Guest guest Posted June 1, 2008 Report Share Posted June 1, 2008 The Andhras are one of the most prachina Jati (ancient community) in the world. They are variously called as Andhras, Andhra bhrityus, Telugus, while several other names refer to the sub communities among Telugus. Some ascribe that the ancestor of Andhras is Andhaka but this does not have any evidence, including the liturgical or traditional . Some say Andhras have migrated from river Andri in Maharashtra. However, this is also does not seem to be possible. The puranas identify them as one of the six communities given rise to by Vedic Seer Dirgha tamas from Sudheshna, the queen of exiled king Bali. They are said to have occupied the coastal area, now called kosta Andhra or coastal Andhra, comprising of some districts from Andhra Pradesh. From here, they must have expanded gradually to west and north , occupying not only interior of Deccan but also various other areas inclusive of north of Vindhyas and even unto Burma. For example, Vanaras, described in Ramayana are said to be a primitive Andhra tribe. They have the totem of monkeys worshipping hills. (Notice how most of the names of the Vanaras are sanskritized to denote the Sanskrit names of the hills). Hanuman's parents, for example lived on the banks of Andri river near Nasik. Thus, vanaras also called andhras must have given their name to Andri rather than other way round. It will be interesting to know that another Andri river is found in Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh, though it is called Handri, with a tinge of Kannada. Liturgically, reference to Andhras first occurs in Aitereya Brahmana. Maha bharata also refers to Andhras, who fought on the side of Kauravas and later, were subjugated by Pandavas. Kamsa's vassal Canura was an Andhra king, ruling the kingdom of Karoosa on the northern banks of Yamuna. The present Adoni near Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh extending its kingdom into Karnataka, was a kingdom mentioned in Mahabharata. The kingdom of Kishkindha, that of Vanaras in Ramayana, is identified with the borders of Andhra and Karnataka, comprising of Hampi and Anantpur districts. There is a place called Vali's pyre near Hampi. ..Serivanija Jataka says that Buddhists lived in Andhapura on the banks of the river Telivaha. This suggests that the language spoken by Andhakas could have been called the language of the people of Teli river area - telugu. Telivaha river is another name for Godavari. Historically, Megasthenes, the Greek ambassador to the court of Chandragupta Maurya (4c-5c BC) described Andhra as a great power. According to Magasthenes, the Andhras possessed numerous villages, 30 fortified towns and an army of 1,00,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry and 1,000 elephants. the Asokan edict of Erragudi (Kurnool dt.) mentions Andhras along with Rathikas, Pulindas, Bhojas, and Pitenikas of Deccan as followers of Dhamma (Buddhism). Pliny (77 AD) followed Megasthenes and repeated the same Ptolemys' accounts and the ananymous author's the periplus of the Erythrean Sea' shed light on the ports, trade routes, markets and various items of trade, of Andhra during those times. Great law givers like Bharadwaja, Apastamba. Boudhyana, Katyayana and Canakya were Andhrites, as was Nagarjuna, the great Buddhist alchemist. Burma has a community of people called Telaings. They are believed to have come from Telingaana in India in the 4c. BC. The earliest Telaing alphabet is identical to the Vengi alphabet of the 4c.AD. The earliest settlers are believed to have embarked at Amaravathi in Andhra and landed at the port of Martaban in the Thaton region. Among the two Chinese travellers who visited India in the 5th and 7th centuries A.D., Fahien, though did not visit the south, referred in his account to Andhra Parvata Vihara about which he heard. The other Chinese traveller Hieun Tsang came to the South and toured the coastal Andhra as well in the first half of the 7th century A.D. He left us a vivid account of the religious customs and ways of the life of the people. The reference to the Nanda king in Kharavela's inscription (Hathi Gumpha) to his carrying away to Magadha a Jina statue as a trophy from Kalinga and the existence of Nanded (Nau Nanda Dehra) on the Godavari testify that a large portion of the Deccan formed part of the Nanda empire. Commercially also the South began to grow in importance for the sake of its diamond and gold mines, peart and chank fisheries and numerous opulent marts'. (Kautilya). Language wise, Telugu was one of the earliest languages. It was called pisaci after the unkempt disciples of Dakshina moorthy, a great teacher believed to be the Avatar of Siva, from Mahendra giri (modern Sri kakulam district in northern Andhra Pradesh) Hanuman was said to have written the first commentary on Bhagavad gita in pisaci language. Gunadhya, a poet from the Andhra king Hala has written the much acclaimed Brhat katha, which was retold as many famous compendiums of fables such as Katha saritsagara (of Soma deva , a poet in the court of Ananta, king of Kashmir) and Brhtakatha manjari by Ksemendra, again of Kashmir. It was translated into Tamil as Perunkathai. There are also many other prakrit texts such as Gatha sapta sati by Hala which have used Telugu words. There are several reasons to identify pisaci as the forerunner of Telugu. First and foremost, Gunadhya who is an obviously Telugu man, promises not to write in Sanskrit any more as he lost a bet with his colleague. Hence, he