Alien City under Kailāsanātha Temple ?

The Kailāsanātha temple (Cave 16) is one of the 32 cave temples and monasteries known collectively as the Ellora Caves. Its construction is generally attributed to the Rashtrakuta king Krishna I (r. 756-773 CE). The temple architecture shows traces of Pallava and Chalukya styles.

Mysteries that surround the Monolith..

The Kailash Temple is a standalone, multi-storeyed temple complex, made to look like Mount Kailash - the puranic home of Lord Shiva.

The Kailāsanātha Temple is the largest rock-cut ancient Hindu temple in the world. A megalith carved out of one single rock, it is considered one of the most remarkable cave temples on the planet because of its sheer size, architecture and sculptural treatment. 

The Kailāśa Temple is notable for its vertical excavation—carvers started at the top of the original rock and excavated downward. It is the only structure in the world to be built that way. 

The rock temple was cut in 'U' shape about 50 metres in the back, and tonnes of rock was removed to give shape to it. The scientists had calculated that it would have taken more than a hundred years to finish the temple construction. However, in reality it took only 18 years to complete it. Interestingly, modern age engineers find it impossible to finish the same temple using the modern technology in 18 years!

An estimated 2 million cubic feet of rock was cut from the mountain, but was never found anywhere. Where did all that stone go?

Mughal ruler Aurangzeb had made a strong attempt to vandalise the Kailash Temple, but he was unable to get much success in his plans. All he could do was a minor damage here and there, but not to the main structure.

In her book, "The Secret Doctrine"; Helena Balavatsky claimed that many advanced civilizations existed Millions of Years Ago. Their remnants can still be found beneath the secret passages and chambers of the Indian cave temples. And even in statues that adorn the walls of the Kailāshnāth !

Lost Treasures of Nalanda

Nalanda Mahavihara

Nalanda was an acclaimed Mahavihara, a large Buddhist monastery in the ancient kingdom of Magadha (modern day Bihar) in India. Considered by historians to be the world's very first residential university, and among the greatest centers of learning in the ancient world, it was located near the city of Rajagriha (now Rajgir) and about 90 kilometres (56 mi) southeast of Pataliputra (now Patna), and was a centre of learning from the 427 CE to 1197 CE.

Nalanda was established during the Gupta Empire era, and was supported by numerous Indian and Javanese patrons – both Buddhists and Hindus. Over some 750 years, its faculty included some of the most revered scholars of Mahayana Buddhism. Nalanda Mahavihara taught six major Buddhist schools and philosophies such as Yogacara and Sarvastivada as well as subjects such as grammar, medicine, logic and mathematics. The university was also a major source of the 657 Sanskrit texts carried by pilgrim Xuanzang and the 400 Sanskrit texts carried by Yijing to China in the 7th-century, which influenced East Asian Buddhism. Many of the texts composed at Nalanda played an important role in the development of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism including the Mahavairocana Tantra and the Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra of Shantideva.

It was sacked and destroyed by the troops of Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji, partly restored thereafter, and continued to exist till about 1400 CE. Today, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Nalanda Heritage Site

Nalanda Heritage Site

While its excavated ruins today only occupy an area of around 1,600 feet (488 m) by 800 feet (244 m) or roughly 12 hectares, Nalanda Mahavihara occupied a far greater area in medieval times.

The subjects taught at Nalanda covered every field of learning, and it attracted pupils and scholars from Korea, Japan, China, Tibet, Indonesia, Persia and Turkey. These included Vedas, Logic, Grammar, Philosophy, Theology, Literature, Astronomy, Medicine, Law, City-Planning, Tantra, Yoga, Mahayana, Hinyana etc.

Xuanzang left detailed accounts of the school in the 7th century. He described how the regularly laid-out towers, forest of pavilions, harmikas and temples seemed to "soar above the mists in the sky" so that from their cells the monks "might witness the birth of the winds and clouds". The pilgrim states: "An azure pool winds around the monasteries, adorned with the full-blown cups of the blue lotus; the dazzling red flowers of the lovely kanaka hang here and there, and outside groves of mango trees offer the inhabitants their dense and protective shade."

