HANNIBAL THE MIGHTY CARTHAGINIAN COMMANDER.

The world had some extraordinary generals who by their thinking had made a great difference to the history of the world. Hannibal is one such.

His life also shows how brutal and uncertain life was in those times. In one battle a Roman army of 86000 was sent against him. In that Hannibal's army slaughtered 55000 Romans and took 19000 as prisoner in a single day. How terrible it is for Rome to lose so many men in a single day and what would have been the grief of those numerous families. War is a dirty game but it could not be avoided in the olden times and more often the circumstances were compelling.

 The Roman army was then known as a mighty fighting force yet it had to meekly bow down to this mighty general.

 But to its credit it never gave up and fought back till he is finally defeated much later and that is  great fighting spirit. Down but never out. 

There are a few men in the world who have changed history of our times. The Carthaginian general Hannibal (247-181 BC) was one of them. That makes him a contemporary of King Asoka who ruled between 273-232 BC. Hannibal is one of the mightiest thinking generals the world has ever seen and managed to shake the then all powerful Roman Empire. But for lack of support from his home country he would have defeated the Roman Empire itself. 

The Roman army was then an efficient war machine and no one before or after Hannibal could defeat Roman armies with such utter contempt.

 Hannibal posed a big challenge to the Roman Empire and gave the Roman commander Scipio Africanus lessons on war strategy which finally led to his own defeat at the hands of Scipio in Africa.

 The tug of war with Hannibal resulted in Rome learning new techniques of battle that helped it greatly in its further expansion and final domination of the vast area surrounding the Mediterranean and into most of Europe and also to the east.    

The Carthaginian Empire stretched across the northern shores of Africa in the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital city was Carthage located in Tunisia. The empire stretched from Egypt  in the East and then west to Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. This empire only included thin stretches of land in the mentioned countries adjacent to the sea because Carthage was essentially a sea trading civilization.

 Both Carthage and Rome were founded in about 800 BC. 

 It also included the south eastern tip of Spain and the islands of Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia in the Mediterranean Sea. The Roman Empire was then just confined to Italy and was flexing its muscles and the inevitable war between the two Empires known as the Punic wars started in 264 BC. Rome won the first Punic war and wrested the control of the sea from the Carthaginians and also annexed Sicily. The war gave Carthage a foothold in Spain which was a great resource because of its silver mines.  

Among the two, Rome is a militarized nation depending on farmers tilling their soil while Carthage was a sea faring trading civilization. Being a trading civilization Carthage was against war but the slow Roman expansion alarmed them and goaded them into the Punic wars. 

Hannibal was from the Aristocratic house of “Barca” which gave many commanders to the Carthaginian army. Hannibal’s father Hamilcar was a general in the army. He took Hannibal to Spain when he was 9 years old and trained him in the art of war and died when he was just 18 years old. Hannibal learnt well from his father. He had taken an oath that he would suppress the power of Rome at that tender age and never relaxed on that till his death much later. After his father’s death the command of Hannibal’s father’s army passed to Hasdrubal (Not to be confused with Hannibal’s brother with the same name) his son in law. Eight years later, when Hasdrubal was murdered Hannibal was elected as commander of his troops when he was just 26. 

Hannibal started his campaign with an attack on the Iberian tribes in Spain. Theirs was a much larger army, but Hannibal crossed the river in the night, surprised the Iberains and emerged victorious by lunch time with hardly any losses. His elephants had done the maximum damage to the enemy. Elephants were the Carthaginian special weapon.

The news of this victory reached Rome. Later Hannibal laid seize to Saguntum  in Spain knowing that the Romans who were busy defending against Gauls and were too busy to come to Saguntum’s aid. After 8 months the city fell and the inhabitants were raped and murdered and their possessions looted.

This was too much for the Romans and they sent ambassadors to Carthage and demanded them to hand over Hannibal to face justice. Carthage refused. 

Hannibal felt instead of waiting for the Romans to attack him, he should surprise the Romans from their backyard by passing through the Alps. Now this was simply unthinkable at that time because no man had even attempted crossing the Alps with an army before. And the Hannibal’s army had war elephants which he felt would give him a psychological edge in the battle with the Romans. Hannibal made his preparations for his idea. There was hardly any help from his home country Carthage to the idea. He then raised a mercenary army of 46000 troops and commenced his crossing the Alps in October just before the onset of winter. 

The Alps are treacherous to cross during that time. Moreover, some of its areas were peopled by tribes of fierce Gaul’s who do not have any allegiance to anyone and are independent. Moreover, at that time armies like that of Hannibal had no supplies and lived off the loot made from the lands they crossed. This resulted in loss of food to the people wherever the armies passed. Hannibal’s army was repeatedly attacked by Gauls who reduced its numbers. Then while crossing a snowstorm ensued and many brave men lay dead on account of frostbite and snow along with the elephants. Nevertheless Hannibal had no intention of turning back. He repeatedly exhorted his men not to lose hope and with an iron will finally achieved the impossible. He crossed the Alps with his army and marched into Northern Italy along with his few elephants that were left.  