proceeds to write the great Brhtkatha in his mother tongue. However, this mother tongue is identified as Pisaca language. Thus, pisaca could not have been anything other than Telugu or Andhra language. The other reasons are detailed below " : a) The language Paisaci has emerged in Andhra area b) Paisaci was said to be a very sweet language. When Gunadhya was singing the songs from his Brhtkadha, the animals of the forest were said to have gathered listening to him. Even the animals have forgotten food and water in the process, since the language was so very sweet. Traditionally, Telugu is acclaimed as a very sweet language c) All the known works of Paisaci are written by Telugu people-both Hanuman and Gunadhya are Andhrites d) As mentioned above, Paisaci is claimed as a forerunner of both Dardic languages as well as Dravidian languages. That is to say, it has characteristics of both Dardic language as well as Dravidian languages. Telugu also has the same kind of characteristics. This clearly shows that Telugu was a very old language. The word Andhra was variously referred as kingdom, community and language (sometime in 1053 CE in the Nandampudi inscription) The words Telugu and Andhra were used simultaneously to refer to one language by Mulaghatika Ketana (13c AD) in his Andhrabhashabhushanamu --- End forwarded message --- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 1, 2008 Report Share Posted June 1, 2008 Wherever there is a history of sea-farers in the past,automatically,migrations have occured.After this understanding is firmly rooted,then it becomes a skill of arguing,as to who migrated from where to where,and never will anyone be able to judge it as " truth " .Because,whats happened just five years back itself,people fight over happenings,what to think of 200000000000000000x10 exp 100000000000000000000000000000000000000 years back? sb , " Kishore patnaik " <kishorepatnaik09 wrote: > > > > The Andhras are one of the most prachina Jati (ancient community) > in the world. They are variously called as Andhras, Andhra > bhrityus, Telugus, while several other names refer to the sub > communities among Telugus. > > Some ascribe that the ancestor of Andhras is Andhaka but this does > not have any evidence, including the liturgical or traditional . > Some say Andhras have migrated from river Andri in Maharashtra. > However, this is also does not seem to be possible. > > The puranas identify them as one of the six communities given rise > to by Vedic Seer Dirgha tamas from Sudheshna, the queen of exiled > king Bali. They are said to have occupied the coastal area, now > called kosta Andhra or coastal Andhra, comprising of some districts > from Andhra Pradesh. > > From here, they must have expanded gradually to west and north , > occupying not only interior of Deccan but also various other areas > inclusive of north of Vindhyas and even unto Burma. > > For example, Vanaras, described in Ramayana are said to be a > primitive Andhra tribe. They have the totem of monkeys worshipping > hills. (Notice how most of the names of the Vanaras are sanskritized > to denote the Sanskrit names of the hills). Hanuman's parents, for > example lived on the banks of Andri river near Nasik. Thus, vanaras > also called andhras must have given their name to Andri rather than > other way round. It will be interesting to know that another Andri > river is found in Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh, though it is > called Handri, with a tinge of Kannada. > > Liturgically, reference to Andhras first occurs in Aitereya > Brahmana. Maha bharata also refers to Andhras, who fought on the > side of Kauravas and later, were subjugated by Pandavas. > > Kamsa's vassal Canura was an Andhra king, ruling the kingdom of > Karoosa on the northern banks of Yamuna. The present Adoni near > Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh extending its kingdom into Karnataka, was a > kingdom mentioned in Mahabharata. > > The kingdom of Kishkindha, that of Vanaras in Ramayana, is > identified with the borders of Andhra and Karnataka, comprising of > Hampi and Anantpur districts. There is a place called Vali's pyre > near Hampi. > > .Serivanija Jataka says that Buddhists lived in Andhapura on the > banks of the river Telivaha. This suggests that the language spoken > by Andhakas could have been called the language of the people of > Teli river > area - telugu. Telivaha river is another name for Godavari. > > Historically, Megasthenes, the Greek ambassador to the court of > Chandragupta Maurya (4c-5c BC) > described Andhra as a great power. According to Magasthenes, the > Andhras possessed numerous villages, 30 fortified towns and an army > of 1,00,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry and 1,000 elephants. the Asokan > edict of Erragudi (Kurnool dt.) mentions Andhras along with > Rathikas, Pulindas, Bhojas, and Pitenikas of Deccan as followers of > Dhamma (Buddhism). > > Pliny (77 AD) followed Megasthenes and repeated the same Ptolemys' > accounts and the ananymous author's the periplus of the Erythrean > Sea' shed light on the ports, trade routes, markets and various > items of trade, of Andhra during those times. > > Great law givers like Bharadwaja, Apastamba. Boudhyana, Katyayana > and Canakya were Andhrites, as was Nagarjuna, the great Buddhist > alchemist. > > Burma has a community of people called Telaings. They are believed > to have come from Telingaana in India in the 4c. BC. The earliest > Telaing alphabet > is identical to the Vengi alphabet of