Vedic Egypt 2

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Vedic Egypt

 

December 9, 1999 VNN5049

 

COMPILED BY VRIN PARKER

 

USA, Dec 9 (VNN) — (This and more info on the Ancient World's Vedic

Heritage can be found @ http://www.vedica.net/) Around four

thousand years ago, the Hurrians (The Hari) controlled an important

empire called Mitanni. It is principally among the Mitanni that

Vedic Aryan names and words occur....In a famous treaty between the

Hittite ruler Suppiluliuma and the Mitanni king, Mattiwaza,

(Mattiraja) about 1370 BC, the Vedic gods Mithra, Varuna, Indra and

the twin Nasatyas are mentioned. Thus in the Mitanni kingdom Aryan

gods were worshipped as well as Mesopotamian deities, which proves

an Aryan Vedic element." In a famous tablet, we have the seal of

Prince Suttarna, son of Kirta, King of Mittani in which two lions

are defeated by a central single human- headed lion-in bird

costume;mid second millennium BC.

 

In particular treaty, between the Hittite King Shuppilulima and

Mattiwaza (Mattiraja), king of the Hurrian (Hari)kingdom of Mitanni

circa 1350 BC, listed among the divine witnesses "Mitra-ash,

Uruwana, Indra, and the Nashatiyanu gods, the very Mithra, Varuna,

Indra, and the Nasatya gods of the Vedic pantheon"

 

Another treatise from the State Archives of the Hittite Empire was

discovered in Boghaz-keui in modern Turkey. It is a treatise on

chariot racing and it uses Sanskrit words such as "Aikavartana=One

Turn, Teravartana=Three Turns, Panchavartana=Five Turns,

Sattavartana=Seven Turns."

 

Excavations in El-Amarna in Egypt have yeilded the fact that about

the middle of the 2nd millennium B.C., Kings and Princes with

typical Vedic names were ruling in the region of modern day Syria.

Some of the names are Artamanya, Aryavirya, Yashodatta and Suttarna.

 

>From Mitannian proper names such as Shuwardatta one can also infer

the presence of the Vedic Sun God Surya in the Mitanni pantheon.

Surya was also worshiped by the Vedic Aryan Kings of Babylon, the

Kassites, by the name of Suryash.

 

According to ancient records, 3400 years ago,Egyptian Emperor

Menkheperura or Thutmose the IV, married a daughter of King Artatma.

Artatma was the King of the Vedic Mittani Kingdom, situated in the

Upper Euphrates river area. As mentioned before, the Mittani are

universally recognized as Sanskrit speakers and followers of Vedic

Dharma and Culture. This is evidenced in the various ancient tablets

etc. that have been found by archeologists.

 

We know from a letter addressed by Dushratta, king of Mitanni-

Artatama's grandson,-written to Akhnaton,that six times had Thotmose

the Fourth made his request, but all in vain. Mitanni was a small

kingdom; nothing to be compared with the mighty Egyptian Empire.

Some suggest concerns about the Egyptian King's lack of Vedic

culture was the basis for King Artatama's repeated refusal to give

his daughter in marriage to the most powerful monarch of his

times.Not until the seventh asking, did King Artatma agree to the

marriage proposal.The Ancient records state, "after the seventh

asking,the king of Mitanni gave his daughter to the king of Egypt."

 

The new Queen outwardly forsook her Vedic/Sanskrit name and adopted

an Egyptian one, more in keeping with her new position- Mutemuya,

or "Mut in the sacred bark"-and is styled upon the monuments

as "hereditary princess, Great Lady, presiding over the South and

over the North." Of her personality and actual influence nothing is

known. It can only be surmised that she would, in her new home, feel

herself drawn to Vedic dieties such as the Sun-God Surya,which the

Greeks were one day to call Heliopolis-to Ra- Horakhti of the Two

Horizons.The Egyptian's called the Sun-God Atem or Aton. Most

probably, she could relate to the fiery Disk of Aton,-much like her

native Aryan gods Mithra and Surya, rather than replace their

worship with the exalted Amon, the tribal god of Thebes. Her real,

undeniable contribution to the further history of Egypt (and of

religious thought) lies however in the fact that she gave birth to

King Amenhotep the Third or Amenhotep the Magnificent.

