The Hidden Hindu 2

by Akshat Gupta

‘In the Vaisheshika branch of Hindu philosophy, there are nine universal substances or elements: earth, water, air, fire...

‘We worship the Navagraha, the nine planets. We celebrate Navaratri, which is a nine-day festival dedicated to the nine forms of Durga—the Navadurga; each day is associated wi...

‘Hindu astrology recognizes nine gems, called the Navaratna, meaning nine jewels, one to influence every planet: ruby for the sun, pearl for the moon, red coral for Mars, emerald for Mercury, yellow sapphire for Jupiter, diamond for Venus, blue sapphire for Saturn, hessonite for the ascending lunar node and cat’s eye for the descending lunar node. ‘In Hindu aesthetics, there are nine kinds of rasa. Rasa, meaning juice or essence, is a concept that offers nine different expressions to help desc...

‘The fight between gods and demons for earth is as old as the earth itself and to deny the demons victory, Lord Vishnu has...

‘In the Satya yuga, dharma and virtue are innate. In Treta, they are sought and attained. In Dwapara, they are intensely provoked and agitated, and in Kali yuga, they perish. At the end of Kali yuga, the principles of religion, or the occupational duties of humanity, will dissipate entirely.

Kali yuga began 5121 years ago, the sum of which again amounts to nine. It is meant to end in the year 4,28,899 CE, which means, as of 2020, it has 4,26,879 years remaining, the sum of which is also nine. But what makes the year 2020 particularly perilous in the fourth yuga is not the number nine but four, which is the sum of the digits of the year 2020 and also of the year 4,28,899 CE, the purported end of the last yuga. Someone is trying to advance this anticipated conclusion to 2020 to terminate the fourth yuga 4,26,879 years early.

‘There are twelve months in the Hindu lunar calendar. The nine old moons span nine months, with one old moon occurring every month. Calculating from Magh onwards, which begins in the second half of January, according to the Gregorian calendar, we have already lost one.

This will be followed by 252 days divided into eight more months of चैत्र (March–April), वैशाख (April–May), ज्येष्ठ (May–June), आषाढ़ (June–July), श्रावण (July–August), भाद्रपद (August–September), अश्विन (September–October) and कार्तिक (October–November).’ ‘Ashwatthama!

‘There are several reasons. To begin with, nine is the first composite lucky number, the first composite odd number and the only single-digit composite odd number. It is the only positive perfect power that is one more than another positive perfect power, according to Mihăilescu’s theorem.

‘Moreover, if you multiply nine by any whole number except zero, and repeatedly add the digits of the answer until it’s just one digit, you will end up with nine. For example, 2 multiplied by 9 is 18. 1 when added to 8 is 9. Take a bigger number, say, 5,78,329. When multiplied by nine, the answer is 52,04,961. And 5 + 2 + 0 + 4 + 9 + 6 + 1 is 27, and 2 + 7 is 9. Conversely, if the digits of a number add up to nine or a multiple of nine, then the number itself must be a multiple of nine.

‘If a number is divided by the amount of nines corresponding to its number of digits, the number turns into a repeating decimal. For example, 274 d...

‘Furthermore, the formula for determining the sum of the interior angles of a polygon is n-2(180), where n is the number of sides. The sum of all angles of any polygon will always equal 9. A nine-sided polygon is 9-2(180) or 7(180) or 1260. ...

‘The same applies to circles, triangles, rectangles, pentagons, hexagons and heptagons. ‘A full circle is 360 degrees—3+6+0 = 9. ‘A semicircle is 180 degrees—1+8+0 = 9. ‘A 90-...

‘A 22.5-degree circle—2+2+5 = 9. ‘For any angle in a circle, the resulting angle always reduces to 9. ‘For a 180-degree triangle, 1+8+0 = 9. ‘For a 360-degree rectangle, 3+6+0 = 9. ‘For a pentagon, 5+4+0 = 9. ‘For a hexagon, 7+2+0 = 9. ‘For a heptagon, 9+0+0 = 9. ‘Similarly, the diameter of the moon is 2160 miles, which again adds up to 9. ‘The diameter of the earth is 7920 miles, that adds up to 9: 7+9+2+0 = 18, 1+8 = 9. ‘The diameter of the sun is 8,64,00...

‘It is believed that the number nine governs space and time too. It plays an important role in earth’s axis. For example, if minutes are calculated at different levels, the end is always nine. ‘5,25,600 minutes in a year: 5+2+5+6+0 = 18, 1+8 = 9. ‘4,32,000 minutes in a month: 4+3+2+0+0+0 = 9. ‘1,00,800 minutes in a week: 1+0+0+8+0+0 =...