the 4c.AD. The earliest > settlers > are believed to have embarked at Amaravathi in Andhra and landed at > the > port of Martaban in the Thaton region. > > Among the two Chinese travellers who visited India in the 5th and > 7th centuries A.D., Fahien, though did not visit the south, referred > in his account to Andhra Parvata Vihara about which he heard. The > other Chinese traveller Hieun Tsang came to the South and toured the > coastal Andhra as well in the first half of the 7th century A.D. He > left us a vivid account of the religious customs and ways of the > life of the people. > The reference to the Nanda king in Kharavela's inscription (Hathi > Gumpha) to his carrying away to Magadha a Jina statue as a trophy > from Kalinga and the existence of Nanded (Nau Nanda Dehra) on the > Godavari testify that a large portion of the Deccan formed part of > the Nanda empire. Commercially also the South began to grow in > importance for the sake of its diamond and gold mines, peart and > chank fisheries and numerous opulent marts'. (Kautilya). > > Language wise, Telugu was one of the earliest languages. It was > called pisaci after the unkempt disciples of Dakshina moorthy, a > great teacher believed to be the Avatar of Siva, from Mahendra giri > (modern Sri kakulam district in northern Andhra Pradesh) > Hanuman was said to have written the first commentary on Bhagavad > gita in pisaci language. Gunadhya, a poet from the Andhra king Hala > has written the much acclaimed Brhat katha, which was retold as > many famous compendiums of fables such as Katha saritsagara (of Soma > deva , a poet in the court of Ananta, king of Kashmir) and > Brhtakatha manjari by Ksemendra, again of Kashmir. It was translated > into Tamil as Perunkathai. There are also many other prakrit texts > such as Gatha sapta sati by Hala which have used Telugu words. > > There are several reasons to identify pisaci as the forerunner of > Telugu. First and foremost, Gunadhya who is an obviously Telugu > man, promises not to write in Sanskrit any more as he lost a bet > with his colleague. Hence, he proceeds to write the great Brhtkatha > in his mother tongue. However, this mother tongue is identified as > Pisaca language. Thus, pisaca could not have been anything other > than Telugu or Andhra language. The other reasons are detailed > below " : > > a) The language Paisaci has emerged in Andhra area > b) Paisaci was said to be a very sweet language. When Gunadhya was > singing the songs from his Brhtkadha, the animals of the forest were > said to have gathered listening to him. Even the animals have > forgotten food and water in the process, since the language was so > very sweet. Traditionally, Telugu is acclaimed as a very sweet > language > > c) All the known works of Paisaci are written by Telugu people-both > Hanuman and Gunadhya are Andhrites > > d) As mentioned above, Paisaci is claimed as a forerunner of both > Dardic languages as well as Dravidian languages. That is to say, it > has characteristics of both Dardic language as well as Dravidian > languages. Telugu also has the same kind of characteristics. > > > This clearly shows that Telugu was a very old language. The word > Andhra was variously referred as kingdom, community and language > (sometime in 1053 CE in the Nandampudi inscription) The words > Telugu and Andhra were used simultaneously to refer to one language > by Mulaghatika Ketana (13c AD) in his Andhrabhashabhushanamu > > --- End forwarded message --- > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 10, 2008 Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 Hi sb, on an absolute level what you say is refreshing and correct, but seeking the answer to life’s big puzzles is something that man finds hard to leave alone. It also can have important consequences in relation to how we live and relate to others. If a westerner believes the highest aspects of India’s culture came by way of white Aryan hordes invading the country in its early beginnings, then he can feel superior in the knowledge that Culture has its source in the West and that India is really a 3rd world backwater. If he can be shown that civilization or Culture may have originated in India he might be forced to adjust his superior attitude towards Indians and their culture. What we believe about existence can have a profound affect on how we relate to life, so seeking answers to life’s big puzzles can really affect our happiness and wellbeing. A man who believes he and every other being on the planet are descended from an ape like creature may have a different attitude towards fellow humans than a man who believes everyone and everything was created by a supra-physical being. I believe if we feel possessed enough to do so it is our responsibility to keep trying to determine what is true and what is false and free ourselves from ignorance; which in a way is what you are doing in making the below statement. Bruce On 2/6/08 3:25 AM, " sureshbalaraman " <sureshbalaraman wrote: Wherever there is a history of sea-farers in the past,automatically,migrations have occured.After this understanding is firmly rooted,then it becomes a skill of arguing,as to who migrated from where to where,and never will anyone be able to judge it as " truth " .Because,whats happened just five years back itself,people fight over happenings,what to think of 200000000000000000x10 exp 100000000000000000000000000000000000000 years back? sb .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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