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Hindu Temples in Vietnam

Mr. Jagdish C. Sharma, Consular General

Consulate General of India, 455 North Cityfront Plaza Drive, #850, Chicago, IL

6-60611

 

India's cultural relations with Southeast Asia are one of the most fascinating

fields. Hindu-Buddhist monuments of Southeast Asia bear silent testimony to the

two millennium of peaceful and mutually beneficial Indo-Southeast Asian

interaction. Awareness and knowledge about these monuments is not only

important for the study of history, art and culture of this region but it is

also important for understanding ancient India.

There is a good awareness about the temples of Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand,

Myannar and Laos, very few outside the academic circles know about Hindu Temples

in Vietnam. In this presentation, I will outline my own work as well the work

done by several French scholars on temples of Champa. These temples which are

in crying need of conservation and restoration, are the last remaining edifices

of a kingdom which was the farthest outpost of Indian civilization in Southeast

Asia.

It may be mentioned that it was from 2nd to 16th century that there existed

Hindu Kingdom of Champa. The loss of Amravati region, to its powerful neighbor

in the north, began a process of decline from which Champa could never recover.

It is hardly surprising that with the dissolution of the kingdom these temples

became virtually unknown to the outside world.

The first Royal Shiva Linga in Southeast Asia was established at Mi-Son near Da

Nang, and the oldest Sanskrit inscription was found in a village Vo Canh near

Nha Trang in the southern part of Vietnam. Dong Sonian and Sa Huynh cultures

were prevalent in prehistoric times.

 

Vedic Heritage of both India and Europe

David Frawley (Vamdev Shastri), American Institute of Vedic Studies, Santa Fe, NM 87501

Vedicinst

 

The Vedic tradition was not only the basis of ancient Indian civilization but

that of all the Indo-European peoples. This occurred not only through linguistic

connections but common cultural and religious ideas and practices. There are now

not only new movements in India to reclaim the Vedas but among the Europeans to

reclaim their pre-Christian traditions. This is bringing about a new dialogue

between Hindu and native European religious groups to try to restore not only

their traditions but the commonalities that existed between them.

The Polynesians - A Link to the Prehistoric India

Shanti S. Clancy

925 Hartford Ave., Holly Hill, FL 32117, USA

 

A number of researchers are working on the origin of Polynesain people.

Archaeologists and linguists are using sophisticated tools of science,

including DNA, to racially place the origin of these people. However, the modern

Polynesian population is so racially mixed that it will not be easy to determine

their original racial origin. Modern science of DNA from the point of view of

mitochondria only sheds light on the origin of the people by the genetic makeup

of the female. What about the origin of most of the men, who mostly migrated one

place to another without a large group of their women? In fact prehistoric

navigators of the Southern Seas would be all men!

Their are two current theories about origin of Polynesians. One theory states

that their original homeland was Southern China making them to be of Mongolian

origin. The other theory states that their original homeland was South Asia,

which is India and beyond. The Polynesians brought with them the rudiments of

early Neolithic culture such as astronomy, navigation skills, a rich oral

literature of chants, boat building and a well organized early class or caste

structure in their society. In view of all of the above theories, I have

noticed prehistoric connection with India.

This paper will point in the direction of archaic Vedic beginning. The studies

have drawn on the work of specialists from various scientific disciplines such

as anthropology, archaeology. Linguistics, botany, and literary comparisons. I

have used oral knowledge from my ancestors and my late-distinguished father who

had a working knowledge of languages especially in the area of South and

Southeast Asia.

Migrations Relating to Ancient India & the Vedic Aryans:

A New Scientific Analysis

Harry H. Hicks, Foundation for Cultural Preservation, P. O. Box 111, Menlo Park, CA

94026

Robert N. Anderson

Emeritus Professor of Material Engineering, San Jose State University, San Jose,

CA

 

It seems increasingly important that a more accurate and chronologically correct

migrational chart be presented to the scholarly world. Scientific tests on the

ancient Vedic Aryans head that was cast nearly 6,000 years ago, research and

related astronomical and scientific calculations, ongoing archaeological work,

the use of recent technologies such as satellite photography, research relating

to the Sulba-Sutras and discoveries such as the astronomical code in the

Rigveda, strongly support ancient Indian science. They indicate a need to

correct some misconceptions that have been held for over 100 years concerning

the time and events relating to the Vedic-Aryans and the extent of their early

cosmic and mathematical knowledge.

This new knowledge determines a more accurate time frame and indicates an

earlier flux, merging and some reflux of proto-Europeans, Indo-Europeans,

Kurganians, Indo-Aryans, and Vedic Aryans concomitant with their movements and

migrations. Hopefully this will clarify, and help to sort out some of the cross

cultural contacts, descendent sub-cultures and other inter-relationships, and

the confusion arising from racial miscegenation and the many evolved names and

designations.

New Historical Dates of Gautam Buddha, Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka

Dr. Narayan Joshi

Department of Civil Engineering, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX

77446

 

For more than 100 years, Indian people believed their pre-history (history prior

to 500 BC) as told by the European scholars and their own India scholars. They

were told that some people call Aryans from either Eastern Europe or Southern

Russia invaded Dravidian India coming through the north-western mountain passes

around 1500 BC and pushed the Dravidian people down to south forcibly occupying

a big chunk of north India.

In the period of past 10 years, evidence has been presented by the new breed of

the Indian scholars from India and from abroad against the theory of the

pre-history of India called the 'Aryan Invasion of Dravidian India'.

Surprisingly, a couple of western scholars joined hands with Indian scholars in

demolishing the old theory by presenting evidence of the Sarasvati culture along

with Indus valley civilization. At present, however, there exists a big gap in

the Indian pre-history from the Mohenjo-daro period of 3000 BC to the time of

Gautam Buddha of 500 BC. Recent books by three Indian scholars are throwing new

light on this dark corner of the Indian pre-history. According to their

research, they claim that the dates assigned to Gautam Buddhs (560 BC to 440 BC)

and to Chandragupta Maurya (344 BC - 297 BC) by the western historians were

considerably demoted in order to fit them in line with the 'Aryan Invasion of

1500 BC'. These authors claim that Sandra Cottus of the greek historians

(contemporary of Alexander of Macedonia and Selucus Nicator) was not Chandra

Gupta of Andhra Britya Gupta dynasty, the father of Samudra Gupta. They assign

new years to Gautam Buddha (1887 BC - 1907 BC), Chandragupta Mourya (around 1534

BC), and Ashoka (1260 BC). I review of this new research is presented in this

paper.

 

 

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