In the detailed account of his stay at Nalanda, the pilgrim also describes the view out of the window of his quarters thus, " Moreover, the whole establishment is surrounded by a brick wall, which encloses the entire convent from without. One gate opens into the great college, from which are separated eight other halls standing in the middle (of the Sangharama). The richly adorned towers, and the fairy-like turrets, like pointed hill-tops are congregated together. The observatories seem to be lost in the vapours (of the morning), and the upper rooms tower above the clouds."

History

Nalanda's datable history begins in the 5th-century. A seal discovered at the site identifies a monarch named Shakraditya (Śakrāditya) as its founder and attributes the foundation of a sangharama (monastery) at the site to him. This is corroborated by the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang travelogue. The tradition of formalized Vedic learning "helped to inspire the formation of large teachings centres," such as Nalanda, Taxila, and Vikramashila.

In the Indian tradition and texts, kings were called by many epithets and names. Scholars such as Andrea Pinkney and Hartmut Scharfe conclude that Shakraditya is same as Kumaragupta I. He was one of the kings in the Hindu dynasty of the Guptas. Further, numismatic evidence discovered at Nalanda corroborate that Kumaragupta I was the founder patron of the Nalanda monastery-university.

His successors, Budhagupta, Tathagatagupta, Baladitya, and Vajra, later extended and expanded the institution by building additional monasteries and temples. Nalanda, thus flourished through the 5th and 6th-centuries under the Guptas. These Gupta-era contributions to Nalanda are corroborated by the numerous Buddhist and Hindu seals, artwork, iconography and inscriptions discovered at Nalanda, which are in the Gupta-style and Gupta-era scripts. During this period, the Gupta kings were not the only patrons of Nalanda. They reflect a broad and religiously-diverse community of supporters. It is remarkable, states Scharfe, that "many donors were not Buddhists; the emblems on their seals show Lakshmi, Ganesha, Shivalinga and Durga".

After the decline of the Guptas, the most notable patron of the Nalanda Mahavihara was Harsha (known as Śīlāditya in some Buddhist records). He was the 7th-century emperor with capital at Kannauj (Kanyakubja). According to Xuanzang, Harsha was a third generation Hindu king from the Vaishya caste, who built majestic Buddhist viharas, as well as three majestic temples – Buddha, Surya and Shiva, all of the same size. He states (637 CE), "a long succession of kings" had built up Nalanda till "the whole is truly marvellous to behold".

In accordance with the ancient Indian traditions of supporting temples and monasteries, inscriptions found at Nalanda suggest that it received gifts, including grants of villages by kings to support the operation of Nalanda. Harsha himself granted 100 villages. He also directed 200 households from each these villages to supply the institution's monks with requisite daily supplies such as of rice, butter, and milk. This supported over 1,500 faculty and 10,000 student monks at Nalanda.

Bakhtiyar Khalji's massacre of buddhists and brahmin monks in Bihar

Destruction by Bakhtiyar Khalji

The destruction of Nalanda was not an accident or misunderstanding but a part of the widespread destruction of Buddhist monasteries and monuments including a destruction of Bodhgaya. The vast manuscript libraries of Magadha had been mostly lost. Other Tibetan monks had shifted to Nepal, as the place to study, copy and move manuscripts to Tibet. According to Dharmasvamin account, the Turushka-Qarluq (Turk) conquest extended from about 1193 to 1205, the destruction was systematic with "Turushka soldiers razing a monastery to the ground and throwing the stones into Ganges river", states Roerich. The fear of persecution was strong in the 1230s, and his colleagues dissuaded him from going to Magadha.

Another evidence is the discovery of thick layer of ashes and charcoal discovered during the archaeological excavations on the uppermost strata, inscribed artwork and soil, and this layer was found over many buildings separated by some distance. This suggests that Nalanda's destruction was accompanied with a widespread fire after mid-12th-century. This corroborates Dharmasvamin account of the destruction.

