The Hindu history of Afghanistan — Subodh Kapoor

[prasad1]

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The year 980 C.E. marks the beginning of the Muslim invasion into India proper when Sabuktagin attacked Raja Jaya Pal in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is today a Muslim country separated from India by another Muslim country Pakistan. But in 980 C.E. Afghanistan was also a place where the people were Hindus and Buddhists.


The name “Afghanistan” comes from “Upa-Gana-stan” which means in Sanskrit “the place inhabited by allied tribes”.


This was the place from where Gandhari of the Mahabharat came from, Gandhar whose king was Shakuni. The Pakthoons are descendants of the Paktha tribe mentioned in Vedic literature. Till the year 980 C.E., this area was a Hindu majority area, till Sabuktagin from Ghazni invaded it and displaced the ruling Hindu king – Jaya Pal Shahi.

There was a time when the entire region was replete with hundreds of Shiva temples celebrating Shiva – Parvati worship and abuzz with Shiv chants, prayers, legends and worship. Archaeological excavations in this region conducted by Sir Estine (an East India Company official) led to the recovery of uncountable shrines and inscriptions. He has authored four books on that topic featuring photos of icons, icons and inscriptions discovered. The photos show a sun temple and a Ganesha statue too. An Islamabad University professor Abdul Rehman has authored two books on those finds recalling the glory and prosperity of those times. Regimes of two Hindu rulers “Kusham” and “Kidara” lasted for fairly long periods.


During their rule a number of Shiva temples were not only in Afghanistan but in other West Asian regions too. Uzbekistan and Takzikistan formed part of the Afghan kingdom in those times. Tashkent has one of those ancient Shiva temples standing even today. Professor Abdul Rehman states that Bukhara region Was known as “Shah Vihar” in ancient times. It was ruled by an Hindu king.
The Hindu history of Afghanistan ? Subodh Kapoor | World Hindu News

 

[vgane]

Can I dream of a land that was once Hindu, being reclaimed and the people voluntarily embracing the religion of their forefathers several centuries back!

 

[prasad1]

For Michaels, the period between 500 BCE and 200 BCE is a time of "Ascetic reformism", whereas the period between 200 BCE and 1100 CE is the time of "classical Hinduism", since there is "a turning point between the Vedic religion and Hindu religions".

The Vedic period, named after the Vedic religion of the Indo-Aryans, lasted from c. 1750 to 500 BCE. The Indo-Aryans were a branch of the Indo-European language family, which originated in Kurgan culture of the Central Asian steppes.


The Indo-Aryans were pastoralists who migrated into north-western India after the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization, The Indo-Aryans were a branch of the Indo-Iranians, which originated in the Andronovo culture in the Bactria-Margiana era, in present northern Afghanistan. The roots of this culture go back further to the Sintashta culture, with funeral sacrifices which show close parallels to the sacrificial funeral rites of the Rig Veda.

The Indo-Aryans brought with them their language and religion. The Vedic beliefs and practices of the pre-classical era were closely related to the hypothesised Proto-Indo-European religion, and the Indo-Iranian religion. According to Anthony, the Old Indic religion probably emerged among Indo-European immigrants in the contact zone between the Zeravshan River (present-day Uzbekistan) and (present-day) Iran. It was "a syncretic mixture of old Central Asian and new Indo-European elements", which borrowed "distinctive religious beliefs and practices" from the Bactria–Margiana Culture. At least 383 non-Indo-European words were borrowed from this culture, including the god Indra and the ritual drink Soma. According to Anthony,


Many of the qualities of Indo-Iranian god of might/victory, Verethraghna, were transferred to the adopted god Indra, who became the central deity of the developing Old Indic culture. Indra was the subject of 250 hymns, a quarter of the Rig Veda. He was associated more than any other deity with Soma, a stimulant drug (perhaps derived from Ephedra) probably borrowed from the BMAC religion. His rise to prominence was a peculiar trait of the Old Indic speakers.
History of Hinduism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I wanted to start this thread to compile the present knowledge, before the imminent rewrite of Hindu History.

From the information available it seems Hinduism (or what ever you call it) predated Raja Bharat, and may have originated outside of the Indian Subcontinent.