 

Amenhotep the Third, married one of the most remarkable feminine

characters of Antiquity, Tiy, daughter of Yuaa and of Tuau, or Tuaa.

Although Yuaa was a priest of the age-old Egyptian fertility-god,

Min, he was a foreigner "from North Syria" or, to be more precise,

from the Vedic Mitanni Kingdom.During this time in Egyptian history,

the ruling aristocracy of Egypt,including the king, were of mixed

Egyptian and Mittani ancestry. Sir Flinders Petrie holds Yuaa to

have been one of those numerous allied or vassal princes that were

then brought up at the Egyptian Court.

 

Scholars are not sure whether Queen Tiy's mother, Tuau or Tuaa, who,

according to most scholars, was of royal descent, was a full-

blooded Egyptian or partly or wholly Mitannian inspite of her

Egyptian name. In a letter sent by Dushratta, king of Mitanni, to

Akhnaton, Tiy is called my sister, which would indicate that she

herself was, through one of her parents at least, if not through

both, was of royal Mitannian blood.

 

Not enough has been written about the probable Vedic influence of

the many Mitannians who lived at the Egyptian Court. In particular,

not enough is publicly known about the influence of the Vedic

Mittani in Amenhotep the Third's "house of women"-upon the education

of the young prince who was to ascend the throne as Amenhotep the

Fourth. He has become immortal under the name of Akhnaton, the well

known father of King Tutankamen.

 

What has been virtually ignored are the deep Vedic roots of

Akhnaton. On his Father's side, his Grandmother was Mittani, and his

Father was half Mittani. On his mother's side, his Grandfather was

Mittani, his Grandmother at least half Mittani and his own Mother

was half or maybe a full blooded Mittani. Since there is no doubt as

to the Vedic/Aryan identity of the Mittani, we can be confidant of

the fact that Akhnaton was strongly influenced by Vedic Culture.

This explains the many similarities between his religion of the Sun

and Vedic Spirituality.

 

His devotion to One Supreme Godhead has also been recognized to have

impacted Moses and the religion of Judaism and Christianity. What is

not very well known, is the Vedic Basis and nature of Akhnaton's

philosophy and religion.This is another very important link between

Vedic Culture, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

 

Akhnaton was born in the beautiful Charuk palace, in Thebes, in or

shortly after1395 B.C.,-(some scholars place his birth a few years

later.)At the young age of 12, Akhnaton was crowned King of Egypt.

Records show that in the beginning, he merely reigned, while his

Mitanni Mother, Queen Tiy, governed.The King of the Mitanni, King

Dashratha (Dushratta),writing to congratulate him on his accession,

addresses himself to Queen Tiy, not to Akhnaton directly. Even in

later letters of this period, Dashratha writes to Akhnaton advising

him to"refer to his mother" about important matters.

 

The evidence proving the Vedic influence-via the Mitanni- on

Akhnaton is beyond questioning. In fact, not only were a majority of

his relatives Mitanni, his wife was also a Mitanni princess, the

daughter of King Dashratta, the famous Nefertiti. It is a well known

fact that she, along with Akhnaton, were acting in the role of High

Priest and Preistess in the religion of Aton. It has erroneously

been stated that Aton's worship was"invented" by pharaoh Amenhotep

IV/ Akhenaten. However, beginning with Akhenaten's father, Amenhotep

III, Aten enjoyed a higher level of worship.

 

At the age of eighteen years, he came into complete power of the

Kingdom. It was at this time that he proclaimed his faith in One God-

The Sun, which he designated by the name of Aton, ie. The Disk or

Fiery Orb. He publicly proclaimed his faith in Aton, as the God of

Gods. Some have claimed that as a Sun worshipper, Akhnaton was more

of an Animist Nature worshiper rather than a devotee of a Supreme

Godhead. However Akhnaton's own words confirm that this is not the

case. Akhnaton spoke of the Sun disk as being the Eye of Aton and a

representative of Aton's Power. In the Bhagavad Gita, the Sun is

described as one of the unlimited eyes of God's Universal Form. In

the Brahma-Samhita the Sun is also described as the Eye of

God.Akhnaton's reverance of the Sun is properly understood in this

context.

