http://www.hinduism.co.za/kaabaa.htm
Kaaba a Hindu Temple?
[Note: A recent archeological find in Kuwait unearthed a gold-plated
statue of the Hindu deity Ganesh. A Muslim resident of Kuwait
requested
historical research material that can help explain the connection
between Hindu civilisation and Arabia.]
Was the Kaaba Originally a Hindu Temple?
By P.N. Oak (Historian)
Glancing through some research material recently, I was pleasantly
surprised to come across a reference to a king Vikramaditya
inscription found in the Kaaba in Mecca proving beyond doubt that the
Arabian Peninsula formed a part of his Indian Empire.
The text of the crucial Vikramaditya inscription, found inscribed on a
gold dish hung inside the Kaaba shrine in Mecca, is found recorded on
page 315 of a volume known as 'Sayar-ul-Okul' treasured in the
Makhtab-
e-Sultania library in Istanbul, Turkey. Rendered in free English the
inscription says:
"Fortunate are those who were born (and lived) during king Vikram's
reign. He was a noble, generous dutiful ruler, devoted to the welfare
of his subjects. But at that time we Arabs, oblivious of God, were
lost in sensual pleasures. Plotting and torture were rampant. The
darkness of ignorance had enveloped our country. Like the lamb
struggling for her life in the cruel paws of a wolf we Arabs were
caught up in ignorance. The entire country was enveloped in a darkness
so intense as on a new moon night. But the present dawn and pleasant
sun****ne of education is the result of the favour of the noble king
Vikramaditya whose benevolent supervision did not lose sight of us-
foreigners as we were. He spread his sacred religion amongst us and
sent scholars whose brilliance shone like that of the sun from his
country to ours. These scholars and preceptors through whose
benevolence we were once again made cognisant of the presence of God,
introduced to His sacred existence and put on the road of Truth, had
come to our country to preach their religion and impart education at
king Vikramaditya's behest."
For those who would like to read the Arabic wording I reproduce it
hereunder in Roman script:
"Itrashaphai Santu Ibikramatul Phahalameen Karimun Yartapheeha
Wayosassaru Bihillahaya Samaini Ela Motakabberen Sihillaha Yuhee Quid
min howa Yapakhara phajjal asari nahone osirom bayjayhalem. Yundan
blabin Kajan blnaya khtoryaha sadunya kanateph netephi bejehalin
Atadari bilamasa- rateen phakef tasabuhu kaunnieja majekaralhada
walador. As hmiman burukankad toluho watastaru hihila Yakajibaymana
balay kulk amarena phaneya jaunabilamary Bikramatum".
(Page 315 Sayar-ul-okul).
[Note: The title 'Saya-ul-okul' signifies memorable words.]
A careful analysis of the above inscription enables us to draw the
following conclusions:
1. That the ancient Indian empires may have extended up to the
eastern boundaries of Arabia until Vikramaditya and that it was he who
for the first time conquered Arabia. Because the inscription says that
king Vikram who dispelled the darkness of ignorance from Arabia.
2. That, whatever their earlier faith, King Vikrama's preachers had
succeeded in spreading the Vedic (based on the Vedas, the Hindu sacred
scriptures)) way of life in Arabia.
3. That the knowledge of Indian arts and sciences was imparted by
Indians to the Arabs directly by founding schools, academies and
cultural centres. The belief, therefore, that visiting Arabs conveyed
that knowledge to their own lands through their own indefatigable
efforts and scholar****p is unfounded.
An ancillary conclusion could be that the so-called Kutub Minar (in
Delhi, India) could well be king Vikramadiya's tower commemorating his
conquest of Arabia. This conclusion is strengthened by two pointers.
Firstly, the inscription on the iron pillar near the so-called Kutub
Minar refers to the marriage of the victorious king Vikramaditya to
the princess of Balhika. This Balhika is none other than the Balkh
region in West Asia. It could be that Arabia was wrestled by king
Vikramaditya from the ruler of Balkh who concluded a treaty by giving
his daughter in marriage to the victor. Secondly, the town****p
adjoining the so called Kutub Minar is named Mehrauli after Mihira who
was the renowned astronomer-mathematician of king Vikram's court.
