The partitioning of Ancient India

Bharata Khanda – Unbroken India in Ancient times

Ancient India extended from the Himalayas to the Indian Ocean and from Iran to Indonesia. It included all the lands from Vietnam to Irak and even parts of Jordan. It also included the islands of Indonesia and even some parts of Japan. All these lands were governed under the rule of King Rama, some 8000 years ago.

Akhanda Bharat – Ancient separations from India

Over a considerable amount of time India lost territory to invaders and the arrival of different cultures and religions.

1. Malaysia
The ancient name for Malaysia was Malay Desh which is a Sanskrit word meaning ‘Land of Mountains’. Malaysia is also described in the epos Ramayana as well as in the epos Raghuvansham. Shaivism was practiced and Goddess Durga and Lord Ganesha were worshiped. The main script here was Brahmi and Sanskrit was the main language.

2. Thailand
Thailand was known as Syam (Siam) until 1939. The major cities were Ayodhya, Shri Vijay etc. The construction of Buddhist temples in Syam began in the third century. Even today there are many Shiva temples to be found in this country. The capital of Thailand Bangkok also has hundreds of Hindu temples.

3. Cambodia
The name ‘Cambodia’ is derived from the Sanskrit name Kamboj, and was a part of unbroken India. The Kaundinya dynasty of Indian origin ruled here from the first century itself. People here used to worship Shiva, Vishnu and Buddha. The national language was Sanskrit. Even today in Cambodia, the names of Indian months such as Chet, Visakh, Asadha are still used. The world famous Ankorwat temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu, which was built by the Hindu king Suryadev Varman. The walls of the temple have paintings related to the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The ancient name of Ankorwat is Yashodharpur.

4. Vietnam
The ancient name of Vietnam is Champadesh and its principal cities were Indrapur, Amravati and Vijay. Many Shiva, Lakshmi, Parvati and Saraswati temples will still be found here. Shivling was also worshiped here. The people were called Cham who were originally Shaivites.

5. Indonesia
The ancient name for Indonesia is Dipantar Bharat which is also mentioned in the Puranas. Deepantar Bharat means the ocean across India. It was the kingdom of Hindu kings. The largest Shiva temple was in the island of Java. The temples were mainly carved with Lord Rama and Lord Krishna. The Bhuvanakosh is the oldest book containing 525 verses of Sanskrit.

The names/mottos of leading institutions in Indonesia are still given in Sanskrit:

Indonesian Police Academy – Dharma Bijaksana Kshatriya
Indonesian National Armed Forces – Tri Dharma Ek Karma
Indonesian Airlines – Garun Airlines
Indonesian Ministry of Home Affairs – Charak Bhuvan
Indonesian Ministry of Finance – Nagar Dhan Raksha
Indonesian Supreme Court – Dharma Yukti

Later fragmenting of Indian land by the British

In 1858 when the British invaded India, its land mass was still 83 lakh square kilometers. From 1875 on Britain began a period that lasted 61 years in which it fragmented India further 7 times. India is therefore now only 33 lakh square kilometers in size. Even today other external powers are trying to get more land from India to expand their own land. Both Pakistan and China are today repeatedly trying to take parts of Kashmir militarily. China also at times tries to conquer parts of Himachal Pradesh, which also borders on China.

British partitioning India:

1. Afghanistan was separated from India in 1876,
2. Nepal was separated from India in 1904,
3. Bhutan was separated from India in 1906,
4. Tibet was separated from India in 1907,
5. Sri Lanka was separated from India in 1935,
6. Myanmar (Burma) was separated from India in 1937,
7. Pakistan was separated from India in 1947.

The history of Vedic Cultural Territory

1. Afghanistan
The ancient name of Afghanistan was Upganasthan and Kandahar’s was called Gandhara. Afghanistan was originally a Shaivite country. The Gandhara described in the Mahabharata is in Afghanistan from where the Kauravas’ mother was Gandhari and maternal uncle Shakuni. The description of Kandahar i.e. Gandhara is found till the reign of Shah Jahan. It was a part of India. In 1876 Gandamak treaty was signed between Russia and Britain. After the treaty, Afghanistan was accepted as a separate country.

2. Nepal
In ancient times Nepal was known as Deodhar. Lord Buddha was born in Lumbini and mother Sita was born in Janakpur, which is in Nepal today. Nepal was made a separate country in 1904 by the British. Nepal was called the Hindu nation of Nepal, or Hindu Rashtra Nepal. Nepal was made a separate country in 1904 by the British. Until only a few years ago, the king of Nepal was called Nepal Naresh. Nepal has 81 percent Hindus and 9% Buddhists. Nepal was an integral part of India during the reigns of Emperors Ashoka and Samudra Gupta. In 1951, Maharaja Tribhuvan Singh of Nepal appealed to the then Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to merge Nepal with India, but Jawaharlal Nehru rejected the proposal.

3. Bhutan
Bhutan was separated from India by the British in 1906 and recognized as a separate country. Bhutan is derived from the Sanskrit word Bhu Utthan which means high ground.

4. Tibet
The ancient name of Tibet was Trivishtam which was divided into two parts. One part was given to China and the other to Lama after an agreement between the Chinese and the British in 1907. In 1954, India’s Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru accepted Tibet as part of China to show his solidarity to the Chinese people.

5. Sri Lanka
The British separated Sri Lanka from India in 1935. The old name of Sri Lanka was Sinhaldeep. The name Sinhaldeep was later renamed Ceylon. Sri Lanka’s name was Tamraparni during the reign of Emperor Ashoka. Mahendra, son of Emperor Ashoka and daughter Sanghamitra went to Sri Lanka to propagate Buddhism. Sri Lanka was a part of united India.

6. Myanmar (Burma)
The ancient name of Myanmar (Burma) was Brahmadesh. In 1937, the recognition of a separate country to Myanmar i.e. Burma was given by the British. In ancient times, the Hindu king Anandavrata ruled here.

7. Pakistan
Pakistan was partitioned of from India on August 14 1947 by the British. Originally Pakistan came into existence as Eastern Pakistan and Western Pakistan, because Mohammad Ali Jinnah had been demanding a separate country on the basis of religion since 1940. The two countries were later united as Pakistan. In 1971 with the cooperation of India Pakistan was divided again and Bangladesh came into being.

dhr. Dykhuizen Leendert, TM leraar.

Bron: Sai Baba org. USA

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