Tracking the Manuscripts

Xuanzang returned to China with 657 Sanskrit texts and 150 relics carried by 20 horses in 520 cases. He translated 74 of the texts himself.

Yizing arrived in 673 CE, and stayed in India for fourteen years, ten of which he spent at the Nalanda Mahavihara. When he returned to China in 695, he had with him 400 Sanskrit texts and 300 grains of Buddha relics which were subsequently translated in China.

The last throne-holder of Nalanda, Shakyashri Bhadra of Kashmir, fled to Tibet in 1204 at the invitation of the Tibetan translator Tropu Lotsawa (Khro-phu Lo-tsa-ba Byams-pa dpal). Some of the surviving Nalanda books were taken by fleeing monks to Tibet. He took with him several Indian masters: Sugataśrī, (an expert in Madhyamaka and Prajñāpāramitā); Jayadatta (Vinaya); Vibhūticandra (grammar and Abhidharma), Dānaśīla (logic), Saṅghaśrī (Candavyākaraṇa), Jīvagupta (books of Maitreya), Mahābodhi,(Bodhicaryāvatāra); and Kālacandra (Kālacakra).

Tibetan Buddhist tradition is regarded to be a continuation of the Nalanda tradition. The Dalai Lama states: "Tibetan Buddhism is not an invention of the Tibetans. Rather, it is quite clear that it derives from the pure lineage of the tradition of the Nalanda Monastery. The master Nagarjuna hailed from this institution, as did many other important philosophers and logicians..."

The Dalai Lama refers to himself as a follower of the lineage of the seventeen Nalanda masters.

Storm God Vs the Chaos Serpent

 

इन्द्रस्य नु वीर्याणि प्र वोचं यानि चकार प्रथमानि वज्री ।

अहन्नहिमन्वपस्ततर्द प्र वक्षणा अभिनत्पर्वतानाम् ॥ 

अहन्नहिं पर्वते शिश्रियाणं त्वष्टास्मै वज्रं स्वर्यं ततक्ष ।

वाश्रा इव धेनवः स्यन्दमाना अञ्जः समुद्रमव जग्मुरापः ॥

— Rigveda, 1.32

Now I shall proclaim the heroic deeds of Indra, those foremost deeds that the mace-wielder performed:

He smashed the serpent. He bored out the waters. He split the bellies of the mountains.

He smashed the serpent resting on the mountain—for him Tvaṣṭar had fashioned the resounding [sun like] mace.

Like bellowing cows, streaming out, the waters went straight down to the sea.

As He tore down the heavens and struck a devastating thunderbolt at the mighty dragon Vritra through his Vajra, destroying his 99 fortresses in the wake. All the trapped waters of the world ravaged from the serpent's hold and through rivers went back to the seas. This is the Rig Vedic story of their hero Indra and how through his bravery and courage he became the king of the gods. Over a quarter of the 1,028 hymns of the Rig-Veda mention Indra, making him the most referred to deity than any other. 

Not only in the Vedas but the legend of the Chaos Serpent and the Storm God is found in most of the other prominent world mythologies. In Egyptian mythology we have Apep vs Ra, Tiamat vs Marduk in Babylonian mythology, Zeus vs Typhon in Greek mythology, Jormungdar vs Thor in Norse mythology and Yamata no Orochi vs Susanoo in Japanese mythology. The metaphor actually reflects that how a person just through his staunch resilience can overcome any obstacle and revive the uninterrupted flow of goodness back into this world, no matter the odds.

