The Hexagonal Columns of St. Mary's Island in India

It's definitely not the only geological wonder, but St. Mary's Island is one of the rarest natural formations of columnar basaltic rocks lined up in the world. It is an important site for Geo Tourism since it was recognized by the Geological Survey of India.

St. Mary's Island is situated off the coast of Malpe Beach in the town of Udupi, Karnataka, India. It's a boat ride away, mostly Rs. 200 to visit and come back, with public boats halting there for one hour. Few places where you can find columnar basaltic rocks in India are in Kawadia Pahad, near Bagli in Madhya Pradesh and Gilbert Hill in Andheri, Mumbai (The Devil's Tower of India). Others include formations in parts of the USA, the Giants Causeway in Ireland (BEAUTY) and on MARS! Yes you heard that right! Here's a whole list of places.

St. Mary's columnar basaltic rock formations

History

St. Mary's Islands was technically the first piece of land Vasco De Gama discovered by the Indian coast before he traveled further on to Calicut / Kozhikode / Goa (still confused about this haha) from there. The island was named so because as soon as he landed here, he fixed a cross on the island and named one of three tiny islands joined to each other 'O Padrão de Santa Maria' as a dedication to Mother Mary before proceeding.

Roughly 88 million years ago, the island of Madagascar was attached to the Indian landmass. Slowly as Gondwanaland started drifting, the island of Madagascar drifted further towards the continent of Africa off whose coast it can be found today. Here's a little diagram to explain the drift in simple terms.

The same columnar basaltic rocks can be found at Madagascar. It appears the formations were close to the Deccan Traps, one of the hugest volcanoes on the planet that spread across parts of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. This huge volcano that lasted ages could be seen as the reason for the columnar formations, but of course we should factor the conditions. Here's another little diagram that explains exactly how these columns form.

Schematic diagram courtesy http://wmblogs.wm.edu

Hexagons of Planet Earth

We find a LOT of hexagons in nature, and we're constantly baffled by why geometry is seen so flawlessly in nature in general. Whether it's drying mud puddles/patches of land, bee hives, snow crystals and what not. Hexagons are special, and there's something that triggers their shape.

Simply explained, some say we owe the hexagon shape to something simple. I have a feeling it has to do with something completely different, but we'll come to that later. The scientists and ambitious theorists of the internet have borne some excellent answers for this.

As for bees and the construction of bee hives, Daniel He said 'Hexagons are the shape closest to a perfect circle that can be placed in a series next to each other without leaving spaces,' meaning in the minimum usage of material, you can save space and also find a fantastic way to utilize lesser resources. At least that's what bees think. The hexagons in honeycombs are quite multi-purpose for bees, whether it's storing nectar or the interior parts being used to produce beebies (bee babies). That is the one feature of hexagons that makes it stand out.

If we speak of allotropes (different physical forms in which the same element can exist) of carbon, we can find a similar situation here too. Check the hexagonal formations seen in diamond, fullerene (C 60) and graphite below.

Obviously some could say this is the reason for why hexagons exist, because it's in the very root of their compositional structure. But please, take a pause to look outside the planet.

Outside the world we know - Saturn and Mars

We see columnar basalt rock formations on Mars, yes. But what about the huge hexagon on the North Pole of Saturn? Amidst the chaos we see taken by Cassini earlier this year, the cyclonic north pole of Saturn is not something we can explain because we do not know the composition in that area. Question remains, HOW? WHY HEXAGONS?

Let's talk about one of the brightest minds in recent times, the extraordinary Nikola Tesla. He once said “If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.”

If you've heard of cymatics, you know where I'm taking this. VIBRATION, SOUND and FREQUENCY keep this universe together, and we know this already. You can refer to how I once as a kid theorized the universe is based on sound / the OM, giving birth to different manifestations of shape and form HERE.

Hexagon at the North Pole of Saturn

What frequency tends to show a hexagonal shape in sacred geometry / cymatics?
The answer is 528 Hz.

Dr. Leonard Horowitz is just the right person to speak about this.  He's the world's most celebrated pharmaceutical industry whistleblower, YouTube's most popular, prolific, controversial doctor; a leading humanitarian, political activist, Harvard-trained media expert; and documentary filmmaker and author of 17 books, and so much more.

Dr. Horowitz's greatest life-time achievement he says is his discovery of the "Perfect Circle of Sound". He has also authored 'The Book of 528: Prosperity Key of LOVE'.
Dr. Horowitz massively evidences his theory that the 528Hz frequency of sound must be considered the "clear channel broadcast of pure LOVE."

Horowitz says, "528 Hertz is a frequency that is central to the 'musical mathematical matrix of creation.' More than any sound previously discovered, the “LOVE frequency” resonates at the heart of everything."

Believe it or not, 528 Hz is said to be nearly the precise center of the entire electromagnetic colour spectrum. In the center of a rainbow is the colour green, and he also further explains how you find so much green on earth over most other things. He's explained this fantastically in a beautiful video I suggest you take time out to watch.



According to Stuart Mitchell's theory (visit site) which I agree to too, is the fact that frequency has a very deep underlying role in why shape even comes to form, same as Leonard, forget shape, even colour!!

As Leonard said, everything is connected to frequency, even the birds, the hills are absolutely alive singing to the sound of music, the music being the vibration of the earth, and that of the universe.

