Cultural Between Mayan Civilisation and Hindu Civilisation

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Hinduism Today Magazine

November 1995

Mayan-Hindu Connection

By B.N. Narahari Achar

In his recent visit to South America, Sri Ganapati Sthapati found many

similarities between the

Mayan temples and those of India [Hinduism Today, June, 1995]. My research

indicates there are also

similarities between the Mayan and Hindu systems of astronomy which are

demonstrated in significant

parallels between the Hindu Puranas and Mayan texts.

The Mayan culture flourished in Mesoamerica during the early Christian era,

before being completely

wiped out by the Spanish conquest. Astronomy played a significant role in Mayan

culture. Venus in

particular had a preeminent status. Testimony to this rich tradition is borne

out by Mayan temple art and

the few available Codices, or sacred books, of the Mayans.

Great strides have been made recently in deciphering the Mayan script and in

understanding the

concepts of Mayan astronomy. Western scholars have attempted to relate the Mayan

concepts to those of Greek

astronomy.

The sidereal Mayan astronomy is more akin to the Hindu system and does not

easily fit into the Greek

model. Striking similarity is found between certain Mayan and Puranic stories,

and their related astronomical

interpretation. In the Puranas, Lord Vishnu is represented as resting on the

serpent Ananta or

Sesa, after having dissolved all creation. The serpent represents the eternity

of time (Ananta), and the

"remainder"(Sesa) in subtle form, of prakriti, the germ of all that has been and

will be. After

waking up from the yoganidra, Vishnu rides on the eagle Garuda.

Both Garuda and Sesa are shown in association with Vishnu in the temples of

India. It is said that

Garuda represents the Vedas and the solar deities, and Sesa represents the

watery deities. The serpent is of

great significance in the Mayan culture also.

A supreme example is the serpent of sunlight and shadow seen at Chichén Itzá. At

the time of the equinoxes, as

the Sun moves from east to west, a pattern of light and shadow appears on the

west balustrade of the north

stairway of the Castillo at Chichén Itzá. This display resembles a descending

snake whose head is the

monumental serpent head carved out of stone at the foot of the stairs. The

feathered serpent

represents the Mayan God Kukulcan, who is associated with rain water and new

life, among other things. Kukulcan

appears to be Sesa and Garuda combined into one. The devas and the asuras

churned the Milky Ocean

in search of amrita. Vishnu assumed the form of a tortoise and dived to the

bottom of the cosmic

ocean.

On his back, the devas and asuras placed the mount Mandara as the churn and used

the serpent Vasuki

as the rope. From the churned Milky Ocean emerged all planets, poisonous

Halahala, many treasures, and

finally, amrita. The devas wanted the nectar only for themselves. However, a

serpent asura named Rahu,

disguised as a deva, was able to get a share of amrita. The Sun and the Moon

discovered him.

Rahu's head was instantly cut off. However, as he had already ingested amrita,

he could not be killed. To this

day, the head of Rahu attempts to swallow the Sun and the Moon. Rahu represents

the ascending node of the

moon's orbit, and swallowing of the Sun and the Moon represent symbolically the

occurrence of the

eclipses.

There is a picture from the Maya Codex Tro-Cortesianus. It shows a tortoise, a

central

churning rod and a serpent being used as a rope by figures of dark and light

shade. The western

scholars have found it difficult to interpret this picture, but the similarity

of the picture to the churning of

the Milky Ocean of the Puranas is remarkable. In the Dresden Codex there are

glyphs representing

eclipses, depicting the Sun or the Moon as being devoured by a serpent. The

similarity to the Hindu

representation in which Rahu tries to devour the luminary object is

unmistakable.

Finally, according to tradition, Lord Surya himself taught the science of

astronomy, Surya Siddhanta,

to Mayasura (perhaps the same famed architect of the Pandavas in the

Mahabharata). Could it be that

the Mayans are the descendants of Maya and this story could explain the

importance of Venus in the

Mayan astronomy? Maybe this is stretching it too far, for "Maya" means the

"chosen people" in the Mayan

language.

(Dr. B. N. Narahari Achar is a professor of physics at the University of

Memphis. He has recently become

interested in the ancient astronomies of India and Mesoamerica.)