Hannibal commenced his march with 46000 men but only 26000 managed to cross the Alps. But these men are the best and the toughest who had survived the ordeal of crossing the Alps. When a Roman commander at the vicinity of crossing was told by his scout that an army along with elephants is arriving, the commander told him he was dreaming. Such was the improbability of the task Hannibal had accomplished.    

With just those 26000 troops, later joined by 15000 Gauls, Hannibal played havoc with Roman armies sent against him. He is a thinking commander who always took his enemy troops by surprise. He defeated one Roman army after another and marched forward and penetrated deep into Italy. 

The battle Hannibal fought with the Romans at Cannae was a masterpiece in war strategy. Hannibal just had his 41000 men while the Roman army was 85000 strong. But by superior strategy Hannibal won the battle and 55000 Roman soldiers were slaughtered on the battlefield and 19000 taken prisoner. Hannibal was in the thick of the battle and led the army from the front. This battle shook the Romans and they could never forget this defeat. 

They sent one army after another against Hannibal which was defeated by him.  Now Hannibal threatened Rome itself  but because of its size he needed more troops to attack and lay seize to the city. He therefore sent his brother Mago to Carthage requesting for reinforcements. But his home country refused any help and left him to his own devices. Hannibal went on fighting continuing his victories but he could not take Rome itself. In all this war Carthage did nothing to help Hannibal and did not send him a single solider. He was fighting the war with mercenaries for the sake of Carthage along with some Carthaginian men he already had.

 In the meantime Rome made Scipio Africanus (though the title Africanus was got by him after defeating Hannibal in Africa) as the commander of the Roman armies. Scipio had a good knowledge of the war strategy of Hannibal. Scipio senior was killed in the battles with Hannibal where Scipio Africanus too accompanied him. Thus Scipio knew Hannibal well. 

Now Scipio and Rome refused to give a direct battle to Hannibal while he sat and waited for them to attack him so that he can defeat them. But Scipio did nothing of the sort. He then planned to invade the Carthaginian territories in Spain which were the powerbase of Hannibal while Hannibal himself is now in Italy. Finally he planned to attack Carthage itself instead of fighting with Hannibal.         

Scipio finally conquered Spain and then attacked Carthage itself. The Carthaginian council in panic sent a message asking Hannibal to come back to fight the Romans. His home city never helped him in the war and Hannibal could have simply refused, but he sailed to Africa instead to protect his home city. Hannibal joined battle with Scipio’s army at Zama. Scipio has learnt well from Hannibal and used the tactics which he learnt from Hannibal and defeated him. This is the only battle that Hannibal ever lost in his life. But even after his defeat he went on fighting the Romans. 

Hannibal helped those kings who were fighting the Romans like Antiochus of Syria and others. Ultimately Romans could not forget Cannae and sent Roman assassins to kill him. Hannibal did not want to die in Roman hands and committed suicide in a Turkish town in 181 BC when he was 66 years old. So from the time he became the commander when he was 26, he fought the Romans for 40 years before he died. To his last he had that principle of opposing Rome etched on his mind and never wavered from it.

ASIAN GAMES 2018-ASSESSMENT OF PERFORMANCE

The Asian Games are concluding today. These are the Asian games to be remembered for the Indians. It is not just a case of winning more medals and equalling the highest number of gold’s ever won. It is the performance of our athletics team that gives us great satisfaction. At either the Asian Games or the Olympics, the maximum number of medals is allocated for athletics. If our team is good in athletics that would improve the chances of India winning medals at the Olympics.  

Of course, in wrestling India had been traditionally strong and our shooters too shot into the word level after the current sports minister Rajayavardhan Singh Rathore won a silver at the 2004 Olympics.

In athletics India had been traditionally weak and even the legendary PT Usha who was unchallenged at the Asian level was not good enough for the Olympics. At the Los Angeles games she made it to the final only because the entire soviet bloc countries who have the best athletes in 400 mtrs hurdles, the event of PT Usha boycotted the games. Of course, this is no discredit to her as she dominated the Asian athletics completely and got the top honors.

 As far as athletics are concerned except for Milkha Singh and Gurbacahan Singh Randhawa way back in 1960 and 1964 respectively we had no athletes who can be called Olympic medal-winning class. Unfortunately, both of them could only finish 4^th in their event at the Olympics and could not get India any medals.

Our athletics team has done exceptionally well at the games. But all of these performances are not World class except for those of Neeraj Chopra and Hima Das.

 In Javelin at the 2016 Olympics a throw of 90.30 got a Gold. Neeraj Chopra threw 88.06 which is pretty close. He is young and would certainly improve by the time of 2020 Olympics and he is certainly a gold medal prospect for India.     