12345679 × 9 = 111111111 12345679 × 18 = 222222222 12345679 × 81 = 999999999 ‘This works for...

The ones I’ve deciphered so far are Tejo Mahalaya of the Agravana, the Skeleton Lake and the crater in Bheemkund,’ Ved Vyasa said to Ashwatthama and Om, who were back with Vrishkapi.

Om answered this question on behalf of everyone present there. ‘Agravana is an old name of Agra in Uttar Pradesh, Tejo Mahalaya is what we know today as the Taj Mahal. The Skeleton Lake is a peculiar lake in Roopkund, Uttarakhand. Bheemkund is a mysterious water reservoir situated in Madhya Pradesh. A natural water tank that is sure to satiate the ones who have a strong penchant to dig deep about mysterious places.’

‘मुनिभिः पन्नगैर्वापि सुरैर्वा शापितो यदि । कालमृत्युभयाद्वापि गुरूरक्षति पार्वति अशक्ता हि सुराद्याश्चाशक्ता मुनयस्तथा । गुरुशापेन तेशीघ्रंक्षयंयान्ति न संशयः’ Continuing to explain the meaning of the Sanskrit verse, Ashwatthama said, ‘This is a verse from Guru Gita written by Ved Vyasa. Guru Gita describes a conversation between Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, when Parvati asks Shiva to enlighten her about the guru and liberation. As an answer to Parvati’s question, Shiva recites this verse, which means that if the disciple is cursed by the gods, the guru can protect and liberate the disciple. A guru can protect the disciple from even kaal (death) and from the fear of death. But if the guru himself curses the disciple, then the disciple gradually becomes feeble, eventually attains destruction, and even the gods cannot save such a disciple from such a curse.

‘अनादि अनंता (Anadi Ananta)’, which meant ‘eternal.’

‘Ashwatthama’s mother, Kripi, had a brother named Kripa. Kripi and Kripa were not born the usual way, from a human womb, but emanated directly from the semen of their father, Shardwan, which had fallen on the ground. Kripa was later chosen as the acharya (teacher) of royal children, and that bestowed upon him the title of Kripacharya.

He was the best archer that the world had ever seen before Arjuna. He eventually went on to secure a very important place in the epic of the Mahabharata by his strict adherence to values. That is what made Ashwatthama’s uncle, Kripacharya, superior to Ashwatthama’s father, Dronacharya, and granted him immortality. Dronacharya perished in the war but Kripacharya was one of those eighteen great warriors who remained alive afterwards. Kripacharya is considered to be the foremost among all the seers of Kali yuga.

‘The Mahabharata describes the power of Kripacharya thus: “Kripacharya was capable of managing 60,000 warriors single-handedly in the battlefield. He ravaged the entire foe’s army like a blazing fire. In fighting the battles bravely, he is comparable only to the son of Lord Shiva, Karthikeya, who vanquished the demons.” ‘When the war had ended, and the days of mourning had passed, Yudhishthir, the eldest of the Pandavas and the new king of Hastinapur, forgave his afflictions and dissolved all their enmity with Kripacharya, for he knew that the Brahmin was wise and only fought on behalf of Duryodhana because of his sworn loyalty to the throne.’ Om was expecting to meet the fourth immortal and was curious about where he was. He asked Ashwatthama, ‘I heard that after the war, he was appointed as a teacher to instruct King Parikshit, the son of Arjun. Then, after the collapse of the Kuru dynasty and at the beginning of Kali yuga, he just disappeared into history. There is no mention of him in any subsequent stories, nor was he seen by anyone,’ Om said.

‘When I told you about my ancestors, Sarputi and Lopaksh, and their karmic connection with Nagendra, you said that you knew that story.

‘It says that in Shetpal, snakes face no restriction in their movement and nobody in the population of more than 2600 villagers ever harms them in any way. In fact, cobras are welcomed in every house as a member of the family. Neither the cobras nor the residents feel fear in each other’s presence. ‘The people of Shetpal have gone a step ahead in their hospitality for their venomous co-residents by building a devasthanam (abode of the deity) in their homes. A special corner in the house is set aside exclusively for the cobras to come and cool off at any time they wish. If anyone in the village constructs a new house, they make sure to devote a hollow portion of the dwelling as a devasthanam for the snakes.

king, a pet and the pet’s caretaker with a partially covered face; it has become a symbol of this house, madam. There have been many different pets, almost all kinds of animals, in this house. Like this one,’ he said, pointing with his whole palm towards the painting of a king sitting on a regal chair with a man standing next to him holding a chained crocodile.