Indra in his battle armour

Indra is the king of the gods (Devas). He is one of the main gods of the Rigveda and is the Vedic cousin of the German Wotan, Norse Odin, Greek Zeus, and Roman Jupiter. In early religious texts, Indra plays a variety of roles. As king, he leads cattle raids against the dasyus. He brings rain as god of the thunderbolt, and he is the great warrior who conquers the anti-gods (asuras). He also defeats innumerable human and superhuman enemies, most famously the dragon Vritra, a leader of the dasyus and a demon of drought. Vritra is accused of hoarding the waters and the rains, of stealing cows, and as an anti-god for hiding the Sun. Indra is strengthened for those feats by drinks of the elixir of immortality, the soma, which priests offer to him in the sacrifice. Among his allies are the Maruts, who ride the clouds and direct storms. Indra is sometimes referred to as “the thousand-eyed.” In painting and sculpture, Indra is often depicted riding his white elephant, Airavata. Indra is also the father of Arjuna. In the Mahabharata War, Arjuna was a key warrior from the Pandava side and slew many warriors including Karna and Bhisma. 

So who was this mysterious Indra who has left his mark on most of the ancient civilizations ? Was he just a pagan god of thunderstorm or was he a king of the Indus Saraswati civilization ? Or maybe the chief of a certain race called the Devas.. An extensive research of the Vedas by the scholars of various disciplines may yield further answers ! Maybe in the future we will come to realise who was this great god of our ancestors..

The Rise and Fall of the Human Civilization

In the previous post we discussed about the manvantars and super-continents, now we shall discuss the origins of the human race. Hindu scriptures have maintained that; humans and by far advanced civilizations have existed on earth from the beginning of life on earth. We are presently living in the 7^th manvantar (Details of hindu concepts of time has been discussed in the previous post). Each manvantar is divided into a cycle 0f 71 ‘divya-yugas’. This divya-yuga cycle consist of 4 Yugas viz.  Sat Yuga (Golden Age), Treta Yuga (Silver Age), Dwapar Yuga (Bronze Age), and Kali Yuga (Iron Age). We are presently in 28^th Kali yuga of the 7^th manvantar.  There are ancient Sanskrit writings that describe Satya Yuga as an age when humans lived in complete harmony with nature. The weather is always very mild, almost perpetually spring-like, and there are no cities. The distinction between men and gods (devas) is virtually non-existent. There is no need for technological devices of any sort, because whatever end today's technology serves could be achieved back then through their own innate abilities which were fully manifested at birth. Then comes Treta Yuga, which is when people start to build houses and cities to live in as a result of somewhat more unpredictable weather, political systems come into being and competition and conflicts between people start to arise. Then we move onto Dwapar Yuga, the age when doubt rears its ugly head. Wars become more common in this age. And then we finally come to Kali Yuga, which is supposedly the current age that our modern human civilization is in. It is commonly known as 'the age of quarrel and hypocrisy' and is a very intense age. This is the paradox underlying each of the yugas.

Sata Yuga or the Golden Age

Hard to believe as it is; modern science have rejected these as imaginations of primitive people. But they have failed explain that, how these primitive people knew the exact workings of the cosmos, measurement of time in such huge numbers, and even the use of nuclear energy. Charles Berlitz, author of several books, including The Bermuda Triangle wrote:  “ The Jyotish (400 B. C) echoes the modern concept of the earth's place in the universe, the law of gravity, the kinetic nature of energy, and the theory of cosmic rays and also deals, in specialized but unmistakable vocabulary, with the theory of atomic rays. And what was thousands of years before the medieval theologians of Europe argued about the number of angels that could fit on the head of a pin.”

Ruins of Mohenjo-daro

Supposedly if our current world is destroyed, say from a nuclear holocaust or a natural catastrophe of global proportions. The surviving people will have to start building up the new world with nothing but scratch. All the previous age’s technology and scientific knowledge will slowly turn to oblivion. But some scriptures and memories will remain, and will be passed down to future generations for their benefit. After tens and thousands of years, when even the relics of such technologies will disappear; people will start treating them as myths and nothing else. So has our world been destroyed before? In 1979 a book by David W. Davenport, an Englishman born in India, was published in Italy. Its title was “2000 AC Diztruzione Atomica” (Atomic Destruction 2000. BC). Davenport claimed to have proof that Mohenjo-daro, one of the oldest cities in the history of human civilization, had been destroyed by an atomic bomb. While giving a lecture at Rochester University, Dr. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967) theoretical physicist and the Supervising Scientist of the Manhattan Project, who was familiar with ancient Sanskrit literature; was confronted by a simple question:

Student: Was the bomb exploded at Alamogordo during the Manhattan Project the first one to be detonated?