In the 400 meters Hima Das did as well as Neeraj Chopra did in javelin. Despite getting a silver she did 50.59 seconds which is very close to the very best in the world. In the last Olympics Shaune Miller of Bahamas won a gold in this event with a timing of  49.44, silver to Allyson Felix of the US at 49.51and bronze to Jamaica at 49.85. See how close these times are to the record of Hima Das.  Despite winning a silver here she too is a gold medal prospect for the 2020 Olympics.

Both these athletes are great finds for India and their performance in the next Olympics turn would spur a generation of athletes in the same way the performance of Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore did in shooting. 

In boxing Amit Panghal has shown absolute class by defeating the Olympic champion and the world championship silver medallist in the final. He is another gold medal prospect for India at the next Olympics.

Looking to these performances, and our shooters and wrestlers we have every right to be optimistic about the medal tally at the next Olympics. Gone are those days when we drew a blank in the years 1976, 1984, 1988 & 1992.

 

STELLAR EVOLUTION-PART 2

Higher brightness of a star means it is using up more of its matter and is rapidly converting it into energy. Now why do stars shine with different brightness? That depends on the amount of matter they possess.

The rate of fusion at the stars core depends on its temperature and the temperature in turn depends on the mass of the star. Although large stars have more fuel they burn it much faster and hence their energy generating life is lesser than a star with lower mass.

A star with a mass of just 0.4 times the sun has a lifetime of 200 billion years, that of 0.8 times the sun 14 billion years, that of sun 9 billion years and that of 40 times the sun just 1 million years. See how rapidly the life span decreases as the mass of the star increases. Life evolves over billions of years, therefore only those stars which have a mass around that of the sun have ample time to evolve life.

Stars are classified as per their spectra and their temperature. The classifications are O B A F G K and M. to make one remember this is the sentence “Oh be a fine girl kiss me”. Sun belongs to the spectral class G and these are the stars that are most likely where life can evolve.   

For knowing the way the stars evolve an American called Russel and a Russian called Hertzsprung made a diagram known as the “Hertzsprung Russel Diagram”. or HR diagram.  In this diagram the X axis denotes absolute magnitude of the stars and the Y axis denotes temperature of the stars.

On the HR diagram a star that follows a specific pattern meaning the higher the temperature the higher the mass then those stars are known as main sequence stars. On the HR diagram they follow a slope from the top left corner of the diagram to the bottom right corner. If we take a main sequence star its central part can be considered as a large nuclear factory. On top of that is the convective zone where energy is transported. The temperature at which the fission reaction takes place is from about 1 crore centigrade onwards. Our sun has a core temperature of 1.40 crore degree Celsius.

Initially all the Hydrogen at the central part of the star gets used up and all of it is converted into Helium and the fusion reactions pass to the higher layers till all the hydrogen reserves of the star get exhausted. The fusion reactions in the star then stop and gravitational forces take over. As the star condenses on account of gravitation it reaches a temperature of 10 crore degrees Celsius where the fusion reaction start with Helium and Neon is produced. When the Neon is exhausted it passes onto the higher element of Magnesium and so on till Nickel. After that the fusion reactions stop.

Scientists assume that stars known as red giants with large surface areas and low temperatures are at this stage. Our Sun still has about 81.6% Hydrogen and for it to turn into a red giant it would take 500 crore years. As the size of the star expands when it reaches the red giant stage the temperature of the star cools down which is the reason why the star appears red. Compared to the surface temperature of the sun which si 6000 degrees, the red giants have a surface temperature of 3000 degrees. The star therefore leaves the main sequence and travels upwards and to the right of the HR diagram.

Some of the red giants are enormous in volume compared to the sun. For example the bright star Betelgeuse in the constellation of Orion has a diameter of 100 crore KM compared to just 14 lac KM for our Sun. However, the density of this star is almost negligible enough to be zero compared to 1.4 for our sun and this star weighs just about 16 times our sun.

As already said earlier, as the star is much bigger than the sun it loses its matter much faster and outshines the sun by far. Even in its red giant phase this star is 46,000 times more luminous than the sun. The result is while the sun is already 450 crore years old and would take another 500 crore years to reach the red giant stage, this star has splurged off its energy in just 1 crore years due to its heavier mass.

The stars have been categorized into different names depending on their size.

All those stars that are up to 20 times brighter than the sun are called Dwarf Stars. Our sun is a yellow dwarf. We consider the sun supreme but it just happens to be a dwarf star in the Universe.     

Super giant stars are the largest known stars in the Universe but they are rare. The star Betelgeuse mentioned above is a super giant. When these super giant stars die they become Super Novae and then form Black Holes.

