Saturday, October 6, 2007

There are 7 stages in a sacred pilgrimage.The stages are ideas ,not rules.
1.What it means to be a pilgrim?How different it is from traveling between 2 points?
2.Read the sighns,the journey as entities.That they take a life of their own.
3.Aware of our companions.Why we are in a company?This is not always an easy task in life.
4.The history,the story we are witnessing or experiencing ,its social ,spiritual,cultural,historic or even political implications.
5.We loose the role of a mere observer in the 5th stage.We become part of the landscape,part of the story ,of history.
6.Visionary appreciation of the travel.As when heaven and earth touch.We see with the eye of the spirit.
7.Finally affirmation of the fact that we are truly divine children,children of God,we are spiritual people not merely physical.Pilgrimage as a way of opening ourselves upto that in a way which both confronting and reassuring .We become one with the story in advaitha.The observer,the observed and the observations or interpretations become a wholesome one.

Life is such a pilgrimage.And at the end of this pilgrimage we realize our real nature.

In the wilkepedi a,the earliest timeline of the Indians is shown as Rock shelters of Bheembhektha at foothills of the Vindhyas (9000-7000BC)and Mesolithic cavepaintings and stones in Edakkal /Thovary which UN has declared as world heritage sites.
Edakkal and Kodakkal of Kerala had been two fascinating sites for me.
Kodakkal:-Indian archeology between 1784-1830,was full of fieldwork discoveries of ancient sites.4 of them were
1.Nellore north madras area yielding roman coins
2.Near sarnath temple complex an ancient temples with bonerelics inside a vessel (one of the worshippers of Budha buried there)
3.J.Babbington reporting Pandoo coolies in Malabar showing 4 drawings of iron objects ,pottery ,beads,from kodykulls or megalithic graves marked by umbrella stones.First illustration of Indian prehistoric megalithic antiquity .Two types of megalithic burials .Kodykul and Topie kulls.
Kodaikkals contained urns ,borns,ashes,iron instruments of various shapes,colours and materials ,periods of construction not known.Babbington reported.
4.Megalithic graves of Oopulgutt 36 miles south of Hyderabad.cairn burial within pots(chutty)3 ½ feet from ground level a complete chutty was unearthed.a few inches further down a broken one.5 skulls and bones were also unearthed.And Voysey studying one of the skulls reported it as that of a Hindoo female.The first published instance of an skeletal study in Indian archeology.
25th Aug 1806 Henry salt described Jogeswary caves thus:-Tigers in the island,resort to a desolate cavern in search of water .Their footsteps ,seen in dry season when they take up abode there.This is interesting ,because 200 years later (present)Jogeswary lies within the modern city of Bombay.
Buchanan studied Nalanada in the village of Bargaon with Rajgrih closeby and the Barabar groups of caves ,a drawing of the door of the Lomash Rishi cave (Lomash is Romash or the ancient Romaka )
In 1830 Leeutnent colonel James Tod noticed that worship of the Indians is based on astronomy.It originated in India proper and scinthia(sindhu)Bania (banvaasi),Jalindra(Jalandarapeetha)Gaya,Gwalior,Dhumrar,Ellora and Elephanta.
H’T.Colebrooke in 1807 wrote that Indian history should be studied first by editing the ancient texts of India,then deciphering ancient inscriptions,and only then a dependable framework for ancient Indian chronology will be obtained.

