Ancient Indian History

Sindoor (vermilion) is a red, orange or ochre colored cosmetic powder used by mainly married women of Indian subcontinent. It is made from cinnabar (a naturally occurring form of mercury sulfide), turmeric and lime.  Image courtesy: Flickr Significance of Applying Sindoor by Indian Women- Image courtesy: Flickr Sindoor has a lot of importance in Indian culture. There is a tradition of applying sindoor on parting of hairs by married Hindu women. It is considered very auspicious and applied for long life of their husbands. Traditionally, the unmarried women and widows do not apply sindoor. A woman's  bindi may also be made from sindoor.  Mythology- Sindoor is symbolized as energy of goddess Parwati, the wife of god Shiva. The Indian women believe that the goddess Parwati protects all those men whose wives apply sindoor on their forehead.  Historicity of Applying Sindoor as Cosmetic- The practice of cosmetics is believed to have or...

On the day of Mahashivratri, I thought to write about Adideva, the oldest diety. The earliest evidence of Lord Shiva is found in the form of 'Pashupati seal of Mohenjo-daro.' Lord Shiva Excavation of Pashupati Seal- This seal was found during 1928-29 in Block 1, southern portion of the DK-G area of Mohenjo-daro, near the famous great bath. Mohenjo-daro is a well known center of Indus valley civilization. The seal was numbered 420 by Ernest J. H. Mackey and dated it around 2350-2000 BCE, the intermediate period of Indus valley civilization. At present time this seal can be seen at National Museum, New Delhi.  Image courtesy: Wikipedia Features of Pashupati seal- The size of the seal is 3.56 cm× 3.53 cm× 0.76 cm and is made of steatite (soapstone), a magnesium rich mineral talk, which is decay resistant and soft to carve. To make the stone seals, the stone was sawed and shaped with knives, and then carved using fine chisels and drills. After that t...

The Vedic Aryan Head - In 1990, the scholars of Indian history were thrilled with an article published in the Journal of Indo European Studies ( vol18, page 425-446 ). The article was "Analysis of an Indo-Europian Vedic  Aryan Head- 4500-2500 BC" by Hicks and Anderson. Image courtesy: Ramani's blog  This antique Aryan head was recovered in  New Delhi by Dr. P Anderson from a scrap dealer in 1958. There was tilak markings on the brow and handlebar moustaches on this copper based Aryan's head. The hair was styled in a manner described for Rigvedic  Vashishtha - coiled with a tuft to the right. Tests for dating of the artifact were performed by three different universities using different techniques. MASCA corrected carbon dating produced a date centered around 3700 BC +,- 800 years. Anderson claimed that the carbon dating was done by very advanced technique in Zurich by Laboratory for Nuclear Science at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. Datin...