When giant stars die they turn into Novae. In both Novae and Super Novae a single massive explosion would blow apart the matter in them. A star shines tens of thousands and sometimes 100,000 times brighter on turning into a Nova.

A Nova reaches maximum luminosity in a few hours after the explosion and return to its normal luminosity in days or a few weeks.

What happens after that? The star becomes a White Dwarf. Very hot and dense and full of carbon. With time it loses its heat and turns into a black dwarf and that can be called a dead star.  

A Super Nova explosion unlike that of the Nova is a massive event and is much more violent and it ends the life of a star. The Super Nova explosion would blast massive amounts of matter with a mass of several times the sun into space and at that time it outshines an entire galaxy consisting of 10,000 crore stars.

What happens after the Super Nova explosion? Bigger Super nova explosions turn into what we know as Black Holes. A black hole is so dense that it would not even let light escape form it. That is why a black hole cannot be seen.

Some black holes are very minute. These are just as big as an atom but contain the mass of a mountain. Another type of black holes known as Stellar black holes have a mass of up to 20 times the mass of the sun but the mass is concentrated in an extremely small area that gives it an immense gravitational attraction. Then there are the super massive black holes that have a mass of some 1 million times that of the sun. Scientists have postulated that all the galaxies have a super massive black hole at its center.   

However, not all super novae explosions give rise to black holes. Stars with masses up to 29 times the sun turn into Neutron stars. The Neutron stars have a diameter of about only 10 Km but have a mass that is up to 2 times that of the sun. Matter exists in them only in the form of Neutrons and that is why the name Neutron Star.

STELLAR EVOLUTION PART-1

Just like people aging and then dying all the stars in the Universe too age and die. The only difference being the death of star does not mean the end of its matter but the end of its self luminosity and the thermonuclear reactions taking place in its core.

As I have written in my earlier note there are about 100,000 crore stars in our Galaxy. The average galaxy size in the Universe is 10,000 crore stars and there are 10,000 crore such galaxies in the Universe. Thus the Universe consists of 10¹¹*10¹¹ or 10²² stars.

Before going into the evolution of stars, there are other aspects of stars that have to be considered.

Of the stars some are small, some are big and some are massive. Stars emit energy on account of the innumerable fusion reactions taking place in their core. The energy produced in a second in a star is enormous. For example  our Sun loses about 43 lac tons of mass each second and this mass is fully converted into energy as per the equation E=mc². If we can bring a pinhead of matter from the Sun to the earth it can turn some populated cities on the earth to ashes.

Depending on the mass and brightness of the star its evolution varies. Thus it is important to know the variety of stars in the Universe. On an average night one can see just about 3000 stars with the naked eye. But instruments enhance our vision. With binoculars one can see 50,000 stars. If we view through a 2 inch telescope the figure rises to 3 lakh stars. The largest reflecting telescope in the world, the Gran Telescopio Canarias in Spain has a diameter of 410 inches and can virtually show us enormous number of stars. Of course there are also refracting telescopes as well as radio telescopes that enable us to see further and further.  

For measuring the distance of the stars we have to use the unit Light Year which is the distance light travels in a period of 1 year. Light travels at a speed of approximately 300,000 Km/Sec. In a year this distance becomes approximately 9.5 lakh crore Km.

The nearest star to the sun is Proxima Centauri which is located at a distance of 4.2 light years away from us. It is in the star system Alpha Centauri which is a triple star. The 3 stars rotate against a common centre of gravity. The next star is Barnards which is 6 light years away and after that Wolf 359 which is 7.7 light years away. The brightest star visible to us in the sky with the naked eye is Sirius and it is at a distance of 8.6 light years from us.  

Stars are classified into magnitudes depending on their luminosity. Stars that are visible to the naked eye are classified into 6 magnitudes. This classification was done by Greek astronomers. The brightest stars are classified as magnitude 1. Those with a little less luminosity are classified as magnitude 2, then 3 and so on till 6. A magnitude 6 star is so faint that it is barely visible to the naked eye. After the arrival of the telescopes we have been able to see much higher magnitudes of stars. With the largest telescope stars up to magnitude 30 are visible to us.  

A 1^st magnitude star is 2.5 times brighter than the 2^nd magnitude star. A 3^rd magnitude star is 2.5 times brighter than the 2^nd magnitude star and so on. The brightest star visible to the naked eye is Sirius and it has a magnitude of -1.6. The minus sign indicates higher brightness. A 0 magnitude star is 2.5 times brighter than a star of magnitude 1. Similarly a -1 magnitude star is 2.5 times brighter than the 0 magnitude star. As per this a magnitude 1 star is 100 times brighter than the 6^th magnitude star.

On this magnitude scale the brightness of our moon is -12.6 and that of the sun is -26.7. What is visible to the naked eye is the apparent brightness of a star and not its real brightness as there is a tremendous variation in distances to different stars. To evaluate the actual luminosity of a star scientists have devised a mathematical model by which the stars are brought to distance of 10 parsecs (1 parsec is 3.26 light years) or about 33 light years away from us and then evaluate their brightness. This is known as the absolute magnitude of that star.