Mehrauli is the corrupt form of Sanskrit 'Mihira-Awali' signifying a
row of houses raised for Mihira and his helpers and assistants working
on astronomical observations made from the tower.
Having seen the far reaching and history shaking implications of the
Arabic inscription concerning king Vikrama, we shall now piece
together the story of its find. How it came to be recorded and hung in
the Kaaba in Mecca. What are the other proofs reinforcing the belief
that Arabs were once followers of the Indian Vedic way of life and
that tranquillity and education were ushered into Arabia by king
Vikramaditya's scholars, educationists from an uneasy period of
"ignorance and turmoil" mentioned in the inscription.
In Istanbul, Turkey, there is a famous library called Makhatab-e-
Sultania, which is reputed to have the largest collection of ancient
West Asian literature. In the Arabic section of that library is an
anthology of ancient Arabic poetry. That anthology was compiled from
an earlier work in A.D. 1742 under the orders of the Turkish ruler
Sultan Salim.
The pages of that volume are of Hareer - a kind of silk used for
writing on. Each page has a decorative gilded border. That anthology
is known as Sayar-ul-Okul. It is divided into three parts. The first
part contains biographic details and the poetic compositions of pre-
Islamic Arabian poets. The second part embodies accounts and verses of
poets of the period beginning just after prophet Mohammad's times, up
to the end of the Banee-Um-Mayya dynasty. The third part deals with
later poets up to the end of Khalif Harun-al-Ra****d's times.
Abu Amir Asamai, an Arabian bard who was the poet Laureate of Harun-
al-
Ra****d's court, has compiled and edited the anthology.
The first modern edition of 'Sayar-ul-Okul' was printed and published
in Berlin in 1864. A subsequent edition is the one published in Beirut
in 1932.
The collection is regarded as the most im****tant and authoritative
anthology of ancient Arabic poetry. It throws considerable light on
the social life, customs, manners and entertainment modes of ancient
Arabia. The book also contains an elaborate description of the ancient
shrine of Mecca, the town and the annual fair known as OKAJ which used
to be held every year around the Kaaba temple in Mecca. This should
convince readers that the annual haj of the Muslims to the Kaaba is of
earlier pre-Islamic congregation.
But the OKAJ fair was far from a carnival. It provided a forum for the
elite and the learned to discuss the social, religious, political,
literary and other aspects of the Vedic culture then pervading Arabia.
'Sayar-ul-Okul' asserts that the conclusion reached at those
discussions were widely respected throughout Arabia. Mecca, therefore,
followed the Varanasi tradition (of India) of providing a venue for
im****tant discussions among the learned while the m***** congregated
there for spiritual bliss. The principal shrines at both Varanasi in
India and at Mecca in Arvasthan (Arabia) were Siva temples. Even to
this day ancient Mahadev (Siva) emblems can be seen. It is the
Shankara (Siva) stone that Muslim pilgrims reverently touch and kiss
in the Kaaba.
Arabic tradition has lost trace of the founding of the Kaaba temple.
The discovery of the Vikramaditya inscription affords a clue. King
Vikramaditya is known for his great devotion to Lord Mahadev (Siva).
At Ujjain (India), the capital of Vikramaditya, exists the famous
shrine of Mahankal, i.e., of Lord Shankara (Siva) associated with
Vikramaditya. Since according to the Vikramaditya inscription he
spread the Vedic religion, who else but he could have founded the
Kaaba temple in Mecca?
A few miles away from Mecca is a big signboard which bars the entry of
any non-Muslim into the area. This is a reminder of the days when the
Kaaba was stormed and captured solely for the newly established faith
of Islam. The object in barring entry of non-Muslims was obviously to
prevent its recapture.
As the pilgrim proceeds towards Mecca he is asked to shave his head
and beard and to don special sacred attire that consists of two
seamless sheets of white cloth. One is to be worn round the waist and
the other over the shoulders. Both these rites are remnants of the old
Vedic practice of entering Hindu temples clean- and with holy seamless
white sheets.
The main shrine in Mecca, which houses the Siva emblem, is known as
the Kaaba. It is clothed in a black shroud. That custom also
originates from the days when it was thought necessary to discourage
its recapture by camouflaging it.
According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, the Kaaba has 360 images.