Dr. Oppenheimer: "Well -- yes. In modern times, of course."

Ancient Nuclear Wars??

It is commonly believed among the mainstream scientific community that humans have their origins on Earth approximately 200,000 years ago. However, over the last few centuries, literally thousands of archaeological discoveries have been made which severely challenges this belief. Here are merely some of the archaeological finds which clearly indicate that the Homo sapiens sapiens species has existed on this planet for far longer than what is usually taught in our textbooks:

* A human skull fragment from Hungary dated between 250,000 and 450,000 BC

* A human footprint with accompanying paleoliths (stones deliberately chipped into a recognizable tool type), bone tools, hearths and shelters, discovered in France and dated 300,000 to 400,000 years BC

* Paleoliths in Spain, a partial human skeleton and paleoliths in France; two English skeletons, one with associated paleoliths, ALLat least 300,000 years old

* Skull fragments and paleoliths in Kenya and advanced paleoliths, of modern human manufacture, in the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, dated between 400,000 and 700,000 BC

* Neoliths (the most advanced stone tools and utensils) in China of a type that indicate full human capacity, dated to 600,000 BC

* Hearths, charcoal, human femurs and broken animal bones, all denoting modern humanity, in Java, dated to 830,000 BC

* An anatomically modern human skull discovered in Argentina and dated between 1 million and 1.5 million years BC (eoliths -chipped pebbles, thought to be the earliest known tools- at Monte Hermoso, also in Argentina, are believed to be between 1 and 2.5 million years old).

* A human tooth from Java yielding a date between 1 and 1.9 million years BC

* Incised bones, dated between 1.2 and 2.5 million BC, have been found in Italy

* Finds of paleoliths, cut and charred bones at Xihoudu in China and eoliths from Diring Yurlakh in Siberia dated to 1.8 million BC

* Eoliths in India, paleoliths in England, Belgium, Italy and Argentina, flint blades in Italy, hearths in Argentina, a carved shell, pierced teeth and even two human jaws all bearing a minimum date of 2 million years BC

* Paleoliths from France dated between 7 and 9 million BC

* An eolith from India with a minimum dating of 9 million BC

* Incised bones from France, Argentina and Kenya no less than 12 million years old

* More paleolith finds from France, dated at least 20 million years ago

* Neoliths from California in excess of 23 million years

* Three different kinds of paleoliths from Belgium with a minimum dating of 26 million BC

* An anatomically modern human skeleton, neoliths and carved stones found at the Table Mountain, California and dated at least 33 million years ago

* A human skeleton found in Switzerland is estimated to be between 38 and 45 million years old.

* France has yielded up eoliths, paleoliths, cut wood and a chalk ball, the minimum ages of which range from 45 to 50 million years. 

* In 1960, H. L. Armstrong announced in Nature magazine the discovery of fossil human footprints near the Paluxy River, in Texas. Dinosaur footprints were found in the same strata.

* In 1983, the Moscow News reported the discovery of a fossilized human footprint next to the fossil footprint of a three-toed dinosaur in the Turkamen Republic. Dinosaurs have been extinct for approximately 65 million years.

* In 1983, Professor W. G. Burroughs of Kentucky reported the find of three pairs of fossil tracks dated to 300 million years ago. They showed left and right footprints. Each print had five toes and a distinct arch. The toes were spread apart like those of a human used to walking barefoot. The foot curved back like a human foot to what appeared to be a human heel. There was a pair of prints in the series that showed a left and right foot. The distance between them is just what you'd expect in modern human footprints. 