If our sun is taken to that distance it would shine as a star of magnitude 4.8.  The brightest star visible to the naked eye is Sirius and it shines with a magnitude of -1.6. Its absolute magnitude however is 1.3.

There is one galaxy called the Larger Magellanic cloud near to the Milky Way. In it is a star called S Doradus which has an absolute magnitude of -10. In the same galaxy the star R136a1 has an absolute brightness of -12.5 which means if it is brought to a distance of 10 parsecs (33 light years) it would shine as bright as the moon itself while at the same distance our sun at a magnitude of 4.8 is barely visible to the naked eye.

ORIGIN OF THE VELAMAS

The Velamas originally belonged to the area of Pillalamarri & Anumagallu in Nalgonda district.

There are many stories on the origin of the Velamas but the origin cannot be dated with precision. The first mention of  Velamas  was made in the “Palnati Veeracharitra” of Srinatha, the court poet of Pedakomati Vema Redddy of Kondaveedu.

Srinatha lived during the years 1365-1441 when  he has written the “Palanati Veera Charitra” whereas the battle actually took place somewhere between the years 1178 and 1182. This means the poet has written about something that took place some 200 years before his time. As per the Veeracharitra Brahma Naidu of Recherla Gotra who was one of the main characters of the Palnati battle was a Velama.

Thereafter, the Velamas emerge again in the Kakatiya Kingdom where they have been the commanders and vassals of the Kakatiyas from 1200 AD onwards.  The first known Velama in the Kakatiya Kingdom was Era Dachanayaka. Subsequennt to him were Dama, Rudra and Prasadityanayakas and they were famous during Ganapati Devas  (1199-1262 AD) time.   

      

The Velamas served as the commanders of the Kakatiya empire and after its downfall they set up their own kingdoms at Rachakonda and Devarakonda at around 1360 AD, which together ruled all the 13 districts of Telengana while the entire Coastal Andhra was under the Reddy Kings. The Velama’s supported the Bahmani’s for some time, the Vijayanagara Kings for some time and the Gajapati’s of Orissa for sometime before the kingdoms were finally extinguished in 1475 AD.

They were at continuous war with the Reddy Kingdoms which weakened both of them and finally they were absorbed by the Bahamanis and the Hampi Vijayanagar empire.

Due to their influence as the vassals of the Kakatiya kingdom of many areas, they were later confirmed by the Nijam as Jagirdars and Jamindars by the British and the French of those respective areas. The important among these include 1. Venkatagiri, 2. Pithapuram, 3. Bobbili, 4. Nuzvid, 5. Jetprole or Kolhapur and many others.  

  

MUSLIM INVASIONS ON THE KAKATIYA KINGDOM.

The Padmanayaka Velamas were linked to the Kakatiya Kingdom. Although they were originally from the Pillalamarri Anumagallu area they gained prominence during the time of Kakatiyas. Before that, their mention was there in the Palnati battle.

The attack on the Kakatiya kingdom by the Muslim armies from the North finally destroyed the kingdom in 1322 AD and the Velamas spread all over the state.  

There were 4 Muslim attacks on the Kakatiya kingdom and it fell in the 4^th and final attack. .

1ST ATTACK: The Muslim forces first attacked the Kakatiya Kingdom in 1303 when Allauddin Khilji sent Malik Fakhruddin Juna onto Orugallu with a large army. This army was defeated at Upparapalli by Recherla Vennamanayaka and Potuganti Maili.

2ND ATTACK: Khilji then sent Malik Kafur on Orugallu in 1309. Kafur then attacked the Orugallu fort which was besieged for more than a month. Prataparudra then yielded and agreed to pay tribute to the Delhi Sultan. He respected this agreement as long as Allauddin Khilji was alive. When Alluddin died Prataparudra stopped paying the tribute.

3RD ATTACK: Then Mubarak Khilji sent Khusro Khan to besiege Orugallu, but we do not have any information on this attack. As per Amir Khusro Parataparudra got defeated in this battle and had to pay large sums of money as indemnity to the sultan.

4TH ATTACK: The fourth invasion took place during the time of Ghiyasuddin Tughlak in 1321-22.

Prince Junakhan also known as Ulugh Khan and Mohammed Bin Tughglak later led the attack and it went on for 6 months. As the muslims were about to score a victory a rumor that the Delhi sultan died spread in their camp.

Two senanis named Taimur and Tigrin rebelled and started a dialogue with Parataparudra. Due to this Ulugh Khan had to turn back and Prataparudras army wreaked havoc with the retreating muslim armies. Velugotivari vamsavali states that as a part of this Yechanayaka has defeated the Muslims in the kolachalama battle and wrested away their horses.