Traditional accounts mention that one of the deities among the 360
destroyed when the place was stormed, was that of Saturn; another was
of the Moon and yet another was one called Allah. That shows that in
the Kaaba the Arabs wor****pped the nine planets in pre-Islamic days.
In India the practice of 'Navagraha' puja, that is wor****p of the nine
planets, is still in vogue. Two of these nine are Saturn and Moon.
In India the crescent moon is always painted across the forehead of
the Siva symbol. Since that symbol was associated with the Siva emblem
in Kaaba it came to be grafted on the flag of Islam.
Another Hindu tradition associated with the Kaaba is that of the
sacred stream Ganga (sacred waters of the Ganges river). According to
the Hindu tradition Ganga is also inseparable from the ****va emblem as
the crescent moon. Wherever there is a Siva emblem, Ganga must co-
exist. True to that association a sacred fount exists near the Kaaba.
Its water is held sacred because it has been traditionally regarded as
Ganga since pre-Islamic times (Zam-Zam water).
[Note: Even today, Muslim pilgrims who go to the Kaaba for Haj regard
this Zam-Zam water with reverence and take some bottled water with
them as sacred water.]
Muslim pilgrims visiting the Kaaba temple go around it seven times. In
no other mosque does the cir***ambulation prevail. Hindus invariably
cir***ambulate around their deities. This is yet another proof that
the Kaaba shrine is a pre-Islamic Indian ****va temple where the Hindu
practice of cir***ambulation is still meticulously observed.
The practice of taking seven steps- known as Saptapadi in Sanskrit- is
associated with Hindu marriage ceremony and fire wor****p. The
culminating rite in a Hindu marriage enjoins upon the bride and groom
to go round the sacred fire four times (but misunderstood by many as
seven times). Since "Makha" means fire, the seven cir***ambulations
also prove that Mecca was the seat of Indian fire-wor****p in the West
Asia.
It might come as a stunning revelation to many that the word 'ALLAH'
itself is Sanskrit. In Sanskrit language Allah, Akka and Amba are
synonyms. They signify a goddess or mother. The term 'ALLAH' forms
part of Sanskrit chants invoking goddess Durga, also known as Bhavani,
Chandi and Mahishasurmardini. The Islamic word for God is., therefore,
not an innovation but the ancient Sanskrit appellation retained and
continued by Islam. Allah means mother or goddess and mother goddess.
One Koranic verse is an exact translation of a stanza in the
Yajurveda. This was pointed out by the great research scholar Pandit
Satavlekar of Pardi in one of his articles.
[Note: Another scholar points out that the following teaching from the
Koran is exactly similar to the teaching of the Kena Upanishad (1.7).
The Koran:
"Sight perceives Him not. But He perceives men's sights; for He is the
knower of secrets, the Aware."
Kena Upanishad:
"That which cannot be seen by the eye but through which the eye itself
sees, know That to be Brahman (God) and not what people wor****p here
(in the manifested world)."
A simplified meaning of both the above verses reads:
God is one and that He is beyond man's sensory experience.]
The identity of Unani and Ayurvedic systems shows that Unani is just
the Arabic term for the Ayurvedic system of healing taught to them and
administered in Arabia when Arabia formed part of the Indian empire.
It will now be easy to comprehend the various Hindu customs still
prevailing in West Asian countries even after the existence of Islam
during the last 1300 years. Let us review some Hindu traditions which
exist as the core of Islamic practice.
The Hindus have a pantheon of 33 gods. People in Asia Minor too
wor****pped 33 gods before the spread of Islam. The lunar calendar was
introduced in West Asia during the Indian rule. The Muslim month
'Safar' signifying the 'extra' month (Adhik Maas) in the Hindu
calendar. The Muslim month Rabi is the corrupt form of Ravi meaning
the sun because Sanskrit 'V' changes into Prakrit 'B' (Prakrit being
the popular version of Sanskrit language). The Muslim sanctity for
Gyrahwi Sharif is nothing but the Hindu Ekada**** (Gyrah = elevan or
Gyaarah). Both are identical in meaning.
The Islamic practice of Bakari Eed derives from the Go-Medh and Ashva-
Medh Yagnas or sacrifices of Vedic times. Eed in Sanskrit means
wor****p. The Islamic word Eed for festive days, signifying days of
wor****p, is therefore a pure Sanskrit word. The word MESH in the Hindu
zodiac signifies a lamb. Since in ancient times the year used to begin
with the entry of the sun in Aries, the occasion was celebrated with
mutton feasting. That is the origin of the Bakari Eed festival.