 

The symbol of Aton, as presented by Akhnaton, was an image of the

Sun Disc with many sunrays extending out, ending in hands, in a kind

of triangle shape. Some scholars have also pointed out that the

shape of the Pyramids represents the Sun's beams shining down to

Earth, in a triangle shape, with the top being the Source and

spreading out ever wider as it reaches the Earth.

 

The similarity between Akhnaton's Aton and Surya is indeed striking.

The Sanskrit description of the Divine source of light corresponds

perfectly with the picture of Aton given in the Egyptian King's

hymns.

 

"As the Vivifier and Quickener, He raises His long arms of gold in

the morning, rouses all beings from their slumber, infuses energy

into them, and buries them in sleep in the evening."(From a Vedic

prayer to Sun God.) This description also fits perfectly with the

carvings of Aton as the Solar disc extending its golden arms to the

Earth. Archeologists have confirmed that all these images and

engravings were covered in gold at one time.

 

Also according to Akhnaton, Aton as the Supreme Godhead, was imbued

with both the male and female principles. He says to Aton,"Father

and Mother of all that You have made." This paralels with the Vedic

terms for the Sun,Savita(male) and Savitri(female)or the Sun and the

Sun's energy.

 

Akhnaton's Hymn to Aton also shows a remarkable scientific

understanding of the Sun's role in the functioning of life on the

planet as a whole. Some see his religion as " a philosophic and

scientific revolt against religion," rather than a new religion. One

scholar, H.R.Hall sees Akhnaton as "History's first scientific

mind," due to his scientific understanding of the Sun and its

relation with the organic world. However, those versed in Vedic

Spirituality know that true religion is based on scientific

principles of reality. As a follower of Vedic Dharma, Akhnaton was

aware of this and many other scientific and spiritual facts.

 

Accompanying Akhnaton's name in every inscription of his reign,

apart from the early ones, is the term "Ankh-em-Maat" or "Living in

Truth." In a tomb of one of his followers an inscription was

found, "The King has put the truth into me, and to lie is an

abomination." (From the tomb of a courtier named Ay.) As we know

Satya, or Truth, is also one of the main points in Vedic culture. To

this very day the motto of India/Bharat is "Satyam Eva Jayate."

 

I see it as a powerful affirmation of the truth, that the most

spectacular and famous find in Egyptian history was the discovery of

the tomb of Akhnaton's son, Tutankhamon. The Universe has a

wonderful way of bringing Truth and Justice to light. After

Akhnaton's death, the priests of Amon, did their best to obliterate

the memory of Akhnaton and his religion of Aton. All his monuments

and inscriptions were torn down and the stones were all reused.

However this very act of desecration is the very thing that has

preserved Akhnaton's story for thousands of years.

 

When all of his inscriptions and carvings were reused, they were

hidden away from not only the eyes of the Egyptian people, but also

from the erosive effects of the environment. The newly carved

inscriptions and carvings of his enemies soon withered away under

the effects of the sun, wind and rain.

 

Another important point to remember, is that modern scholars, though

able to understand Egyptian hieroglyphics, they are only guessing at

the pronunciation. They have no way to ascertain the vowel sounds as

spoken by the ancient Egyptians. Thus we come across such a variety

of spellings of terms like Ra or Re, Ikhnaton, Akhnaton, Akhnaten,

Aten, Aton, Yiten etc. The fact is, it was only through the

discovery of the Rosetta stone,that scholars were able to finally

understand the hieroglyphics. They were able to compare them with

the other two known languages on the stone. IF ONLY THE SCHOLARLY

WORLD COULD UNDERSTAND AND ACCEPT THAT THE VEDIC RECORD IS THE

ROSSETA STONE TO ALL THE MYSTERIES OF HISTORY, SCIENCE AND CULTURE,

HUMANITIES IGNORANCE OF ITS OWN PAST WOULD BE LIFTED.