Kodakkal

These ancient monuments though reported earlier than many other monuments are not yet studied fully.
I am interested in them because they are in the Thalappally Thaluk of the ancient Rajavansa to which my mother’s father belong.Recently when I visited England ,I wanted to visit the stonehenges in Salisbury plains .And we spent a whole day there .The stonehenges of the druids and the kodakkals are both megalithic stones but have a very different orientation and sculptural features.The megaliths of Cornwall bear resemblance to kodakkal of Malabar.
I will first describe the kodakkal.
Koda or chathra means a umbrella which is a Royal insignia.Ekachathradhipathy means an emperor who has no rivals .The sakthipeeta or area between heart to crown (from equator to pole or dhruva)is ksha or cha(syllable)and is called chayachathrapura.The mirror image kuda area.The Ay dynasty when they spread all over the world from equator to pole they used to wear a umbrella and a kol (chenkol)as symbols of overlordship.Women of the family take an umbrella to cover their face and head(still followed in some orthodox families of Brahmakshathra of kerala.If we go to the naaga mothe rat Manaarasaala you will find the old womanchief carrying a kuda(umbrella) .When Mahabali comes we still put a chatra made of palmleaves over his head.
Apart from cheramangad ,other sites in kerala where such kudakkals are found are,
1.In calicut district Paithoth,Aasarikkandiparamba,veloor,cheruvannoor,Atholi,kodasseri,Naduvalloor,Koduvally,cheruppa.
2.In MALPPURAM ,Thirurangadi,Pattarkulam,koduvayuer,mankada ,pallipuram
3.Palghat ,Andumkallur,
4.Kannur cheryuthazhath
5.Trichur ,Eyyal,Arikanyakayur,porkkalam,cheramanghat
(That is the entire Malabar area from Kannur to Trichur have kodakkals.)
Of these the names kodasseri,koduvally,koduvayur suggest the name koda itself.The names Naduvallor suggest the habit of Nadukal in graves,Mankada and cheramankad suggest the burial places ,cheramankad with suggestion that it was burial places of the ruling class .(the umbrella signals that also)Andumkallur (Andum means rulers and kallu means stone)also has the same meaning .Pattarkulam suggest the place of old bhattaraka rulers.

The Porkalam or warfront ,and the iyyal or eyyal (sending arrows)and the multitudes of umbrella stones in Trichur district suggest that this was a favourite site where the royal families had their battles and were buried in large numbers and it also denotes very antique importance as the place and the raajavansa here is called thalappilly (Head is Thala )as in the thalaikaveri or thalaimannaras the origin of Kavery and Mannars.The original Rajavansa is located here due to these features.
The ancestral bali is called kodakku kodukkuka(giving alms to the koda )and in this koda means the ancestors or Pithru .
Those who have looked at the Bourne stone inscriptions obtained from America will find that the third letter is a kuda and the inscription is in ancient Brahmi.










Y X P i y Li L



Indian ocean was known as the milky ocean of Vishnu till the period of Ptolemy.One can see in the TOMaps of the medieval period the words Palud FUF Man (Palai saamundamanai of Ptolemy)marked faithfully illustrating this point.The TO map shows on the horizontal arm of the T Fatru Ayyanthanai (Ayyan is pronounced as Aiin thanai)and Fathru or pithru is the ancestors (the Ainthiunai or panchajana of the ancestors).