[Note: The word Bakari is an Indian language word for a goat.]
Since Eed means wor****p and Griha means 'house', the Islamic word
Idgah signifies a 'House of wor****p' which is the exact Sanskrit
connotation of the term. Similarly the word 'Namaz' derives from two
Sanskrit roots 'Nama' and 'Yajna' (NAMa yAJna) meaning bowing and
wor****pping.
Vedic descriptions about the moon, the different stellar
constellations and the creation of the universe have been incor****ated
from the Vedas in Koran part 1 chapter 2, stanza 113, 114, 115, and
158, 189, chapter 9, stanza 37 and chapter 10, stanzas 4 to 7.
Recital of the Namaz five times a day owes its origin to the Vedic
injunction of Panchmahayagna (five daily wor****p- Panch-Maha-Yagna)
which is part of the daily Vedic ritual prescribed for all
individuals.
Muslims are enjoined cleanliness of five parts of the body before
commencing prayers. This derives from the Vedic injuction 'Shareer
Shydhyartham Panchanga Nyasah'.
Four months of the year are regarded as very sacred in Islamic custom.
The devout are enjoined to abstain from plunder and other evil deeds
during that period. This originates in the Chaturmasa i.e., the four-
month period of special vows and austerities in Hindu tradition.
Shabibarat is the corrupt form of ****va Vrat and ****va Ratra. Since
the Kaaba has been an im****tant centre of ****va (Siva) wor****p from
times immemorial, the ****varatri festival used to be celebrated there
with great gusto. It is that festival which is signified by the
Islamic word Shabibarat.
Encyclopaedias tell us that there are inscriptions on the side of the
Kaaba walls. What they are, no body has been allowed to study,
according to the correspondence I had with an American scholar of
Arabic. But according to hearsay at least some of those inscriptions
are in Sanskrit, and some of them are stanzas from the Bhagavad Gita.
According to extant Islamic records, Indian merchants had settled in
Arabia, particularly in Yemen, and their life and manners deeply
influenced those who came in touch with them. At Ubla there was a
large number of Indian settlements. This shows that Indians were in
Arabia and Yemen in sufficient strength and commanding position to be
able to influence the local people. This could not be possible unless
they belonged to the ruling class.
It is mentioned in the Abadis i.e., the authentic traditions of
Prophet Mohammad compiled by Imam Bukhari that the Indian tribe of
Jats had settled in Arabia before Prophet Mohammad's times. Once when
Hazrat Ayesha, wife of the Prophet, was taken ill, her nephew sent for
a Jat physician for her treatment. This proves that Indians enjoyed a
high and esteemed status in Arabia. Such a status could not be theirs
unless they were the rulers. Bukhari also tells us that an Indian Raja
(king) sent a jar of ginger pickles to the Prophet. This shows that
the Indian Jat Raja ruled an adjacent area so as to be in a position
to send such an insignificant present as ginger pickles. The Prophet
is said to have so highly relished it as to have told his colleagues
also to partake of it. These references show that even during Prophet
Mohammad's times Indians retained their influential role in Arabia,
which was a dwindling legacy from Vikramaditya's times.
The Islamic term 'Eed-ul-Fitr' derives from the 'Eed of Piters' that
is wor****p of forefathers in Sanskrit tradition. In India, Hindus
commemorate their ancestors during the Pitr-Paksha that is the
fortnight reserved for their remembrance. The very same is the
significance of 'Eed-ul-Fitr' (wor****p of forefathers).
The Islamic practice of observing the moon rise before deciding on
celebrating the occasion derives from the Hindu custom of breaking
fast on Sankranti and Vinayaki Chaturthi only after sighting the moon.
Barah Vafat, the Muslim festival for commemorating those dead in
battle or by weapons, derives from a similar Sanskrit tradition
because in Sanskrit 'Phiphaut' is 'death'. Hindus observe Chayal
Chaturda**** in memory of those who have died in battle.
