgara, Suroman and Mahahanu)
3) Descendants of
Iravati (Paravata, Pramoda, Pandara, Parijata,
Krisa, Harina, Sarabha, Meda, Vihanga
and Sauhatapana)
4) Descendants of
Kauravya (Pratara, Eraka, Veniskandha, Kumaraka, Vahuka, Kundala Veni,
Dhurtaka, Sringavera, and Astaka.)
5) Descendants of Dhritarashtra (Sankukarna,
Kuthara, Sukhana, and Shechaka; Pitharaka, Purnamukha, Purnangada, Sakuni,
Dari, Amahatha, Prahasa, Sushena,
Kumathaka, Bhairava, Mundavedanga, Pisanga, Vyaya, Udraparaka, Vegavat, Pindaraka; Raktanga,
Sarvasaranga, Samriddha, Patha, Rishabha and Vasaka;
6) Descendants of Varahaka(Viranaka, Tarunaka,
Chitravegika, Maniskandha, Suchitra, Parasara and Aruni).
 |
| Cham god Nāgaemerging from mouth ofMakara at the NationalMuseum of VietnameseHistory |
Pic from national museum of Vietnam that shows a naga emerging
from mouth of makara
Species of dinosaurs in Ramayana
In Ramayana, there is a mention of an event where King
Vibhishana of lanka confronted mighty creatures that were troubling mankind on
earth. Further, sage Valmiki mentions giant flying horses guarding the city of
Lanka. For me, Giant horses certainly sounds like dinosaurs, especially the
ones that has the distinctive characteristic of flying in the air. Ramayana is
said to be 18 million year old story. So, it is quite possible that dinosaurs or
similar other creatures ruled earth during those times. (also read Neanderthal
man and hominid species in Ramayana )
There are two more stories on species of dinosaurs from
bhagavad purana. Since these lengthy stories would extend this article further,
I would take it in a separate article.
From the above verses, description of dinosaurs and other
similar species is quite evident in ancient Indian literary texts.
Vedic explanation to existence of dinosaur’s species
According to Bhagavad Purana, combination of yugas called as
‘manvantaras’ repeat indefinitely where each manvantaras is characterized by
its own set of plants and animals. In Total, Vedas states 84,00,000 different
species of animals. Some of the animals and plants of previous ‘manvantaras’
become extinct in next ‘manvantaras’ and then are revived again after series of
‘manvantaras’. Additionally, Bhagavad Purana states that extinct species of
previous ‘manvantaras’ are replaced by new species in next ‘manvantaras’ and
this process of replacement is known as ‘Transmigration of souls’.
Since only a small
portion of this vast earth has been excavated and examined, many of the species
including human species are still unknown to us. But the series of findings has forced all the
scientists to refute Darwin concept of evolution thus paving the path for Vedic
concept of ‘Soul Transmigration’, the concept that cannot be proved
scientifically. (Also read Scientific explanation of Hindu cosmology and
reincarnation)
Short discourse on Transmigration of souls
Life is not simply the scientific formula of some
biochemical events; instead, life is created by a spark of the spirit that
turns the body composed of five elements into a living being. As long as soul
lives in the body, body is alive and no sooner does it leaves the body, the
material body starts to decompose back to five elements.
Though soul drives the body, the relationship between the
two is not eternal but only for one lifetime, the time period till which the
soul stays inside the human body. After that time period, soul takes up a new
body which may be of an animal/ plant or women/men depending upon the karma in
his/her previous life. Until the soul understands the transcendental connection
with the supreme god and become self-realized, the soul continues to
transmigrate from one species to another. This process is ‘Transmigration of
souls’ or cycles of birth and death.
Dinosaurs and all species follow the cyclic pattern of
extinction
Vedic theory states that Fish or any other aquatic animal,
when brought on earth develops intense desires to breathe like an amphibian. As
a result, they are born as amphibian in their next birth. With desires of
becoming dangerous predators, they become lizards or snakes in their next life.
Tired of slow motion, they develop a desire of running thus transmigrating into
monstrous predators like dinosaurs in their next life. After series of births
in desirable forms, they become extinct and the cycle starts from first phase
again.
Vedic theory also
states the degrading level of species in each yuga. i.e Species become smaller
and spiritually less inclined in each degrading yuga. This is why we don’t find
giant humans/animals in this yuga though there are enough evidences of both
giant humans and giant animal species like dinosaurs.
Did Human and dinosaurs co-exist?
In Vedic civilization, humans were spiritually advanced and
not materialistically advanced. Quite possibly, predators-like dinosaurs lived
in places far off from human settlements while other dinosaurs lived along with
humans. Limited use of technology and lack of materialistic desires may have
bolstered the co-existence of humans and dinosaurs.
Recent study of
dinosaur dung and fossil fuel in central India (especially Pisdura village of
Nagpur district) by scientists from US, china and India has concluded that “Few
species of Dinosaurs in India fed on rice and a variety of rice was grown in
India millions of years ago during the Cretaceous and Eocene period”, thus
pushing back the date of Indian civilization to at least 65 million years old,
the time when the landmass of Indian subcontinent was situated very close to
continental shelf of Africa.
Recently, when huge
dinosaur’s eggs were excavated in Gujarat, villagers thought those to be the
boon of Lord Shiva and started worshipping such fossilized eggs as
shiv-Lingam...
Huh...Typical Hindus...
