11.18.08
Posted in Academic Council, Cultural Council, NEWS FROM INDIA at 9:24 am by YUDHISTRA
Express Buzz [India], 15 Nov 2008
Andhras flourished during the time of Chandragupta Maurya much before
the advent of the Satavahanas, and were said to be as powerful as
Mauryans. They had 30 fortified walled cities way back in 300 BC, wrote
the Greek traveller Megasthenes in his Indika. In what could be an
exciting discovery, the State Department of Archaeology and Museums has
identified five of those 30 walled cities. The Department has found
physical evidence proving Megasthenes right and by the same token ––
throwing light on the existence of Andhras and Telugu language before
the Satavahana period.
The study is part of a project taken up to find the 30 walled cities
mentioned by the Greek traveller and historian in his travelogue.
“Though the Andhras were mentioned in books dating back to 1,000 BC, we
have physical evidence like coins and pottery only from the Satavahana
period (200 BC – 200 AD). Our research based on Indika of Megasthenes
strengthens the theory that the Andhras existed before the Satavahanas.
Excavation of these sites will provide more physical evidence on
history, administration, language, customs and traditions of our
ancestors,” said P Chenna Reddy, Director of Archaeology and Museums
Department.
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10.17.08
Posted in Academic Council, NEWS FROM INDIA at 10:18 am by YUDHISTRA
MUMBAI, October 15 : Archaeo-astronomica l research project also seeks to fill gaps between Vedic period and Harappa civilization
In a first, a team of four from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) has undertaken an archaeo-astronomica l project that will study India’s ancient Indus Valley Civilisation sites from a purely astronomical perspective.
Having just visited Dholavira in Kutch, Gujarat, to see if there were any indications of the use of astronomy by earlier civilizations, the team will also try to fill in the gaps between the Vedic period and the Harappan civilization.
Dholavira is the third largest archaeological site in India, and the fifth largest in the subcontinent.
“We are exploring possible astronomical roots in these areas. For example, astronomy would be required in order to calculate the farming and cultivation routines, and this would require detailed and continuous observations, ” says professor Mayank Vahia, who is a professor in the department of astronomy and astrophysics at TIFR.
The research project is funded by the Tata Trust and the Centre for Basic Sciences (CBS). Having been launched in January 2006, the project is a collaborative effort with the University of Washington, Seattle; Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai; and the Indus Research Centre in Chennai.
Vahia says that most people are not aware of the subtleties of the astronomical system, and, if tapped into, it can open a completely new window to the prehistoric world, tracing ancestors by using astronomy as a window. “Some of the streets have been aligned in certain ways so as to suggest that some astronomical calculations may have been used for the geographical layout,” says Vahia, also pointing out that the Harappan culture was one of the most advanced at the time.
The team also plans to do a cultural simulation to see how the mentalities of the civilisation evolved, research that will also help fill in the gaps in the archaeological data. “They must have used some amount of astronomy when it came to seasons and crops. The simulations will help us see how astronomy grew and evolved along with the civilization, ” says Kavita Gangal, a project assistant with the team.
Another area of research the team is venturing into is to decipher scripts found at the Dholavira site, comparing them with other sites of the Indus Valley Civilization. “The texts are very brief, and we have not found any large passages, which makes it more challenging to decipher these scripts,” says research scholar and team-member Nisha Yadav.
The team is also hoping to find astronomical references in Vedic literature using the Sanskrit language. “Most of the Sanskrit literature has myths about cosmic bodies and studying these in the Puranas and the Vedas can help us come up with facts for the archaeo-astronomy project,” said Bhagyashree Tarde, project assistant and the Sanskrit expert on the team.
http://www.indianex press.com/ news/TIFR- team-studying- if-Indus- Valley-civilisat ion-understood- the-stars/ 374043
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10.13.08
Posted in Academic Council, Cultural Council, Media Council, NEWS FROM INDIA, THE SANGAM FOUNDATION at 8:46 am by YUDHISTRA
Gujarat State Archaeological Department has discovered a small size Buddhist monastery in Gujarat’s Vadnagar, which dates back to 1,900 years.
According to a report in Desh Gujarat, the walls of the discovered monastery were built using bricks.
The 55 by 55 ft size monastery had a total of 12 cells for residual purpose of monks, with its entrance on the Northern direction.
“This Buddhist monastery probably belongs to 2nd to 4th century era. It was probably in use for 300 years,” said Gujarat State Archaeology Superintendent Dr. Yadubirsingh Rawat.
“After two years of excavation, first we unearthed the monastery structure. For a brief time, it remained a mysterious structure for us as we couldn’t figure out it’s motive. After some research, observations and studies, we have confirmed that this was a Buddhist monastery,” he added.
Decades back in Gujarat, when double size Devni Mori Buddhist monastery was discovered, a similar lay-out plane was found there.
Devni Mori Buddhist monastery also had northern side entrance, South-Western drain, open plot in centre and 29 cells for monks around the central plot.
In the course of two years of excavation, so far more than 2000 pieces of Archaeological importance have been found from Ghaskol Darwaja excavation site in Vadnagar.