The TO map shows the symbol of sukra and of female .The adikshetra or adaysathron of Ptolemy was kerala.or the south India in general., Dravidadesa ,in the coastal beds of the sea.The rulers were Ikshawkus till the time of Ptolemy as given in our texts or scriptures.The Noah of Bible is Satyavratha of Dravidadesa who lived in the kerala/pandya territory.
Towards the southwest of the Adikhethra ,Ptolemy has reported Rikshaparvatha(Uxanthion)which is Rikshamukachala of Ramayana in the Sabarimala area.
Why Am I writing these before I start writing on Kodakkal.?
Because ,only then the geographical importance of the west coast of India and its most ancient stone remains will be understood in its proper antiquity.The travel by searoute is recorded right from the vedic age.But it started with the prevedic people.The earliest tribal inhabitants of South India and south east Asia who were able to understand the geodesic of the searoute and the monsoon winds very early.And this made them ekachathradhipa of the entire world.Viswamithra describes how to make an ankh or the nankura of a ship with wood (ashtaka 3 anuvaka 1)Nankur became ankhur or ankora in Latin and greek and from it we get the word anchor.Those who were wearing the symbol or mudra of venus(sukra)or the nankura were the saamudrika or one with the mudra(sammothiri later)and in Japan it means the son of a king who is a warrior(not a king).Which is equivalent to a raajaputhra.The raajaputhras were adventurous travelers.Egyptian kings had this mudra.While in India ,the mudra was not worn by the king but a king’s relative or a rajaputhra(raajanya)Chathra was the mudra of the emperer or king.The stonecaves and stonehouses of Polynesia are called Hareppanga which closely resembles our word Harappa.And they have the first of the tribe selected as ThangadaManu (Manu is the first king in India also)by getting the first egg of the Manuantharo bird by crossing the ocean in September.
The September is the Chinga/kanni or Bhadra/aswina of kollam and saaka year.Both Keralites and Polynesians have considered this as their year beginning ,when the southeast monsoon recedes and the northwest sets in.Manutharo is closely resembling the word Mohenjodaro.The Taro,sacred book of Enoch ,was written years before Abraham was born.Madam Blavasky says that this book originated from India(secret doctrine)
Koorgans were the burial grounds of scythians.Kodaku was that of the south Indians.Kaveri ,the southern Ganga originate from kodakumalai.The adipithru of this are a are called kodavar even now,and 8 kms from the vakmandala(baghamandala)is thalaikaveri ,the origin of kaveri in Kodakumalai.The bhagandeswara of kodavar is Vishnu as well as subramanya ,his nephew..Chanakya says the burialgrounds of soodra are in southern parts.This means ,the common practice of burying the pithru in the southern courtyard of every house.The thalappalli taluk cheramanghad being in the south of India just shows the old custom .The fact that Chandraguptha accompanied Bhadrabaahu to kodakumalai to end his life from there also shows that this custom was carried over to several successive rulers from the megalithic to the Maurya period.Chandragiri near Sravanabalagola inKarnataka wsas earlier called the kudavapram or the country of the dead (pithrus).The rite which Chandraguptha did was called Sallekhanamaranam (equivalent to samadhi)and from BC 3rd century to AD 14th century similar rites had been recorded here.Only after Chandragupta’s praayopavesa the place got the name chandragiri.
AD 974 Narasimhan second AD 974 Indran the fourth did prayopavesa there.This area with 92 burials was a favourite site for the yogi clan of Ikshwaku while the Cheramangadu was the favourite site of the royal clan with umbrella insignia and the yuvaraja with toppi insignia.
According to Ramayana ,Mareecha was doing this penance at the western coast of India when Ravana approached him .Naabeeputhra Rishabha of ikswaku clan (first Therthankara)also did penance in the coasts of southern ocean and preached bhagvathadharma.His sons the Navayogins lived in the south India and did penance in Munimada and were instrumental in many places of worship in the area,like Thirunaava,Guruvayur etc.
The Thalappally rajavansa ,as I mentioned earlier is my mother’s father’s vansa and some of the recent famous men of the vansa are C.KunjanRaja of Adyar Library,the scholar Kunjunniraja and C.Unniraja and C.S.Rajan (supreme court judge).The photograph of my grandfather and his facial features bear close resemblance to the available photograph of Gouthamiputhrasathakarni.The nose,chin,lips and cheeks are almost the same.(see photograph 1 and 2)
Here ,I am describing a few prehistoric stone monuments belonging to Thalappally Taluk ,to my grandfather’s clan property.

There were 5 complete kodakkals and a partial one,and a rectangular structure underneath a paala tree in a protected enclosure(Archeological society of India)in Harikanyakayur ,near the Devi temple (kandanassery).The proportions of the kallu were striking.3 of the complete stones were measured.(see figures 3,4,5,6)
1.The medium kodakkal at the corner which is complete but small.
Height 60 inches(5 ft)
diameter 360 inches (6times 5 ft)+12inch(372)
Had a round base below with same diameter

2.72 inches (6 ft)height
432 inch (36 ft)+15 inch(447)(The biggest and the most finished one)
The base 4 stones had 41X 30 inches size as the fallen stones described in 4.
Had round base below with same diameter.
There was small openings in the base stones through which one can just pass onees hands.One of them like a yoneemukh.(see pictures)
3.46 inches height
288 inch (+)48”(336)diameter.(In front of the Paalatree near the 3 stone rectangle)There were 2 more kodakkals one of them had a cleft both in the koda and in the corresponding base.