Left is Shiv-Lingam and on the right is dinosaur’s eggs that
illiterate villagers mistakenly thought as Shiv-Lingam...
Note: Central India is known as the largest dinosaur
breeding site in the world from where the largest number of eggs and nest from
a single period of time (68 to 65 million years ago) were excavated. Gold
medalist geologist ‘Prithiraj Chungkham’ postulated the journey of dinosaurs
from all around the world to India in order to nest or lay eggs in India.
Why scientists are mum on findings of dinosaurs
Theory of Co-existence between humans and dinosaurs is
slowly embraced by scientists all over the world but are reluctant to admit so
under the pressure of atheistic communist empire that strictly wants to hold on
dogma of evolution. Under the pressure of Christian evangelists and preachers,
some of the modern scientists are quite reluctant to reveal all the truth
related to fossil discoveries that contradict the biblical claim of this
universal creation just 6000 years ago. Moreover, such frequent changes in
scientific theories would undermine the significance of science/scientists and
would question the progress of science. Some of the scientists are reluctant to
admit faults in science and are fooling others to believe in false theories
like ‘theory of evolution’.
So, the modern
scientist’s claim of dinosaurs being the exclusive ruler of this earth is quite
misleading and quite questionable.
Check the footprints
of human and dinosaurs in the above video from 10min.
Below Stones from Peru which was part of the ancient Vedic
empire reveals the co-existence of humans and dinosaurs like creatures
Conclusion:
If Dinosaurs existed in India during ancient times, then naturally it would find a place in written literature. Now that it has been proved that dinosaurs existed in vast regions of India, we can definitely say that the animals mentioned in ancient literature like Srimad Bhagavatam are species of dinosaurs. This also dates the literary texts of ‘Srimad Bhagavatam’ to be millions of years old, last thoroughly compiled in 1900 BC. Description of extinct animals proves that the author of such texts were either aware of such creatures because of the information passed by their ancestors/gurus through ages or they lived during the age when such creatures roam across the geographical regions of earth. This once again validates the superiority and authenticity of Indian scriptures.
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References
- ^ Sir Monier Monier-Williams (2005), A Sanskrit-English dictionary: etymologically and philologically arranged,Motilal Banarsidass Publications, p. 771, http://books.google.com/books?id=zUezTfym7CAC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA771#v=onepage&q&f=false, retrieved 2011-1-22
- ^ a b c d e Brenda Rosen (3 March 2009). The Mythical Creatures Bible: The Definitive Guide to Legendary Beings.Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.. pp. 136–. ISBN 9781402765360. http://books.google.com/books?id=mI0vKhZXJqwC&pg=PA136. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
- ^ "Mugger", Raftar English - Hindi Dictionary, http://shabdkosh.raftaar.in/Hindi-Dictionary/Meaning/mugger, retrieved2011-1-14
- ^ "Crocodile", Raftar English - Hindi Dictionary, http://shabdkosh.raftaar.in/Hindi-Dictionary/Meaning/crocodile,retrieved 2011-1-14
- ^ a b c d e f g Janaki Lenin (2011-1-14), "My Husband and Other Animals - The beast within File:Makara Bedur.jpg",The Hindu, ARTS » HISTORY & CULTURE (Kasturi & Sons Ltd), http://www.thehindu.com/arts/history-and-culture/article1092548.ece, retrieved 2011-1-14
- ^ a b c d e f g Robert Beer (10 September 2003). The handbook of Tibetan Buddhist symbols. Serindia Publications,Inc.. pp. 77–. ISBN 9781932476033. http://books.google.com/books?id=-3804Ud9-4IC&pg=PA77. Retrieved 17January 2011.
- ^ George Mason Williams (2003). Handbook of Hindu mythology. ABC-CLIO. pp. 294–. ISBN 9781576071069.http://books.google.com/books?id=SzLTWow0EgwC&pg=PA294. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
- ^ a b c Archaeological Institute of America (1970). Archaeology. Archaeological Institute of America. pp. 41–43.http://books.google.com/books?id=Nt8sAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
- ^ K. Krishna Murthy (October 1985). Mythical animals in Indian art. Abhinav Publications. pp. 37, 41, 44.ISBN 9780391032873. http://books.google.com/books?id=dMI4rZuRs1MC&pg=RA1-PA44. Retrieved 17 January2011.
- ^ W. J. Wilkins (March 2004). Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic. Kessinger Publishing. pp. 36–.ISBN 9780766188815. http://books.google.com/books?id=84pTrICjfRcC&pg=PA36. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
- ^ Wilkins (2004)", p.373
- ^ Vittorio Roveda (2005), Images of the gods: Khmer mythology in Cambodia, Thailand and Laos, River Books,p. 209 - 210
- ^ ""Trunko"", AmericanMonsters., http://64.207.147.134/monsters/carcass/index.php?detail=article&idarticle=61,retrieved 2008-12-3
- Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend (ISBN 0-500-51088-1) by Anna Dallapiccola
- The Illustrated Book of Signs and Symbols by Miranda Bruce-Mitford
External links
- Photo fine Makara toranam in South India
- Photos of Tibetan Buddhist Makara
- Photos of Makara toranam at Bhoologanathar - Chozhamahadevi temples in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, South India
Categories:
- Hindu legendary creatures
- Legendary reptiles
- Sanskrit words and phrases
- Tibetan Buddhist practices
- Mythical aquatic creatures
- http://www.visitindia.org.in/top_10_wonders/natural_wonders.html
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