From the Caves and Jungles of HindostanBlavatsky, H. P. (Helena Petrovna)
Religion
From the Caves and Jungles of Hindostan
Blavatsky, H. P. (Helena Petrovna)
Blavatsky, H. P. (Helena Petrovna), 1831-1891; India -- Description and travel; India -- Religion
Concerning the word Patala, which literally means the opposite side,
a recent discovery of Swami Dayanand Saraswati, whom I have already
mentioned in the preceding letters, is interesting, especially if this
discovery can be accepted by philologists, as the facts seem to promise.
Dayanand tries to show that the ancient Aryans knew, and even visited,
America, which in ancient MSS. is called Patala, and out of which
popular fancy constructed, in the course of time, something like the
Greek Hades. He supports his theory by many quotations from the oldest
MSS., especially from the legends about Krishna and his favourite
disciple Arjuna. In the history of the latter it is mentioned that
Arjuna, one of the five Pandavas, descendants of the moon dynasty,
visited Patala on his travels, and there married the widowed daughter of
King Nagual, called Illupl. Comparing the names of father and daughter
we reach the following considerations, which speak strongly in favour of
Dayanand's supposition.
(1) Nagual is the name by which the sorcerers of Mexico, Indians and
aborigines of America, are still designated. Like the Assyrian and
Chaldean Nargals, chiefs of the Magi, the Mexican Nagual unites in his
person the functions of priest and of sorcerer, being served in the
latter capacity by a demon in the shape of some animal, generally a
snake or a crocodile. These Naguals are thought to be the descendants
of Nagua, the king of the snakes. Abbe Brasseur de Bourbourg devotes a
considerable amount of space to them in his book about Mexico, and says
that the Naguals are servants of the evil one, who, in his turn, renders
them but a temporary service. In Sanskrit, likewise, snake is Naga,
and the "King of the Nagas" plays an important part in the history of
Buddha; and in the Puranas there exists a tradition that it was Arjuna
who introduced snake worship into Patala. The coincidence, and the
identity of the names are so striking that our scientists really ought
to pay some attention to them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account