5th ATTACK: Ulugh Khan retreated to Devagiri where fresh forces from Delhi arrived to join him. He then attacked the Kakatiya kingdom again. He sieged the Bidar and Bodhan cities and then besieged Orugallu. The Kakatiyas were exhausted by the continuous battles with the Muslims and also they did not improve their artillery and cavalry.

To top it all there were caste differences in the army and unity was lacking. The Reddy Senanis were angry with Prataparudra and the Velama Senanis. 

When the battle with Ulugh Khan was in a decisive stage one Reddy senani named Bobba Reddy withdrew from battle along with his army. As a result Prataprudras army was weakened and this is also a factor in tilting the battle in favor of the Muslim armies.  Prataparudra was defeated. 

Many famous senanis of Kakatiyas perished in this battle. Prataparudra was taken prisoner and on the way to Delhi he committed suicide. 

BATTLE OF PALNADU & BRAHMA NAIDU.

The battle took place between 1178 and 1182 AD beteen Nalagamaraju, a Haihaya Kshatriya king who ruled the area of Palnadu in Guntur District and his step brother Malidevaraju. 

Nalagamaraju was supported by the Reddy lady Nagamma while Malidevaraju was supported by Recherla Brahmanaidu who was a social reformer.

When Anuguraju of the Haiahays migrated to the Andhra area from Jajablpur in Madhya Pradesh, he clashed with the Velanati Chodas of Velnadu who ruled from Chandavolu.

Velanati Gonkaraju installed Anuguraju as king of Palnadu at Gurajala after giving his daughter Mailama Devi to him in marriage. 

As Anuguraju is non Telugu speaking and has migrated to Andhra area only at that time, and is unfamiliar with the local people, Gonkaraju appointed Dodda Naidu of Recherla Gotra as his minister to guide him.

Anugu Raju had 2 more wives, Viravidya Devi and Bhoorama Devi. Anuguraju was however childless and adopted the eldest son of his minister Dodda Naidu.

Soon after this Mailama Devi gave birth to a son called Nalagamaraju. Disillusioned with the turn of events Dodda Naidu stepped down as minsiter of Anuguraju and made his younger son Brahma Naidu as a minister instead. Nalagamaraju became king after Anuguraju.

Nalagamaraju had a step brother called Malidevaraju who married a princess from the Kalachuris of Kalyanadurga in Karnataka.

Brahma Naidu was highly respected in his time and is a warrior, scholar and reformer. Brahmanaidu captured the fort of Shimoga from the Veera Saivaites on the request of the Kalyani Chalukyan King of Kalyani.

The king in turn gave his daughter Sirimadevi in marriage to Malidevaraju. 

Brahma Naidu was a staunch Vaishnavaite and founded a new sect called Veera Vaishnavism as against Veera Saivism which was prevalent then and which allowed the Sudras into its fold but not untouchables. The social reforms like Chapa Koodu (having food sitting side by side on a mat irrespective of caste) intiated by Brahma Naidu have antagonized the conservatives of the Palnadu society.

Brahma Naidu did not stop with Chapakoodu and in this he is centuries, nay 800 years ahead of the present day social reformers. He had all castes including the scheduled Castes in his army. In fact Kannamanedu from the Scheduled caste was treated almost like Brahma Naidus own son and was made the commander of his army. 

The conservatives found an able leader in one Reddy lady named Nagamma who is known as Nayakuralu. Nagamma joined the court of Nalagamaraju and gained his confidence. Therafter she made Nalagamarju displace Brahma Naidus men from key positions. The differences in the court and the royal family grew which led to the division of the Kingdom.

Nalagamaraju’s half brother Malidevarju moved to Macherla and set up a separate kingdom there. Brahma Naidu moved to Macherla along with Malidevaraju.

Mutual suspicion between the two kingdoms grew and Nagamma under the pretext of Malidevas defeat in a cockfight exiled them for 7 years from Palnadu. After the exile Brahma Naidu sent Alaraju the brother in law of Malidevaraju to claim Malidevaraju’s share. 

The demand was turned down and Alaraju was poisoned in Cherlagudipadu by the orders of Nagamma. His wife Perindevi committed Sati with Alaraju. This enraged Malidevaraju and Kommaraju who was the father of Alaraju. Brahma Naidu then declared war on Gurajala.

The battle was fought at Karempudi on the banks of the river Naguleru. Nalagamaraju was supported by the Kakatiyas, Kota Vamsa, Hoysalas and Paricchedis. Malidevaraju was supported by the Kalachuris of Kalyanadurga.   

Nalagamarajus side was victorious in the battle and Malidevaraju died fighting. Brahma Naidu was forced to reinstate Nalagamarju. Balachandrudu the valiant son of Brahma Naidu died in this battle along with his wife Manchala. 