The word Arabia is itself the abbreviation of a Sanskrit word. The
original word is 'Arabasthan'. Since Prakrit 'B' is Sanskrit 'V' the
original Sanskrit name of the land is 'Arvasthan'. 'Arva' in Sanskrit
means a horse. Arvasthan signifies a land of horses., and as well all
know, Arabia is famous for its horses.
This discovery changes the entire complexion of the history of ancient
India. Firstly we may have to revise our concepts about the king who
had the largest empire in history. It could be that the expanse of
king Vikramaditya's empire was greater than that of all others.
Secondly, the idea that the Indian empire spread only to the east and
not in the west beyond say, Afghanisthan may have to be abandoned.
Thirdly the effeminate and pathetic belief that India, unlike any
other country in the world could by some age spread her benign and
beatific cultural influence, language, customs, manners and education
over distant lands without militarily conquering them is baseless.
India did conquer all those countries physically wherever traces of
its culture and language are still extant and the region extended from
Bali island in the south Pacific to the Baltic in Northern Europe and
from Korea to Kaaba. The only difference was that while Indian rulers
identified themselves with the local population and established
welfare states, Moghuls and others who ruled conquered lands
perpetuated untold atrocities over the vanquished.
'Sayar-ul-Okul' tells us that a pan-Arabic poetic symposium used to be
held in Mecca at the annual Okaj fair in pre-Islamic times. All
leading poets used to participate in it.
Poems considered best were awarded prizes. The best-engraved on gold
plate were hung inside the temple. Others etched on camel or goatskin
were hung outside. Thus for thousands of years the Kaaba was the
treasure house of the best Arabian poetic thought inspired by the
Indian Vedic tradition.
That tradition being of immemorial antiquity many poetic compositions
were engraved and hung inside and outside on the walls of the Kaaba.
But most of the poems got lost and destroyed during the storming of
the Kaaba by Prophet Mohammad's troops. The Prophet's court poet,
Hassan-bin-Sawik, who was among the invaders, captured some of the
treasured poems and dumped the gold plate on which they were inscribed
in his own home. Sawik's grandson, hoping to earn a reward carried
those gold plates to Khalif's court where he met the well-known Arab
scholar Abu Amir Asamai. The latter received from the bearer five gold
plates and 16 leather sheets with the prize-winning poems engraved on
them. The bearer was sent away happy bestowed with a good reward.
On the five gold plates were inscribed verses by ancient Arab poets
like Labi Baynay, Akhatab-bin-Turfa and Jarrham Bintoi. That discovery
made Harun-al-Ra****d order Abu Amir to compile a collection of all
earlier compositions. One of the compositions in the collection is a
tribute in verse paid by Jarrham Bintoi, a renowned Arab poet, to king
Vikramaditya. Bintoi who lived 165 years before Prophet Mohammad had
received the highest award for the best poetic compositions for three
years in succession in the pan-Arabic symposiums held in Mecca every
year. All those three poems of Bintoi adjudged best were hung inside
the Kaaba temple, inscribed on gold plates. One of these constituted
an unreserved tribute to King Vikramaditya for his paternal and filial
rule over Arabia. That has already been quoted above.
Pre-Islamic Arabian poet Bintoi's tribute to king Vikramaditya is a
decisive evidence that it was king Vikramaditya who first conquered
the Arabian Peninsula and made it a part of the Indian Empire. This
explains why starting from India towards the west we have all Sanskrit
names like Afghanisthan (now Afghanistan), Baluchisthan, Kurdisthan,
Tajikiathan, Uzbekisthan, Iran, Sivisthan, Iraq, Arvasthan,
Turkesthan (Turkmenisthan) etc.
Historians have blundered in not giving due weight to the evidence
provided by Sanskrit names pervading over the entire west Asian
region. Let us take a contem****ary instance. Why did a part of India
get named Nagaland even after the end of British rule over India?
After all historical traces are wiped out of human memory, will a
future age historian be wrong if he concludes from the name Nagaland
that the British or some English speaking power must have ruled over
India? Why is ****tuguese spoken in Goa (part of India), and French in
Pondichery (part of India), and both French and English in Canada? Is
it not because those people ruled over the territories where their
languages are spoken? Can we not then justly conclude that wherever
traces of Sanskrit names and traditions exist Indians once held sway?
It is unfortunate that this im****tant piece of decisive evidence has
been ignored all these centuries.