* In December 1862, The Geologist carried news of a human skeleton found 27.5 m (90 ft) below the surface in a coal seam in Illinois. The seam was dated between 286 and 320 million years BC.

It's true that a few eoliths, skull fragments and fossil footprints, however old, provide no real backing for the idea of advanced prehistoric human civilizations. But some other finds do:

* In 1968, an American fossil collector named William J. Meister found a fossilized human shoe print near Antelope Spring, Utah. There were trilobite fossils in the same stone, which means it was at least 245 million years old. Close examination showed that the sole of this shoe differed little, if at all, from those of shoes manufactured today.

* In 1897, a carved stone showing multiple faces of an old man was found at a depth of 40 m (130 ft) in a coal mine in Iowa. The coal there was of similar age.

* A piece of coal yielded up an encased iron cup in 1912. Frank J. Kenwood, who made the find, was so intrigued he traced the origin of the coal and discovered it came from the Wilburton Mine in Oklahoma. The coal there is about 312 million years old. 

* In 1844, Scottish physicist Sir David Brewster reported the discovery of a metal nail embedded in a sandstone block from a quarry in the north of England. The head was completely encased, ruling out the possibility that it had been driven in at some recent date. The block from which it came is approximately 360 million years old.

* On 22 June 1844, The Times reported that a length of gold thread had been found by workmen embedded in stone close to the River Tweed. This stone too was around 360 million years old.

* According to Scientific American, dated 5 June 1852, blasting activities at Meeting House Hill, in Dorchester, Massachusetts, unearthed a metallic, bell-shaped vessel extensively decorated with silver inlays of flowers and vines. The workmanship was described as 'exquisite'. The vessel was blown out of a bed of Roxbury conglomerate dated somewhat earlier than 600 million years BC.

* In 1993, Michael A. Cremo and Richard L. Thompson reported the discovery 'over the past several decades' of hundreds of metallic spheres in a pyrophyllite mine in South Africa. The spheres are grooved and give the appearance of having been manufactured. If so, the strata in which they were found suggest they were manufactured 2.8 billion years ago. 

May be in some distant past not recognized by modern science, humankind was far more advanced than we generally suppose. Following such times, humankind entered a 'dark age'. The cause of such dark ages and the total lapse of advanced civilization, is not known. And whether the advancement, or even origins of that civilization, came by way of extraterrestrial intervention, spiritual means or simple human ingenuity, is also not known. Astrobiologists now suspect that life began on Earth shortly after its formation...indicating that life evolves rather quickly and if such holds true, it's quite possible that life could have evolved to advanced levels of civilization prior to the first anatomically modern human ever chipping a flint stone.

Manvantars and the Super-continent Cycle

Time is mysterious, Time is cyclic, and Time can be dilated. Hinduism is the oldest religion of the world and hence called the Sanatan Dharma, which has neither the beginning nor the end. It measures time in billions and trillions of years and profound the theory of multiverses (a collection of universes). It clearly shows the mark of a very advanced civilization, which was not only well acquainted with such huge numbers but also brilliant scientific thought process. According to the Padma Purana, the day of Brahma is divided into 14 manvantars. Brahma is the creator deity present in each universe, also called as Brahmand. He lives for 100 years, divided into days and nights which are further divided into manvantars. The days of Brahma are 14 manvantars long. Each manvantar is a cycle of approximately 306.72 million years. At the end of each day of Brahma, the creation is destroyed and the night follows. This night is as long as the day and is devoid of creation. At the beginning of each day the Brahma starts a new process of creation. We are currently living around the noon of 1st day of the 51st year of the current Brahma. This day has been named the Shwetavaraha Kalpa (The Day of the White Boar). The scripture further states that life began on earth 6 manvantars ago and we are currently in 7th manvantar. Since almost half of this manvantar has passed, this suggests that life began on earth around 2 billion years ago. This number amazingly coincides with the theory of modern geologists.