 

[tbs]

hi

the whole asian continent..mostly was BHARATA VARSHA...ITS CALLED BHARATA KHANDA....MEANS BHARATA'S CONTINENT....

finally ended with indian continent...the muslim/european invaders destroyed a lot....even the KAABHAH in soudi arabia is

shiva temple....vedic period...2 main hindu worshipers...shiva and vishnu...shiva worshipers dominated in western part of

indian....vishnu worshipers were generally east asian countries....still through out region pre dominantely sanatan dharma...

 

[prasad1]

* * * Professor Schaffer at Case Western University writes in “Migration, Philology and South Asian Archaeology” that there was an indigenous development of civilization in India going back to at least 6000 BC. He proposes that the Harappan or Indus Valley urban culture (2600-1900 BC) centered around the Saraswati river described in the Rig Veda and states that the Indus Valley culture came to an end, not because of outside invaders, but due to environmental changes, most important of which was the drying up of the Saraswati river.


Schaffer holds that the movement of populations away from the Saraswati to the Ganges after the Saraswati dried up in about 1900 BC, is reflected in the change from the Saraswati-based literature of the Rig Veda to the Ganges-based literature of the Itihasa and Puranic texts. He also states that the Aryan invasion theory reflects a colonial and Euro-centric perspective that is quite out of date. He concludes : We reject most strongly the simplistic historical interpretations… that continue to be imposed on south Asian culture history…Surely, as south Asian studies approach the twenty-first century, it is time to describe emerging data objectively rather than perpetuate interpretations without regard to the data archaeologists have worked so hard to reveal.

 

[biswa]

Originally Hindu or not, these people are a blood-thirsty lot, right?

 

[tbs]

Originally Hindu or not, these people are a blood-thirsty lot, right?

hi

fittest to survival....every religion/human race gone through the challenges....still some where something is going on...first world war

due to mainly ottoman empire.....second world war due to jewish destruction.....so all are blood thirsty....

 

[renuka]

Originally Hindu or not, these people are a blood-thirsty lot, right?

True...How come once upon a time Hindus know nothing about Ahimsa these days?

No one changes diagrammatically opposite becos of change of religion..so it shows that local culture determines the mindset more than religion.

For all we know Ahimsa was never really the middle name of anyone Hindu or Non Hindu and everyone was just a bunch of tribes fighting for supremacy..after all even these days fights continue but with different weapons that's all!

 

[tks]

True...How come once upon a time Hindus know nothing about Ahimsa these days?

No one changes diagrammatically opposite becos of change of religion..so it shows that local culture determines the mindset more than religion.

For all we know Ahimsa was never really the middle name of anyone Hindu or Non Hindu and everyone was just a bunch of tribes fighting for supremacy..after all even these days fight continue with different weapons thats all!

Principle of Ahimsa is not about zero violence or non-violence (though this term was used by Gandhiji to describe a political movement/strategy). Mahabharatha war is not inconsistent with principle of Ahimsa.

Though I am not a history buff and do not care for history, I heard from someone who is into history research say that Ahimsa as a concept came into application in more aspects of life including food at a much later time (500 BCE?)

Ahimsa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[prasad1]

Ahimsa - is a evolving theory.
Ask peta people or vegans, there is a difference between there ahimsa and the ahimsa of say Bengali Brahmins.

It is just like all men are created equal but for Black people.

The opening of the United States Declaration of Independence states as follows:


We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

Everybody has their own exceptions.
I am very much interested in the history, that too unbiased (impossible).

 

[prasad1]

It is possible that people from Mainland India moved westward to settle in what is now Afganistan. Magadh empire of Ashoke did conquer some of these areas.
But generally the movement of people has been from Afganistan-Tajikistan ares to the Gangetic plains. The same people might have moved out to present day Iran.

 

[tks]

Ahimsa - is a evolving theory.
Ask peta people or vegans, there is a difference between there ahimsa and the ahimsa of say Bengali Brahmins.

It is just like all men are created equal but for Black people.


Everybody has their own exceptions.
I am very much interested in the history, that too unbiased (impossible).

Ahimsa as a principle based on concept of universal dharma is not evolving. It is like any other physical law we find ourselves in and the law acts without our acknowledgment or permission.

The interpretation of Ahimsa to specific situation and application to real world situations has seen evolution as more options open up in the way we lead our lives.

Various groups in the world may have their own interepretation but that is more of a reflection of level of maturity they are at.

 

[biswa]

Didn't everybody come out of Africa originally? And then some people dead-ended in Tamil Nadu.