A whole genration of Andhra warriors perished in the battle. This battle weakened the Velnati Chodas and this later helped the Kakatiyas to take over their domain. 

ROMAN EMPEROR PHILOSOPHER---MARCUS AURELIUS AND STOICISM.

We had princes who turned into philosophers in Buddha and Mahavira but they come from tribal republics who were not war loving. But Can a Roman Emperor continuously trying to expand his empire and fighting against the enemies of his Empire be a Philosopher?  That looks impossible to us but history has many personages that look stranger than fiction. One such is Marcus Aurelius the Roman Emperor. He is a philosopher of Stoicism. If anyone has seen the movie Gladiator they would have seen Marcus Aurelius in action.  

Let us see what Stoicism is.  The founder of Stoicism was Zeno. He was born in Cyprus in 350 BC. He studied at the Platonic Academy in Athens. After that he established his own school in Athens at a place called Nova Stoicley, thus the name Stoicism to this philosophy. 

STOICISM: Surprisingly Stoicism is similar and reminds us of the teachings of the Bhagawadgita.

Stoics preached that happiness and sorrow belong to the outer world. They depend on the external circumstances. They do not come if we want and go if we want. They come and go by themselves. We should not be concerned with them. We have to control our mind and keep it free. We have to improve our patience.

Like a drop of water that does not touch wet a lotus leaf, man has to live. Action is for the sake of action itself and not for the sake of result. We should suppress all love, affection, fear and hatred and conquer our passions.

We can do anything without passion, and without any interest. Bad is not in the action we perform but it is in our mind. Even if we perform right actions with passion, then the act would in fact be bad. Dispassionate mind and lack of attachment are the most important.   

MARCUS AURELIUS: He was born in the year 121 AD. His father was the Head of the Judiciary at Rome. Aurelius had his first education with Rusticus, the Stoic philosopher. Aurelius was adopted by the Emperor Titus Antonius Pius as he did not have any male children, he married his daughter Faustina to him and proclaimed him to be the future Emperor.

Aurelius was introverted and most of the time was immersed in deep thought and reading. He preferred loneliness and rejected the kingly life, riches and pomp. He digested the sayings of the Cynics and the Stoics. He used to wear coarse clothes, ate ordinary food and slept on a cot without mattresses.

But all that was Aurelius’s interior.  To others he appeared normal. He learnt riding, swordsmanship and politics.

The Emperor Titus Antonius Pius died in 161 AD and Aurelius became Emperor. He left the kingdom in the hands of Lucius Verus who was also raised by the king along with him and immersed himself in philosophy. Unfortunately for him Verus died suddenly and Aurelius had to turn himself to the affairs of the kingdom.

Faustina bore him 13 children of which 8 died. The Empire became full of rebellions and was subjected to attacks by tribes. Then the plague claimed lots of the population. It is estimated that one third of the population so perished. He compiled his famous book “Meditations” in the battlefield tents while fighting the rebellions against the Empire. It is through this book that the contemporary philosophers learnt more about Stoicism.  

His commander Evideous Cassius in whom Aurelius has placed a great faith rebelled in Syria. The Emperor had to move against Cassius and put down the rebellion. One of the followers of Cassius murdered him, but Aurelius pardoned Cassius’s family and his other followers. There was a rumor that Faustina was also involved with the rebellion but Aurelius refused to believe it and when she died, he was heartbroken. He got an epitaph erected for her and put her golden idol there.  

He finally quelled all the rebellions on the Empire by 179 AD but died a year later. He reigned for 19 years and all the time he was in trouble but he confronted them with a stoic demeanor.

                                                               MARCUS AURELIUS

WHAT IS HINDUISM?

I thought about writing about Hinduism because it is much mis-understood by many of us.

I compiled this when one of my friends questioned me about Hinduism. How many Hindus actually know what the basics of Hinduism are? Hinduism does not mean just idol worship as many people tend to believe.Hinduism is much broader than that. We have to approach Hinduism from the Vedic times in order to get a real glimpse of what it is all about.

The Vedas are a compilation of the rites of Aryans who have migrated into India in about 2000 to 1500 BC. Aryans have come from Central Asia that is the present Soviet Asian republics of Kazakhastan Uzbekistan Turkmenistan Kirghizistan and Tadzhikistan.

The Aryans have started migrating probably because the Chinese Shan Dynasty pushed the various tribal populations outward which in turn exerted a pressure on the adjoining Aryans. The Aryans migrated southward before they split into two branches with one branch coming towards Persia and India and the other going west towards Europe.

Of course this theory has been challenged by some Indians who theorized that Aryans are indigenous to India but they could not offer any valid proof for that to satisfy the community of historians.

All the languages spoken in North India except by some tribal groups are Aryan while the languages of the South are totally different from them. These are known as Dravidian languages and are unconnected to any other language external to India which means they are indigenous. The major languages Tamil Malayalam and Kannada form one branch while Telugu is alone in the other branch.