Don't be surprised if you see beautiful shapes taking form in the most perfect geometrical pattern. Only goes to say how synchronized matter, frequency and vibration are. There's really some magic music can do. :)

I will write more about something interesting, soon. Next time! 

Into the Godavari: Discovering another Indra temple

We recently found an Indra temple, along with a few more shrines built in worship of Lord Shiva, in Chandori, a town by the river Godavari in Southern Maharashtra.

The temples of Chandori surfaced after over 35 years, and this came to surprise locals as well. The sarpanch of Chandori himself, Sandeep Tarle, had never seen the temples in his lifetime until the water of the Godavari started receding. This led to the resurfacing of some ancient temples, claimed to be over 10,000 years old by locals.

Chandori temples begin to surface. Photo by Kunal Dusane

Of course we have no evidence of this, but we do know from the architecture of the temple that this style is Hemadpanthi (or Hemadpanti) Sculpture, which started in Maharashtra in 13th Cent AD. The temples are from the Classical period, but who built these temples is still unknown. The style was named after the prime minister Hemadpant (1259-1274 CE) from the court of Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri. The Seuna Dynasty claims to be descendants of the Yadavas, and that's as far of the mythology of this place goes! Traces of this architecture are seen in Daulatabad, the Tulja Bhavani temple, Aundha Naganath temple, etc.

If you are familiar with Marathi, do watch this video about the discovery of the temples in Chandori:

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What do we know? Locals say there are 12 Shivlingas (13 including one up the mound by the river) and one temple each dedicated to Lord Ganesha and Lord Indra. The last time the temples were seen was when the Godavari dried up in this region in 1982. According to TOI, some claim after the building of the Nandur Madhyameshwar dam in 1907, the temples were submerged, but a few locals agree the temple was built in the 13th Century and the changing of Godavari's course led to the submerging of these shrines by the river. The temple situated in the deepest portion of the riverbed has a statue of a Hindu god in sleeping posture, which according to the locals, is Lord Indra.

Photo by Aashish Chawla, indicating two live snakes above the idol found, but looks more like lord Vishnu

What's fascinating about finding an Indra temple? Well, only a few people in Tamil Nadu, during Pongal celebrate and worship the God Indra. There are a few references to the worship of Indra in rituals and festivals in Tamil literature, but temples were never built for him so widely, except in certain parts of Tamil Nadu (Kongu Nadu) and very rarely elsewhere. You can explore Indra's appearance in Tamil texts and some festivals here. The most Indra is seen is in temples of other Gods in the form of idols.

The vedic era didn't believe in idol worship or setting Gods in stone. When Gods like Vishnu and Shiva (seen as Mahadeva or formerly by some as Lord Rudra) gained importance and multiple temples were built for them across the Indian subcontinent, Gods like Brahma and Indra fell behind. By Vedic principle, Indra sacrificed himself for the popularity of other Gods. Indra's position also became declining when the Puranas started gaining popularity, which their demigod deities, super human examples and this led to the eventual disregard for Indra because he started being portrayed as more of a wrathful and negative God when 'humanized' for people's understanding.

Indra is the god of rain and thunder, and he is worshipped in spirit across the country, especially by many farmers who pray to him for rains and prosperous monsoons.

Photo by Aashish Chawla

Indra temple by Vinay Y Jadhav

In the Godavari

Special thanks to these sites - Aashish Chawla | TOI | Why we don't have Indra temples

Kheer Bhawani: DECODED

The temple of Kheer Bhawani is situated 14 miles east from the city of Srinagar in Kashmir, India. Kheer is basically a type of rice pudding, a common offering at this temple, which is why the name stuck and the temple is referred to with this in the name. According to Hindus, the goddess is called by the names - Maharagya Devi, Ragnya Devi, Rajni, Ragnya Bhagwati, etc. The Goddess is a roop or avatar of the goddess Durga. She is one of the more ancient Goddesses, who is said to have appeared in the times of Ravana. Wikipedia has this story added for reference -
Maharagya was pleased with the devotion of Ravana and appeared before him and Ravana got an image of the Goddess installed in Sri Lanka. However, the Goddess became displeased with the vicious and licentious life of Ravana and so didn't want to stay in Sri Lanka. Therefore, she is believed to have instructed Lord Hanuman to get the image from Sri Lanka and install it at the holy spot of Tul Mull. Zetha Ashtami is celebrated at this temple mostly in the month of May, wherein hundreds of migrant Kashmiri Pandits from around the world visit the temple.

Why is Kheer Bhawani famous? Well, the water of Kheer Bhawani, at very few instances, has changed to red and black in the past, deeming these incidents to be inauspicious because something bad always happens following this, according to locals.

Let's take a look at some notable mentions on Kheer Bhawani, maybe we'll know what this is all about. Notably, Swami Vivekananda spoke of Kheer Bhawani, even having heard the voice of the Goddess himself distinctly when he was conducting a ritual at the temple. He was one of the people to make account of the septagonal shape in which the holy waters reside and also noted the waters changing colour from time to time depending on the situation in the valley.