4.
X 30 inch breadth 41 inches height (4 basestones only.The koda is missing.)96 inch(8ft)and 6inches diameter for the top of the 4 stones together.
1230 inches (41X 30)for each of the 4 stones at the base .
Diameter of the 4 stone together is 102 inches.On which the Koda rests .
It appears that the people who made the kodakkals wanted to convey the mode of construction of it.The 4 basestones without koda is possibly for us to see that the measurements of the base stonesa nd their orientations should be such and such before one attempts to balance a koda on them.
5A rectangle made with 3 stones,(one side kept open).The rectangle has 12.8X10.2 size with a diagonal of 11.5
The position below the Paala tree and the way it is constructed tells us the geometrical proportions and the custom of ancestral worship underneath trees.Paala is a tree for Gandharva and their consorts and sacred for all ancesters.The mathematical precision and astronomical ,musical proportions of the kodakkal was astonishing.
)







































111 Arabian sea
2.Ponnani
3.Chowghat
4Calicut
5Trichur
6.Palghat
7.Kunnamkulam/Guruvayur
8Coimbatore(old Kongudesa

9 Paari(parambimala/parambikkulam)
10.Kaari


11 Veliyan (paari,kaari and veliyan of sangham age)
12 kannore.(The figure above show the location of the kodakkals and other megalithic structures)

13.Edakkal ,Thovary in Wynad ,Pulpally
A travel has an external component and an internal one.Exploring a sacred site involve both these journeys.The physical and the metaphysical.Journey to the divine begins with the first step and begins within the pilgrim.Any old sacred landscape is first observed ,and later when we stop admiring the view ,but try to reconstruct the stories about it and explain the observations ,we become part of the landscape,part of the story ,the observed and observer become merged .
How a rock came there?How the shape is like that/Why was it put there and by whom?How and why a tree grow in a special place?We then are becoming part of the narrative itself.We cease to observe.We are not mere spectators anymore.We become part of it,part of history of our landscapes,our ancestors,and that merging makes us different.
Rediscovering the old pilgrimage routes ,the sacred designs of the human mind and the landscapes,the towns and cities and forts and forests working from there to revive the beauty of the ancient lifes of ancestors is an experience anyone would love to undertake.Rivers are natural places of beauty ,peace and healing The life of people in and around Nila River (Nila incidentally is the wife of Vishnu ,known as Nappinnai in Sangham literature and is the only river which has the name of Bharath attached to it .It is called the Bharathapuzha.Why so ?It is a question that will lead to hitherto unexplored mysteries of our history as a nation.)
From Harikanyayur we went to nearby Kakkat munimata(the ascetic home or cave).Kakkat is the name given to the eldest of the Thalappally Rajaas (Kakkat kaaranavar)and is also the name of a nearby Brahmin Namboothiri family.It is said that the cave was the place of meditation of the navayogins and the Pazhoor Bhattathirisa nd of Adisankara ,a descendent of Pazhoor mana by maternal descent.It is roughly a swasthik shape from outside and is a rock ,almost in level with the ground and there are 2 openings one round and the other rectangle as entrances into an underground dwelling.The underground cave can be visualized partially from the surface holes .There is a rockcut bed on which a person with 6 ft size can easily sleep and beneath is carved 2 panels on which one can sit and recline.There are steps cut into the cave one of them very neat and round and almost like a peetam (a multipurpose stool ,which can also be used as a seat and a table for eating food if one sits on floor.)The bed is on the Northwest corner and there is a pillar carved nearby.The cave is not only a dwelling place but also carefully carved with aesthetic sense.The rectangular opening and steps to the east for rising sunrays to enter .And the round opening to the sky(sun).up.to get the sunrays at noon (Ucha of the sun).This astronomical sunrelated construction and the rough swasthika of the later vaasthu of temple construction is important in this Neolithic rockcut cave of prehistoric times.
Measurements





