Another question which should have presented itself to historians for
consideration is how could it be that Indian empires could extend in
the east as far as Korea and Japan, while not being able to make
headway beyond Afghanisthan? In fact land campaigns are much easier to
conduct than by sea. It was the Indians who ruled the entire West
Asian region from Karachi to Hedjaz and who gave Sanskrit names to
those lands and the towns therein, introduce their pantheon of the
fire-wor****p, imparted education and established law and order.
It may be that Arabia itself was not part of the Indian empire until
king Vikrama , since Bintoi says that it was king Vikrama who for the
first time brought about a radical change in the social, cultural and
political life of Arabia. It may be that the whole of West Asia except
Arabia was under Indian rule before Vikrama. The latter added Arabia
too to the Indian Empire. Or as a remote possibility it could be that
king Vikramaditya himself conducted a series of brilliant campaigns
annexing to his empire the vast region between Afghanisthan and
Hedjaz.
Incidentally this also explains why king Vikramaditya is so famous in
history. Apart from the nobility and truthfulness of heart and his
impartial filial affection for all his subjects, whether Indian or
Arab, as testified by Bintoi, king Vikramaditya has been permanently
enshrined in the pages of history because he was the world's greatest
ruler having the largest empire. It should be remembered that only a
monarch with a vast empire gets famous in world history. Vikram Samvat
(calendar still widely in use in India today) which he initiated over
2000 years ago may well mark his victory over Arabia, and the so
called Kutub Minar (Kutub Tower in Delhi), a pillar commemorating that
victory and the consequential marriage with the Vaihika (Balkh)
princess as testified by the nearby iron pillar inscription.
A great many puzzles of ancient world history get automatically solved
by a proper understanding of these great conquests of king
Vikramaditya. As recorded by the Arab poet Bintoi, Indian scholars,
preachers and social workers spread the fire-wor****p ceremony,
preached the Vedic way of life, manned schools, set up Ayurvedic
(healing) centres, trained the local people in irrigation and
agriculture and established in those regions a democratic, orderly,
peaceful, enlightened and religious way of life. That was of course, a
Vedic Hindu way of life.
It is from such ancient times that Indian Kshtriya royal families,
like the Pahalvis and Barmaks, have held sway over Iran and Iraq. It
is those conquests, which made the Parsees Agnihotris i.e., fire-
wor****ppers. It is therefore that we find the Kurds of Kurdisthan
speaking a Sanskritised dialect, fire temples existing thousands of
miles away from India, and scores of sites of ancient Indian cultural
centres like Navbahar in West Asia and the numerous viharas in Soviet
Russia spread throughout the world. Ever since so many viharas are
often dug up in Soviet Russia, ancient Indian sculptures are also
found in excavations in Central Asia. The same goes for West Asia.
[Note: Ancient Indian sculptures include metal statues of the Hindu
deity Ganesh (the elephant headed god); the most recent find being in
Kuwait].
Unfortunately these chapters of world history have been almost
obliterated from public memory. They need to be carefully deciphered
and rewritten. When these chapters are rewritten they might change the
entire concept and orientation of ancient history.
In view of the overwhelming evidence led above, historians, scholars,
students of history and lay men alike should take note that they had
better revise their text books of ancient world history. The existence
of Hindu customs, shrines, Sanskrit names of whole regions, countries
and towns and the Vikramaditya inscriptions reproduced at the
beginning are a thumping proof that Indian Kshatriyas once ruled over
the vast region from Bali to Baltic and Korea to Kaaba in Mecca,
Arabia at the very least.
~ Sword of truth SMT. Aditi Chaturvedi
The following explanation is reproduced from the Sword of Truth
archives.
All Arabic copies of the Koran have the mysterious figure 786
imprinted on them . No Arabic scholar has been able to determine the
choice of this particular number as divine. It is an established fact
that Muhammad was illiterate therefore it is obvious that he would not
be able to differentiate numbers from letters. This "magical" number
is none other than the Vedic holy letter "OM" written in Sanskrit
(Refer to figure 2). Anyone who knows Sanskrit can try reading the
symbol for "OM" backwards in the Arabic way and magically the numbers
786 will appear! Muslims in their ignorance simply do not realise that
this special number is nothing more than the holiest of Vedic symbols
misread.
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