Accordingly to an age-old traditional folklore, the water of Kheer Bhawani changes colours depending on the situation or environment in the valley. The darker the shade of the water, the more dangerous the situation or event to occur. Locals believe Kheer Bhawani predicted the Kashmir floods in 2014, the flood that killed nearly 200+ people, leaving damages to over 40,000 people. The Kund, literally meaning 'pond' or 'spring' turned red just one day after the celebration of Janmashtami, and this alarmed the life out of the locals as this didn't happen very often. Around 15 days later, the floods caused devastation to the valley. A few other incidents I found on Kashmir First, say:
In 1886, Walter Lawrence, the-then British settlement commissioner for land, during his visit to the spring, reported the water of the spring to have a violet tinge. Kashmiris claim to have observed a darkish or murky tinge to the water just before the assassination of Indira Gandhi and the 1989 insurgency in the valley. Some people say that before the exodus of the Pandits from Kashmir the colour had turned completely black in 1990!

The red waters of Kheer Bhawani

After speaking to a few people who've visited the temple, I've gathered, like any other hot water spring should have - the steam emitted from the water is negligible or not there at all. Most of them visited in February-March when it's pretty cold, but I haven't found any pictures of it otherwise. Being in the hamlet of Tula Mulla, this spring is an outlet of what used to be the original spring so there's no guarantee with the environment the water is contained in right now, that it would be affected by the original hot water spring. It is also important to note the ground from where you see the temple so clearly was also quite hot, not letting anyone really stand for too long without footwear for more than 5 minutes.

A Kashmiri historian Kalhana wrote extensively on the history of Kashmir. In his chronicle 'Rajatarangini' published in the 12th century CE., he stated that the temple area earlier was on marshy ground, indicating it would have possibly been build on an existing spring. Being a part of the Tula Mulla spring, the waters in Kheer Bhawani let out a negligible amount of steam near the temple.

To find answers we have to look outside India. Let's also take a look at reasons science has to give for the change in colour. With hot springs, it's such - The colour of the water, especially the colourful shades we see, comes from temperature and effect of light on the microbes present in the water. Yes! These are heat-loving microbes that live in extremely hot conditions. Take the Yellowstone Park's Grand Prismatic hot spring for example. Take a good look at this picture, it's so gorgeous!!

The Grand Prismatic spring in Yellowstone Park, courtesy Huffington Post

Let me explain the whole idea in short - From the centre of the spring outwards, the colour of the water changes from pure blue to different hues. The reason being - the water in the center is the hottest, so no microbes find that too favourable, therefore the colour of the sky is directly reflected here, clear water, super hot!

As we go outwards, the water is comparatively cooler, allowing microbes to grow. Read more about these fascinating change in colours due to microbes here and on Smithsonian here.

How does this affect the waters of Kheer Bhawani? Or does it affect them at all?
I picked this piece of info from a study done by Smithsonian - As you get farther from the center of the hot spring, the temperatures get lower and there is a greater diversity of microbes that can survive there, Smithsonian's Natasha Geiling reported. The spring's outermost layer, at 131 degrees Fahrenheit (55 degrees Celsius), is a red-brown or burgundy color. Another carotenoid-carrying microbe also comes into play at this temperature: Deinococcus-Thermus Thermus creates "bright red or orange streamers," according to a blog by the American Geophysical Union (AGU). For instance, the Lower Geyser basin in Yellowstone has a reddish hue due to this bacteria.

So let's say if this was the far end of an actual spring, the part exposed to light would be under the influence of the dominating red bacteria that give the water its colour? Maybe so, yes. Let's consider this for a minute and make sense of the situations around. What we need to also know, importantly, is that HUMANS, yes humans have an effect on the changing colours in a hot spring, because of simple reasons. As also reported by Live Science: Researchers have gone a step further than showing that environmental features favor microbes that produce certain colors. As they reported in a 2015 paper published in the journal Applied Optics, a mathematical model was created to explain the colors within the springs. Consistent with what is seen at the Grand Prismatic Basin, the researchers, from Montana State University in the U.S. and Brandenburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany, found that in deep water, the color resulted mostly from the light's interaction (scattering, absorption) with the water itself, whereas in the shallow areas, the color came from the reflection of light from microbial mats, whose composition depended highly on temperature.

They also reported that humans might have influenced the colors of Yellowstone's geothermal features. In the past, the temperatures of Morning Glory Pool were significantly higher, and its color was a deep blue, they reported. As trash accumulated in the pool, somewhat clogging the vent, its temperature cooled, allowing for microbial growth and giving rise to orange-yellow microbial mats that give the pool its psychedelic appearance, according to a statement from The Optical Society.

Oh well, the last time something like this happened at Kheer Bhawani was a day after Janmashtami. Even though there wasn't any direct colourant added to the water to give it the colour, there might have been an accumulation near the source of the waters, cooling them down and allowing for the growth of these microbes.

Then they said the water turned black. Damn! Now this, is something I am not too sure about but this could make sense. We all know around the world that springs are supposed to contain loads of sulphur, and hot water springs are considered to have 'healing' or medicinal properties. The steamboat springs in Colorado, USA are completely black. This has not affected the texture of the water, nor is the water dirty, just pumping black! Chemistry 101!~ The incidence of rotten egg odor or black water in hot water lines is due to the reaction of sulfates and micro-organisms in the water that create Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S). This is a water chemistry condition, rather than a water heater problem. Hydrogen sulfide dissolved in water corrodes metals such as iron, steel, copper and brass. The corrosion of iron and steel from sulfur forms ferrous sulfide or "black water." We all know minerals exist naturally, so no ruling out that. Let us also not forget that Kashmir is very rich in Borax and Sulphur.