The swasthik is roughly 120X 120.
(117 +16)+(35-32)=120 square with additional cuttings and carvings on sides to make it a swasthik.
Very near is the old Kallayikkunnu Narimada(dwelling of the tiger)since it was the abode of tigers for a long time after abandoned by the human beings.It is an ancient mound with a center (nabhi)or omphalos having a 3 doored cave and a partially walled structure (probably a walled city or a fortress ,(but more possibly an observatory )The boundaries of the hillock are Vadakkanchery (east)Pattambi and Bharathapuzha(north),Guruvayur –kunnamkulam(south)and Kunnamkulam ,parempaadam and Bharathapuzha beyond it(west)and is in Thalappally Taluk in Kunnamkulam.This one is an unprotected mound and is not taken up by the archeological society of India (as the other 2 monuments are).
We ascended the mound from the south ,and it was smooth because cinema shootings are done on this side and no markings are left since people visit frequently.Towards the southeast as one ascends one notices a few parellel stone formations like an ascending steps and it reminds one of an observation point (whether of sun or of coming enemies or both ,one cannot tell.).We rounded the hill on the east and found a water canal with two stones laid over it as if to walk over or to prevent water to spill over.The canal system could be to channelise the rain water accumulating over the hilltop to the bottom of the hill.The main entrance of the Cave is to the east (like any vasthu in India )and it is a wide opening well above 6ft ,so that a man can stand at the door .But as it proceeds the cave narrows and one has to crawl as one reaches the end.The steps cut into the cave,the roof markings,the stonesteps on the sides,all show that the cave was not a natural one but manmade and used by human beings for multipurpose (dwelling,defence points,observatories).There are 2 openings interconnected at the west and north and one can enter the cave through them also .But they are very narrow and one has to crawl down.The top of the cave is flat rock just as the cave previously described and the rock is carved into a neat nitch at one place where rainwater collects.
On the northwest side there are parts of steps neatly cut to a platform on top,just as on the southeast.Which shows that this was part of a stone fort or an observatory.
One has to descend the hill on the west to have the best view of the ruins of the stone fort ,remnants of which are still intact.The steps and the courtyard beneath(where there is no grass still after several years of diduse)shows the structure to be a horseshoeshaped one almost like the observatory at Jaipur etc.But very very ancient .Layers of algae are everywhere and the stoneforts are prior to the rockforts in India.There is a sacred grove and a forest on the southwest (just like any ancient Houses in India)beyond which is a small brook formed by water streams and a marshy watery area with stonecut steps and a rectangular structure well above the level of the water.Beyond is a old but small temple with 2 deities(vishnu and shiva)which is the custom of Brahmakshathra (Thalappally kovilakam has a similar duel temple at Velappaya in Avanoor but a bigger and newer one)The water is a Chira (or big tank).The stone rock has not been excavated yet and is unprotected and hence is endangered by unauthorised people ,if not for the forest and the snakes there.We could see one snake and hear the calls of a peacock from the wilderness.
The mount has a beautiful view of the entire sky as a inverted half of a ball or a inverted Uruli (vessel of brass in Indian households)and serves as a best point to see all around the sky as well the earth .(for defence )There are 3 markings ,which are straight lines from top of hill to the western valley ,which is noticed by the rich growth of plants around(showing that they are watercanals)on the western side.The other possibility of such well formed and periodic straight lines being the division of a clock for astronomical purposes(archeoastronomy)I have noticed 3 of them in west and one in east (on south none)and we hadnt explored the northern side.The west fort remnants also show part of a deep kidang all around and stonepaved channels from the chira probably for irrigation purposes of the paarempaadam and the groves.

The circular mound,the horseshoeshaped western fort ,the straight line markings on mound ,the observational points on southeast and northwest and the stepcut observatory at the west with ancient chira,groves and temple are very significant when we consider the fact that the vaasthu of kerala is very ancient and is described in mooshakavansakavya of Athulan .The strategic point of the observatory is noteworthy.The riverside civilisation of kerala is more ancient than that of Indus valley and the ancient sacred cities of the Thalappally Raja and their relatives (the mooshakavansa from North and south Malabar )bear testimony to it.The literary sources of Arthasasthra,Chilappathikaara,sangham literature,Sanskrit scriptures and purana and Ithihasa like ramayana all bear testimony to the fact that the south was a economical unit with its own republican administration and Indus valley civilisation on the northwest coast upto Gandhara and kekaya was ruled by this tribe or clan of Brahmakshathra.The stone age relics and the kodakkals and caves of the Thalappally Taluk and along the coast of Nila upto Wynad in North kerala when studied shows the astronomical and the vaasthu ,mathematical knowledge and the city planning and economy of the people to be very advanced .
The kodakkal has a similar structure in Cornwall,which is very crude and unfinished and the number is scarce ,which suggests that the structure was eructed there by a travelling king /emperor or a sailor who came from Malabar coast .Ofcourse he didn’t get a proper piece of stone or a silpi to carve it beautifully so that it is very crude ,unpolished and without proportions whereas in Malabar coast it is wellproportioned,polished red stone carved neatly and placed neatly over the 4 stones..The 4 stones and the umbrellalike top are the only similarities and the name Kodakkal chun Chiot also may be said to have a resemblance when pronounced(Koda and Chiot)..