One complete manvantar cycle is 306,720,000 Earth years in duration. The last supercontinent, Pangaea, formed approximately 300 million years ago. There’s yet another rough similarity between manvantar cycles and supercontinent cycles. The previous supercontinent, Pannotia/Greater Gondwanaland, formed approximately 600 million years ago. However, most geologists also state that beyond the original formation of the supercontinent Pannotia, the time span between supercontinents becomes more irregular. For example, the supercontinent before Pannotia, Rodinia, existed 1.1 billion to 750 million years ago - a mere 150 million years before Pannotia. The supercontinent before this was Columbia: 1.8 to 1.5 billion years ago. And before this was Kenorland: 2.7 to 2.1 billion years ago. Ur existed 3 billion years ago and Vaalbara 3.6 to 2.8 billion years ago. One complete supercontinent cycle is said to take 300 to 500 million years to occur. There are a few discrepancies here and there, but these discrepancies are relatively minor. But nevertheless, it’s not known for certain how long a supercontinent cycle is.

These minor discrepancies can be however explained through The Einstein Theory of Relativity. Concepts introduced by the theories of relativity include: Measurements of various quantities are relative to the velocities of observers. In particular, space and time can dilate; Spacetime: space and time should be considered together and in relation to each other; and the speed of light is nonetheless invariant, the same for all observers. Some of the consequences of general relativity are: Clocks run more slowly in deeper gravitational wells. This is called gravitational time dilation; Orbits precess in a way unexpected in Newton's theory of gravity. (This has been observed in the orbit of Mercury and in binary pulsars); Rays of light bend in the presence of a gravitational field; Rotating masses "drag along" the spacetime around them; a phenomenon termed "frame-dragging"; The universe is expanding, and the far parts of it are moving away from us faster than the speed of light. This brings to the conclusion that it’s certain to determine that an event has occurred but to assign a time period to it depends on the position of the observer in space. To get this point even simpler I must sight the example of the stars. We see only the image of what some stars were a million years ago; as those stars are a million light years away from us.

Thus, whatever may be the time period of the super-continents or the intervals of manvantars, it’s certain that, what ancient scriptures are saying might be true. Hindu scriptures go a step ahead and describe all the continents as dwipas (islands), viz. Jambu Dwipa, Plaksha Dwipa, Shalmali Dwipa, Kusha Dwipa, Krauncha Dwipa, Shaka Dwipa, and Pushkara Dwipa. These Dwipas are either supercontinents or the supercontinent cycles related to them. The global flooding of the continental regions after the break-up of a supercontinent is the ocean between each of the Dwipas. Sedimentary layers of each supercontinent cycle forms above the previous one. At the commencement of each manvantar, there could be only one giant landmass on Earth (i.e. a supercontinent) and as each manvantar moves forward in time, this supercontinent breaks itself into smaller continents scattered over our planet. This process of supercontinents splitting themselves to form smaller continents is known as continental rifting. Also, geological studies have shown that continental rifting causes substantial inundations by water. Notice that there are names for 7 distinct supercontinents and manvantars till date. We are currently living during the 7th manvantar. It’s fascinating that modern paleontology tells us that there have been 6 major extinction events since the beginning of life on Earth approximately 2 billion years ago. The Vedic texts also state that life began on Earth approximately 2 billion years ago as well (during this particular cycle). The major difference between what modern paleontology is saying and what the ancient Vedic texts are telling us is that in the ancient Vedic texts, humans (and, by extension, human civilisations) have existed in each of the 6 previous manvantars before each of the 6 major extinction events occurred. I will leave that for my next post, and end this post with a hymn from the Rig Veda.

Who verily knows and who can here declare it, 

Whence it was born and whence comes this creation?

The Gods are later than this world's production. 

Who knows then whence it first came into being?

He, the first origin of this creation, 

Whether He formed it all or did not form it,

Whose eye controls this world in highest heaven, 

He verily knows it, or perhaps He knows not.

— Rig Veda 10.129.6-7