An article on Kashmir First openly speaks about these occurences have strongly to do with the spiritual peace in the valley. Blood was shed on the concert night of the Bavarian Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta, after which the water at Kheer Bhawani turned to red, the first time in ages. This was is 2013.

I believe a mountainous region is very affected by the existence of physical structures (mountains in this case), sound and the effect of sound (no denying the effects of echoes and landslides) and many other things we have not come to understand or fully accept. All of this affects our surrounding in general, maybe to the very depths of the spring geysers to the very heights of the waters in which microbes exist. If I knew more science I'd be able to look for more answers and come to conclusions but safe to say, much of the earth's geology plays up and this has to do heavily with the energy even people produce. The earth knows us more than we know ourselves, and we are a product of the planet, so our connection is not necessary physical and tangible, it is more than we think it is. Every temple as we know is built on places that are high in energy, so it should come to us as no surprise that Kheer Bhawani was also one of these places.

Maybe the few other times people saw the waters change colour, their fear manifested the incidents that followed, or maybe Kheer Bhawani was only offering the calm and healing waters to indicate times are going to be rough, and you need some healing!


More from me, very soon!

Sunken Indian civilizations

We've heard tales of civilizations in our ancient texts, whose ruins haven't been very easy to find. Using some of the most high end technology, SONAR radiation and other deep sea archaeological survey tools, we've been able to find truth in the tales from the Mahabharata and other ancient texts like Sangam Literature. Here are some civilizations who met their fate too soon, and Indian culture lost out on some history until light was thrown in recent times on findings from different locations around the Indian peninsula. Lets take a look at some of the lost civilizations that are today underwater, and some we've been able to uncover with hard evidence. 

1. Dwarka

We've found Dwarka, so that says enough for how much our ancient texts like the Mahabharata were true. The island was found off the coast of the present day city of Dwarka in the state of Gujarat, India. The Mahabharata tells us in the story of Krishna slaying the demon Shalva that the island of Dwarka was attacked by Shalva. An entire city was found underwater. It is said that Krishna prayed to the sea to build the city of Dwarka in it, and on taking the sea's permission, he literally 'reclaimed' 12 Yojans (ancient Indian method of measurement) of land from sea, on the westernmost shore of Saurashtra. It was a planned city divided into sectors separating shops and markets from residential areas with well built palaces, good roads and a full-fledged port showing the city was quite a super city. Below are some images I found here. 

That's not all. Dwarka was attacked with superior technology described as flying vehicles, the fight involved destructive weapons that were destroying the city, and one detail in the story intrigued me. When Krishna and Shalva were on the ground fighting face to face, Shalva could disappear from his sight and reappear somewhere else within seconds, making that an advantage for him. I can't quite think of anything besides a teleportation device of some sort. Shalva also tried to show Krishna that he held his father Vasudeva hostage and threatened to kill him. In fact he severed his head in front of Krishna, but somehow Krishna figured it was an illusion. If Shalva was trying to create an optical illusion of some sort to scare Krishna in battle, we don't know, but it's not something we hear every day. 

Shavla is attacked by Krishna. Shalva's vimana awaits him

The remains of Dwarka were found just 70 feet into diving. Here's a little something from Ancient Aliens that can give some historical perspective and details on the research. It follows into Kumari Kandam, which I will speak about later in the article.  Watch from 2.31min.

Anyway, I don't want to change the topic so read that story here. 

2. Sunken city in the Gulf of Khambat
This is a city not too many people in the world give attention to, but is probably the oldest city we've ever found on earth! Some ruins from the city date as far back as 31,000 years! We're talking about a civilization (first in the world) to have created pottery given the facts. It's amazing to know that because of the treacherous location of the city in the Gulf of Khambat, we are unable to explore the expanses of the ocean here.

This is a little part of a research put out in detail on Graham Hancock's website by Dr. Badrinaryan. More about him below, this is what we know about the gulf -
This gulf is 135 km long in a N-S direction and is more than 100km at its widest part. It is one of the roughest and most complicated seas of the world and covers an area of about 3000 sq.km. Several major rivers including the Narmada, Tapi, Sabarmathi, Mahi, Chathranji, etc. drain into it. It has a macro tidal range of 12m and the currents are up to 8 knots. The sea is often subjected to severe winds resulting in very rough conditions. These types of turbulence churn the seabed and produce enormous quantities of silt, making the sea water brownish and turbid, with the result that is that it is impervious to light rays. The combined effect of these conditions makes this part of the country unfit for diving and underwater operations and operating underwater videography impossible. Hence, only instruments operated on principle of sound, like sonar equipments and magnetic equipments could work here. This includes the Side Scan Sonar, Sub-bottom Profiler, Multibeam ecosounder, apart from marine magneto-meter.

In a marine survey by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) in December 2000, the team with Chief Scientist Dr S Badrinaryan came across palaeo river channels in the sea, something unusual for the location. The team then found several frames of square and rectangular formations in the sea later on.

Here's an image captured using sub-bottom profiler surveys.

Despite the torrential weather in the gulf, we STILL managed to gather artefacts ranging from the oldest fired pottery pieces obtained so far in the world, microlithic tools, and much more.