‘All of that began here, in this village. Sarputi was a serpent whereas her son Lopaksh had a human body and they used to live together. This is how this place got its unique reputation—people live with the snakes and have a devasthanam devoted to them. Both snakes and humans, co-existing here, know that they belong together. Our ancestral, custodial deity is Goddess Bhagavati, the patron goddess of war and fertility. The serpent is worshipped by my family as a guardian of the clan because we are believed to be the children of Kadru. Three days from now is the biggest annual prayer meet for Goddess Bhagavati. We believe this day to be the most auspicious day for marriage and baby showers, during which the Goddess herself approves of the marriage and blesses the mother and her womb. This is why Nagendra has sent us here.’

Village shetpal

Next was saptapadi, the most important rite of a Hindu marriage ceremony. The pandit narrated the seven vows and the couple circled the sacred fire, for each vow as a gesture of agreement.

‘Sometimes, a disease can make you special.’ Nagendra’s eyes peered distantly into the dense forest. He then turned towards both of them. ‘Though peacocks are known for their striking colours, do you know there is such a kind as the white peacock? No, these birds aren’t albinos; their whiteness is a consequence of leucism, which is a mutation causing partial loss of pigmentation. It is a phenomenon that harms the peacock in no way. Then why do humans even categorize that phenomenon as a disease?

Responding to her query, Parimal said, ‘It is believed by many that the Taj Mahal was originally called Tejo Mahalaya. The people dominating the Agra region in the eleventh century were Jats. They addressed Shiva as Tejaji. Jats had built many Teja mandirs, that is, Teja temples, because Teja linga is one among the several names of Shiva lingas mentioned in Hindu architectural texts. And hence, Tejo Mahalaya literally translates to the great abode of Tejaji.’ LSD typed something on her tablet again. ‘It says on this site that Tejo Mahalaya was the old name of the modern-day Taj Mahal.’ ‘Since the creation of the world, the one who rules the land rules its religions, rewrites yesterdays, dictates todays and influences tomorrows. People believed and claimed to have evidence in the form of written texts authored by many from those eras, about how there stood a palace named Tejo Mahalaya in the city of Agravana, ruled by the Hindu kings in 1155 AD. Just like

the hands of those who worked in the mausoleum were chopped off, the name of the city was also reduced to Agra from Agravana, and the monument was renamed Taj Mahal, which coincidently stood exactly at the palace’s spot,’ Parimal explained.

‘Which of these two totally contradicting histories, one backed by proper evidence, is actually true?’ LSD asked. ‘As many chronicles as there are bards! The theories have been widely discussed on Internet forums for several years and many of those arguments revolve around Oak’s theory, which claims that the Taj Mahal was built by a Hindu ruler, Jai Singh, and that it was actually a Shiva temple as well as a Rajput royal palace named Tejo Mahalaya. It is believed that it was...

‘There is more information if you’re still curious,’ Parimal whispered. ‘The Tejo Mahalaya claim is supported by a Sanskrit inscription known as the Bateshwar inscription, which is currently preserved at the Lucknow Museum. It refers to the establishment of a “crystal white Shiva temple so alluring that Lord Shiva, once enshrined in it, decided never to return to Mount Kailash—his usual abode”. This inscription was found within a radius of about 36 miles from the Taj Mahal and is dated back to 1155 AD. Due to this evidence, the possibility arose that the Taj Mahal might have been built at least 500 years before Shah Jahan took credit for it. Moreover, Shah Jahan’s own court chronicle, the Badshahnama, admitted that a grand mansion of unique splendour, capped with a dome, was taken from the Jaipur Maharaja Jai Singh for Mumtaz’s burial.’

Nagendra descended and found a big door ahead. He uttered the two words, ‘अविनासी अनादि’, which he had hunted from Mansarovar and Roopkund. The door disappeared and was replaced by flames on the edges. Nagendra could see the next word on the other side of the flames. It was ‘अनंता.’

‘Do you know that there is a unique species of frog called the red-eyed tree frog? They are carnivorous and have an average life of around five years. They are only around 2–2.5 inches big—just as small as a teacup! You know what’s unique about them other than their expanded red eyes, webbed orange feet, bright blue-and-yellow margins and their neon-green bodies?’

‘These red-eyed tree frog eggs can hatch early if they sense danger. But you don’t have to sense any danger. I