The findings include a 2000 year old house, numerous clay utensils, silver coins, beads, ornaments, Roman style head sculpture, turbaned face clay plaque, votive tablet, head sculpture, plaque sculpture depicting Buddha, and parts of vessel on which Buddhism related words are written in Brahmi script.
Chinese traveler Hieun Tsanghad visited Vadnagar between 640 to 644 A.D. and documented presence of 1,000 Buddhist monks and 10 Buddhist monasteries in and around Vadnagar town known as Anandpur in that era.
http://timesofindia .indiatimes. com/articleshow/ msid-3589123, prtpage-1. cms
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Posted in Academic Council, Cultural Council, Media Council, NEWS FROM INDIA, Scientific Council at 8:10 am by YUDHISTRA
http://timesofindia .indiatimes. com/articleshow/ msid-3589123, prtpage-1. cms
Gujarat State Archaeological Department has discovered a small size Buddhist monastery in Gujarat’s Vadnagar, which dates back to 1,900 years.
According to a report in Desh Gujarat, the walls of the discovered monastery were built using bricks.
The 55 by 55 ft size monastery had a total of 12 cells for residual purpose of monks, with its entrance on the Northern direction.
“This Buddhist monastery probably belongs to 2nd to 4th century era. It was probably in use for 300 years,” said Gujarat State Archaeology Superintendent Dr. Yadubirsingh Rawat.
“After two years of excavation, first we unearthed the monastery structure. For a brief time, it remained a mysterious structure for us as we couldn’t figure out it’s motive. After some research, observations and studies, we have confirmed that this was a Buddhist monastery,” he added.
Decades back in Gujarat, when double size Devni Mori Buddhist monastery was discovered, a similar lay-out plane was found there.
Devni Mori Buddhist monastery also had northern side entrance, South-Western drain, open plot in centre and 29 cells for monks around the central plot.
In the course of two years of excavation, so far more than 2000 pieces of Archaeological importance have been found from Ghaskol Darwaja excavation site in Vadnagar.
The findings include a 2000 year old house, numerous clay utensils, silver coins, beads, ornaments, Roman style head sculpture, turbaned face clay plaque, votive tablet, head sculpture, plaque sculpture depicting Buddha, and parts of vessel on which Buddhism related words are written in Brahmi script.
Chinese traveler Hieun Tsanghad visited Vadnagar between 640 to 644 A.D. and documented presence of 1,000 Buddhist monks and 10 Buddhist monasteries in and around Vadnagar town known as Anandpur in that era.
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10.11.08
Posted in Academic Council, Scientific Council, THE SANGAM FOUNDATION at 7:34 am by YUDHISTRA
Scientific heritage of India—Mathematics.
The fountain-head of scientific enquiries in India was the Vedic lore—considered to be the repository of all knowledge. The branches of studies like medicine, music, engineering, architecture, rituals, astronomy, mathematics, military science etc originated from Vedas, Upanisads and Vedangas. The rhishis were the real scientists of yore. Dhanur veda relating to archery and gandharva-veda related to the study of music. They were called Upa-Vedas. Music developed from Sama Veda which depended on swaras. The study of engineering, construction of buildings, architecture etc came from sulva sutras which related to the construction of altars for performing vedic rituals.
In the Sanskrit lore all the branches of study were mixed., history with tradition , science with meta-physics, everything with poetry. Medical science was called Ayurveda—the author was Susruta– Surgical operations were performed after administering summohini- which made the patient insensitive to pain. Botany and veterinary science owe their development to Ayurveda. Botany is the study of herbal medicine in Ayurveda. Veterinary science was also in a developed stage because we come across references relating to the injured horses and elephants which were serving in military operations. Chemical science developed from medicine and industry. Nagarjuna of 2nd century A,D devoted a whole book to the study of mercury. King Porus presented to Alexander as a special gift, not gold or silver, but thirty pounds of steel. Kanada, (6th century B.C.) nicknamed atom-eater –had developed an atomic theory wherein he taught that the minute particles of all substances are of the same kind—differences are the results of diverse modes of combination.
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09.15.08
Posted in Academic Council, Media Council, NEWS FROM INDIA at 10:02 am by YUDHISTRA
http://in.news.yahoo.com/139/20080915/808/tnl-andhra-medical-student-shot-dead-in.html
Mon, Sep 15 03:05 PM
Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh), Sept 15 (ANI): A medical student from Adilabad District of Andhra Pradesh was shot dead by an unidentified person in Chicago in the United States.
Soumya Reddy, who is a native of Muniyal village in Nirmal mandal of the district, was killed on Sunday said the Adilabad District Superintendent of Police, Anil Kumar.
Kumar said that they got information about the incident last night and the police are collecting details of the family of the victim.
Reddy had gone to the US to pursue an MS degree after completing his MBBS in Andhra Pradesh.
Since December last year, he is the fourth student from Andhra Pradesh to be killed in the US.
Earlier in March, A Srinivas, a post-graduate medical student from Karimnagar was killed, A Kirankumar and K Chandrasekhar Reddy, both PhD students, were shot dead at Louisiana University in December 2007.
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