Reputed institutes have surveyed this and I'm sure they're baffled as well - including institutes in India, Oxford, and Germany. Because of the results and how controversial this has turned out to be, it is said that pieces of wood and several fragments were sent for testing to different places and both results were no less than dating back to around 7,000 BC. Like Dr. D. P. Agrawal, chairman of the Paleoclimate Group and founder of Carbon-14 testing facilities in India stated in an article in Frontline Magazine that the piece was dated twice, at separate laboratories. The NGRI in Hyderabad returned a date of 7190 BC and the BSIP in Hannover returned a date of 7545-7490 BC. Some archeologists, Agrawal in particular, contest that the discovery of an ancient piece of wood does not imply the discovery of an ancient civilization. Agrawal argues that the wood piece is a common find, given that 20,000 years ago the Arabian Sea was 100 meters lower than its current level, and that the gradual sea level rise submerged entire forests. Some argue they may have come down from rivers that lead into the gulf. But Dr. Badrinaryan's work strongly challenges this. Find more images and read about this in detail here.

I really hope we have the chance to learn in more detail about this city in the turbulent gulf of Khambat! Too little is known and that sucks.

3. The real ancient city of Mahabalipuram
Indra destroys the city in fury with lightning. The seas drown the rich and prosperous city of Mahabalipuram also known as Mamallapuram. The gods were jealous of Mahabalipuram, which was then ruled by Bali or Mahabali. The word Puram literally means city or urban dwelling. The city was in the sea, and boasted of seven temples with seven pagodas. The present day city of Mahabalipuram hosted only one shore temple and the temple was the last of the temples that remains unsubmerged, according to local tales based on the mythological scenario at Mahabalipuram. After the 2004 tsunami that hit south-west Asia and Indonesia, rocks, artefacts and parts of the other temples were thrown upon by the shores of Mahabalipuram, which threw a new light on the stories written in ancient texts. The temples were real, and the city was a magnificent port, say some archaeologists.

Indra became jealous of this earthly city and sank it during a great storm, leaving only the Shore Temple above water. Fyson also recounts the assertion of local Tamil people that at least some of the other temples could be seen "glittering beneath the waves" from fishing boats.

The evidence to the actual building of these temples is not very clear. Mythology says something, and the ancient historical accounts say something else. One Englishman, Fyson D. R. lived in present day Chennai and wrote a book called 'Mahabalipuram and the Seven Pagodas'. He writes peculiarly about one local myth. Here's a small reference:
The six missing temples have continued to fascinate locals, archaeologists, and lovers of myth alike, and have recently returned to the archaeological spotlight. Many archaeologists have spent time of diving missions and put out several photographs of huge granite stone structures. Diving in challenging conditions, the team found the "foundation of walls, broken pillars, steps, and many scattered stone blocks," said Kamlesh Vora, a marine archaeologist with the National Institute of Oceanography. More on this here.

Below are some images taken from Graham Hancock's website. All images are courtesy Santha Faiia 2002 and were taken in rough sea conditions. Graham Hancock has also extensively covered this and you can check a few more images out here.

4. Kumari Kandam
We all know about this one. This continent of sorts is the long lost 'Lemuria' or 'Atlantis' for some, and was a very flourishing civilization according to Sangam literature as cited. Kumari Kandam is one of the biggest mysteries that doesn't have any extremely foolproof evidence but lots of clues that lead to its existence as being on the surface at some point in time. This supersized landmass was said to connect India to Madagascar in the West and Australia in the East. This is a large amount of the Indian ocean if you go to see. The continent sunk during the rise and fall of the seabed, a natural occurence. According to Sangam Literature, three Tamil sangams of sages lasted around 9000 years on this continent that later left no known remains we've found today. You can easily find detailed information on Kumari Kandam in articles like this. Below is a map of the plotted civilization:

More from me, coming soon! Thanks for reading. Do check my other blogs out!


All references are given as links in the article. Credits go to the photographers and courageous researchers who've made accessing this info from deep seas so simple. :) 

Hampi - A land of mystery and wonder

I visited the beautiful city of Hampi on my birthday a week ago. The place amazed me. The gorgeous citadel of Hampi, right from the Hampi boulders to the mind-blowing architecture, the dynasties that lived here, the stories prevalent and the hidden mysteries made for a perfect trip at just the right time of the year.

This article is long, but please understand that if I wrote this in two parts, I would never finish the second part! :P

Origins - Name and Mythology
Hampi earned its name from Pampa - the original name of the river Tungabadra that separates the main temple area from the northern side of the river. The place was called Pampa-kshetra (kshetra meaning patch, field or area) or Kishkinda-kshetra. In the Hindu epic Ramayana, Kishkinda is the name of the monkey kingdom ruled by monkey king Sugriva, whose brother was Vali.

Pampa is also the name of Brahma's daughter, the creator in Hindu mythology. Pampa worshipped Shiva and when Shiva noticed her dedication, he rewarded her with one blessing. Pampa chose to marry the God himself! All the Gods were very pleased with Shiva and Pampa's union in marriage. They showered gold over the place of their wedding, giving the Hemakuta hill its name. Hemakuta literally means 'Heap of Gold'.

A confused Hanuman carrying the Kailash parvat

The landscape in Hampi is associated a lot with the Ramayana. The monkey kingdom 'Kishkinda' is portrayed as the region around Hampi, mostly the northern region. Anjayaneya Hill, located across the river Tungabhadra, is believed to be the birthplace of lord Hanuman.
In the Ramayana, Rama and Lakshman travelled south and reached Kishkinda. Hanuman was the leader of Sugriva's army at the time. After Hanuman realised the truth about Rama and Lakshman identity, he becomes an staunch follower of Rama. Sugriva and Rama made a deal wherein Rama would destroy Vali and return the kingdom to Sugriva in peace. In return, Sugriva would support Rama by leading the monkey kingdom into battle to rescue Sita who was held captive in Lanka. Hanuman flew south in pursuit of rescuing Sita, and the Vanaras (a breed of monkeys) followed Rama to Lanka.

Hampi was also referred to as the Vijayanagara capital from 1343 to 1565. The Sangama king was advised to choose Hampi because of its strategic location, with the Tungabhadra river on one side and hills on all other sides. Hampi was the second richest city in the world after Peking (China) during its peak. It hosted 0.1% of the world's population at the time.

The emperor Ashoka's minor rock edicts found in Bellary district lead us to infer that this region was within the Ashokan kingdom during the 3rd century BCE. A Brahmi inscription and a terracotta seal dating to the 2nd century CE were also discovered from the excavation site. The first settlements in this area date back to as far as 1 CE.

Our rickshaw driver (Raja) who took us around on a thorough one-day tour told us that Ugra Narasimha (the avtar of lord Vishnu with features of a lion and human) sprung out from behind a shivling after a father (don't quite remember who) who was a Vaishnava (follower of Lord Vishnu) urged his son against praying to lord Shiva. This form of Vishnu got hold of the father, ripped him apart and ate him. Brutal indeed.

Statue of Ugra Narasimha

Rock formations and the Hampi boulders
Hampi is one of those few places on the earth whose surface has been exposed for the longest time, with no sign of any modifications that could have been caused by tectonic interference or modification of the natural rocks. Over the centuries, they've been subject to constant weathering and metamorphosis - erosion, rain, harsh sun and varying climate. The reason there are so many boulders is because weathering and erosion caused the stones and mountains to crack and split. Some are even seen at odd places like rolling down the mountains, balancing themselves halfway, bigger stones balancing on smaller ones, etc.

That's me!

Geologically speaking, Hampi falls on something called the Eastern Dharwar Craton. A craton is a stretch of the earth's surface that has remained the same for years and centuries without any modification. Some parts of the Dharwar Craton are said to be more than 3.0 Ga, or 3 BILLION years old!

Mythology states the odd positions of the rocks date back to when Vali and Sugriva were at war to claim the throne of the monkey kingdom.

What's even more fascinating is the way these buggers cut the stone and placed these massive blocks to make some of the most beautiful temples in the world!

Some well cut and fitted rocks

Rock cutting technique - work with what you have!
The people of the Vijaynagara empire were intelligent. Not only did they manage to use the rocks from their surrounding to build something so wonderful, but they also used very smart techniques to get things done. Raja told us they would cut squares that were 2 inches deep and 3 sq. inches wide, fill this up with an ayurvedic medicine and cold water, after which the stone would cut itself. Well, he wasn't entirely wrong. The process didn't involve using ayurvedic medicine, but it was similar.

After making holes in the rocks in a line, they used to hammer a wooden wedge into each of the holes and poured hot water over it, after which the wood expanded. Obviously this wasn't enough to cut the stone, but imagine shoving a series of these blocks over and over again to a point where the rock actually splits into half! Watch here.

Blocks cut in stones before wooden wedges were shoved into them.

One fact remains. As Raja told me, if the stones cut well, they used them. If they didn't, they'd just leave them. There were a lot of stones that were just left because they did not split into the desired fashion or suit the necessity.

However, this isn't true with when we take a look a the Sister Stone. One of the rocks fell apparently when someone was attempting rock climbing. They seem to be balancing themselves and are perfectly cut.

Sister stone

These advanced rock cutting techniques first began with the Pallavas of South India.


A game of thrones
Four dynasties ruled the kingdom of Hampi - The Sangama dynasty (1336 - 1485 AD), the Saluva dynasty (1485 - 1505 AD), the Tuluva dynasty (1505-1570 AD) and the Araveedu Dynasty (1570 - 1644 AD)

Please DO NOT refer to Wikipedia for the lineage and timelines. When I have the time, I will request to edit changes on the site. I have notes from an official chart that is present at Virupaksha temple.

Satyavan K. Naik, who also wrote a paper on the Origins and History of Vijayanagara clarifies that the mighty king Krishnadevaraya of the Tuluva dynasty, during whose reign the kingdom flourished, was NOT son of Narasa Nayaka.

As I know it, Narasa Nayaka has three sons - Tapanna Nayaka, Naganna Nayaka and Obam Nayaka. They were also known as Tippambike, Nagalambike and Obambike respectively. They are not mentioned in any popular media sources, including Wikipedia.

I'm also not sure why their nicknames sound so African. The Tuluva dynasty did originate from the west coast of India in Karnataka, close to Kerala so it is possible for them to have been of foreign origin, more specifically African. But I have absolutely no proof of this haha!
If you think about it, the Siddis who inhabit many parts of India today, are said to be of African origin and are a mix of African and Indian blood. They are said to have landed in India somewhere around 600 AD. The first documented record of the Siddis was around 1100 AD. They were said to have arrived by sea. Vasco De Gama was NOT the first man to reach India by sea, that too in the 16th century AD. It's nice that historians wanted to see India as a land discovered by a European. African and Indian connections can be seen at the sun temple in Konark too. Many unwritten accounts of travel across the seas was possible.

What makes me question their origin even more is the fact that they were so simply omitted. Shame? Another father? Everyone skips to the part where after Narasa Nayaka, Veera Narasimha claimed the throne for four years (1505 - 1509 AD) followed by Krishnadevaraya (1509 - 1530 AD). No one really says Veera Narasimha was son of Tippambike and Krishnadevaraya was son of Nagalambike. They were cousins, not brothers.
Obambike had two sons - Achuta (was king from 1530 - 1542 AD) and Ranga. Achuta was Krishnadevaraya's cousin, not brother.

More on African connections in India before Vasco De Gama here. Some people say India was indeed connected to Africa and Australia via Kumari Kandam (the lost sunken continent). But that's a discussion for another time.

The musical pillars of Sabha Mantap

Sabha mantap, Vitthala temple complex

Wasn't this fascinating! I'm glad my better half is also a musician.  The Sabha mantap in the Vitthala temple complex had an area with musical pillars that we spent a good 40 minutes at. Of course, out of curiosity, we went all out to decipher the musical notes of each of the pillars. It was plain crazy.

When the British found out about this place, they wanted to know the secret of these musical pillars, breaking two of them to see if there was anything inside. All they got was hollow pillars! So imagine.. To make these pillars sound a precise note, they would have to remove an exact amount of rock - not more not less - for them to sound the exact note, that too, after being mounted!

We decoded the central mantap area, which looked something like this.

Two Ds, two D#, two Bs and two Es correspond.

Many of the pillars have been tampered with. The Archaeological Survey of India, in the hope of saving the temple from ruination, has built walls to support the foundation and ceiling of this area. We can't be sure if the notes are the same any more, because with this, the sound from the pillars would have changed making the notes sound different. There is a fault in the sequence that has now ceased to exist because of external interference.

The pinhole effect of the gopuram at Virupaksha temple
I didn't really get a chance to take a good picture, but there's a place in the Virupaksha temple where you can see the gopuram (a monumental tower at the entrance of temples - mostly in South India) of the Virupaksha temple inverted as light passes through a small hole made through the wall. A touristy thing, this really fascinates people for some reason, whereas it follows the simple principle of a pinhole camera and even the way our eyes capture an image.

The pinhole effect

How we see

What is fascinating though, is they knew EXACTLY how big the hole had to be, the distance at which the gopuram was constructed from the main  temple and determine how it would capture only the gopuram upside down on the wall inside. Someone did the math.

The inverted gopuram of the Virupaksha temple

The first account of the pinhole effect was noted in 5th century BC in China. This knowledge may have travelled, or we discovered it a long time ago.

Sacred Geometry, rather, sonic geometry
If you've read my blog before, you know what cymatics is. Cymatics is basically the visible form of sound and vibration. Once you understand cymatics, you'll know where all the mandalas, rangoli designs and decorative shapes used in our everyday life comes from!

The room behind the main Vitthala temple mantap had so many drawings describing the lifestyle of people, but more importantly, prominence was given to particular shapes and designs.

Flower of Life behind the Vitthala temple, Hampi

Here's the Flower of Life. A lot of these drawings aren't accurate and look as though they've been copied from somewhere or were carved a bit differently, adding an artist's touch to them.

Many people say the flower of life represents the earth's energy grid. It is also a design that has been repeatedly found for centuries all across the world. Besides the flower of life, I was a bit surprised with what I spotted. I thought I'd go back and have a look at some cymatics and then, the cymaglyphs (cymatic glyphs) started making sense. There were pillars with cymaglyphs all over.

Cymaglyph of the note C

Above is the cymatic formation of the C note at 32.70 Hz, popularly known as C1. The design has evolved over time, but the concept remains the same. Here's another one. Couldn't decipher the note though.

There were other shapes that looked like other cymaglyphs as well, some I couldn't decipher because they're too worn out like this one.

An unidentified cymaglyph

The picture above this could be any one of these

I'm assuming even the people who were left to construct this temple were unaware of the symbolism. These formations can be seen only when there is sound. They would have been seen at either a significant event, which is what made it so important to note, or were something ancestors passed down to them. They were prettified because after all, they were a part of the design too.

Extensive markets
One thing about Hampi is how many markets/bazaars there were. There were markets everywhere, markets where people sold gold and silver by the kilo. Some were animal markets, others for food, vegetables and also the 'Sule bazaar', the popular whore market that was home to thousands of women. Apparently, even the king Krishnadevaraya visited the market.

Market near the Vitthala temple complex

Chutney chutney cup-marks
I believe Hampi as a place is an energy hub. As much as I was dissuaded about the cup-marks, there was no denying they existed because there were circular marks on the floor at many places. These marks were unlike the others that were described to me as something created in the ground as support 'for erecting temporary mantaps' or for 'making chutney' (seriously man?). I am not denying there were some for these purposes, because I came across many in locations where making chutney and erecting mandaps was possible!

After reading David Cowan's 'Leylines and Earth Energies' a few months ago, I recognized them as soon as I saw them. Cup-marks are indentations in rocks carved in the shape of cups. Normally cup-marks are way more intense. Some have rings around them. They're usually drawn on rocks near rivers and creating cup-marks in stone is a very good way of eliminating unhealthy energies. Seeing this on the Hemakuta hill (the place showered with gold by the Gods - Gold is a good conductor of electric and electromagnetic energy) made me think it was even more possible. Cup-marks, to mainstream archaeologists, is fancy rock art. They can align energy and energy can flow through them. Cup-marks have been discovered in Bhimbetka, Madhya Pradesh back in 290,000-700,000 BCE too.

I found cup-marks in two places around the same region. One place was in the Virupaksha temple compound, the other was up on the Hemakuta hill, south of Virupaksha. They were in places where it was impossible to erect mandaps or grind chutney for crying out loud! The cup-marks were drawn from north to south.

Cup-marks in a place where you can't make chutney

The Mahanavami Dibba and landing pads
For the occasional landing and hurried take-off

A mystery indeed. These huge platforms have been built in a complex of only platforms and a few baths including the fancy stepped tank or pushkarani. There was a water system in place for this Pushkarani, make of the same rock where water can be transported to the two baths in the area. The stepped tank is built out of one stone, and if turned upside down, looks like an inverted pyramid. It's about 25-30 ft. deep for sure. The tank was used for bathing or swimming. What I wasn't quite convinced about were these raised platforms next to the Hazararama temple.

The Mahanavami dibba

The Mahanavami dibba was built on the occasion of Krishnadevaraya's victory against the Orissa Gajapathis. He used it to watch processions, make offerings to the almighty and host programmes. But such a high raised platform? My first doubt is - Why build such a frequently used platform to erect temporary mantaps (as there were holes in the dibba on top as well), build a fancy staircase for the king and queen to walk down and access the stepped tanks? Along the way down the stairs, you literally take a mini-tour of drawings depicting the life of the people, visitors from foreign countries, and more.

There are two or three other platforms in the vicinity, which no one really mentions.

View from the Mahanavami dibba

The surface of the Mahanavami dibba

My second doubt is - Why build three platforms, with two public tanks/baths, two underground chambers and one Hazararama temple that depicts the entire Ramayana?

There was also a secret chamber, dark as hell, for the king to host his meetings and important discussions underground. There is a small diversion within the chamber too, for the king to be able to make a hurried escape in case someone came rushing through the normal path from the entrance. The door of this secret chamber is straight in front of a platform that has a stairway to nothing!

A stairway in front of a platform that leads to nothing really!

I was surprised the moment I spotted the staircase, moreover because it leads to nothing! I looked in wonder for 10 seconds and told Vignesh, "Doesn't this resemble a launchpad?" The stairs led to a good height of around 15-20 feet. It is strange for me to assume even now, but I looked around, asked the rickshaw driver cum tour guide what it was for and got no answer. It didn't make sense to anyone. A good way to make a quick escape by hopping to a vimana and flying away!

Here's what this fascinating staircase resembles. Rukma vimanas, maybe? Remember, Rukma vimanas resemble modern-day rockets and people the world over have referred to texts like the Vymaanika Shastra and Puranas to build flying crafts.

Let's compare this to our modern-day launchpads.

Stairway to nothing - view from the side

Stairway to nothing - View from the platform

Take those stairs and get onto that rocket

A vimana was tested in the late 1800s (1895 to be precise) on Girgaon chowpatty in Mumbai by a Sanskrit scholar who wasn't even a rocket scientist (read up on Shivkar Bapuji Talpade, watch this video). I'm sure it wasn't something extremely out of the ordinary in the 16th century because we know about flying vehicles and vimanas that were used back in the day. We have books and written account on these vimanas. To support this, let's take a look at the Hazararama temple.

Assuming we had visitors who flew down or up, there is nothing like the Hazararama temple (that depicts the entire Ramayana) to serve as a museum for visitors from outside, maybe even our foreign visitors who travelled by land. Made in honour of Lord Vishnu's avatar 'Rama', this is the only temple where I spotted a giant 13-inch long millipede, a snake and some of those swag lizards. This is also the only temple in the whole place that is an example of a compact dravida vimana type of temple (ancient architecture).

The Hazararama temple (Notice the carvings on top)

Pillar in the Hazararama temple

Drawings depicting an Indian journey of flight

There are numerous drawings around the temple and inside the temple of pillars made of a different material that describe people standing or sitting in these decorative structures that look like mantaps. There is no sign of this at any other temple. As you know, the Pushkar vimana was a frequently used flying craft in the Ramayana, so this should come as no surprise to anyone.

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With the ringing bells of the Virupaksha temple as we sat on the terrace of Gopi Guesthouse, followed by the cows yelling and breeze travelling from West to East all of a sudden, the trip was amazing.

The good people of Hampi even today let villagers from 200km away live here for six months so they can harvest crop, sell animals and trade. They do suffer from external interference. The UNESCO and ASI, in their view of making the town more 'tourist-friendly' have began to create their own landscape in places, which makes the few residents of Hampi very sad. But they live among the ruins of one of the most powerful empires of the world and are yet to discover the mysteries this place holds.
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More random comparisons

Sumerian, Mesopotamian, Assyrian, Hebrew tree of life

Hazararama temple Tree of life

Our visitors from the Orient

Spaceman on the left is from the Vitthala temple Hampi

Make sure to visit Hampi when you can. It's extremely affordable and just so beautiful.

Happy Hampi!