The Vedas are the Sanskrit literature of the Aryans. The Aryans were nomadic people and were not used to agriculture when they entered India. They were totally dependent on cattle rearing on which their life revolved. That is the reason for the extreme reverence accorded to the cow among Hindus. 

When Aryans entered into India they had to face the Indus Valley Civilization which was highly evolved by that time itself and was dependent on city life and agriculture.

The Aryans worshipped nature which is the reason why they gave importance to Gods like Indra Surya Varun Ushas Maruts etc which are forces of nature. They were also fond of liquor so they had a god for that Soma from Soma ras. Along with Indra and Agni, Soma is a very important god for the Aryans. 

When the Aryan and the Indus cultures clashed what happened was not just outright fighting but also cultural assimilation. The Aryans subsumed the Indus Valley culture and adopted some of their practices. Along with this assimilation there was intermarrying as well.

Thus Indians are a crossbred race between the Aryans and the Indus Valley people who belonged to the Proto Australoid or the Meditaranean stock. More or less like the present day Arabs but darker in skin color. 

With time it appears that the remnants of the Indus Valley people were pushed Southward along with interbreeding. Today as one goes from South to North the Aryan blood increases and as one goes down South the Indus Valley blood increases.

Now what are the Vedas? The Aryans have developed elaborate rituals to please their nature gods. This they compiled as their religious literature. Of course our people believe that Vedas are handed down by God.

The oldest Veda Rigveda started getting compiled in around 1500 BC. The subsequent Vedas followed later but these were just oral and not written down. They got passed down by generations byhearting them and passing them on. They were written down much later, probably in the 2nd century BC. The Upanishads got compiled between 800 and 500 BC.

   

I had to give this background before actually writing about Vedic literature.

As you know the Vedas are 4 in number        

     

1. Rigveda

2. Samaveda

3. Yajurveda and

4. The Atharva Veda.

It is said that any Vedic sacrifice requires 4 priests 

1. Hota 

2. Udgata 

3. Adhvaryu 

4. Brahma

The Rigveda is for the Hota, the Sama Veda is for the Udgata, the Yajur Veda is for the Adhvaryu and the Atharva Veda is for the Brahma. 

Hota chants hymns asking the gods to partake in the sacrifice, Udgata sings the Sama Veda to entertain them.The Adhvaryu conducts the yagna as per the laid down norms in Yajurveda and the Brahma is the overall supervisor for the Yagna for whom the Atharva Veda is intended.

Now very few people know that each Veda itself consists of 4 parts.

1. Samhita

2. Brahmana

3. Aranyaka

4. Upanishads.

The SAMHITA is in verse and extolls and praises various Vedic gods like Indra Agni Soma Varun etc. The BRAHMANA is in prose and gives rules for the complicated ritualism of the Vedas. They deal with the rules for performance of the rights and sacrifices. There is little philosophy in these. The appendages to the Brahmanas are ARANYAKAS. They mark the transition from ritualistic to philosophical thought. There is a mystic interpreration of the Vedic sacrifices in these. 

The concluding portion of the Aranyakas are the UPANISHADS. These are intensely philosophical and spiritual. The entire subsequent Indian philosophies take their base from the Upanishads. They are the root of all Indian philosophy.

There are supposed to be 108 Upanishads in all but a number of them have repitition of thought. The 10 Upanishads on which Sankaracharya has commented are taken to be important. They are

1. Isha

2.Kena

3. Katha

4. Prashna

5. Mundaka

6. Mandukya

7. Aitareya

8. Taittiriya

9. Chandogya

10. Brihadaranyaka

The Upanishads consider the Karma Kanda of the Vedas as secondary.

God is defined in 2 ways in the Upanishads. The first is Savisesha Saprapancha Saguna Brahman known as PARA BRAHMA or ISHWARA the personal god and Nirvisesha Nisprapancha Nirguna Brahman or APARA BRAHMA or the ABSOLUTE. The Absolute is unknowable and does not correspond to anything that is known to us. 

The Upanishads say that when we start defining the Brahman it ends up as Ishwara. The only thing we can say about Brahman as not this not this. They put the absolute above everything else known to us. But at the same time allowing the personal god as the concept of Brahman is abstract and unknowable.

Thus Hinduism is a strict monotheism in the garb of polytheism. The Upanishads are intensely spiritual and challenge everything that is known to us. One can trace monotheism, polytheism, pantheism and even atheism to the Upanishads. 

Perhaps this is the reason why Hinduism is so tolerant. It is because the core of Hinduism does not hold anything absolute except for the Brahman which is anyway unknowable to us.

Hinduism is not a specific religion and therefore gives rise to many interpretations.

ASARAM BAPU-BABA THAT NEVER WAS

Asumal Sirumalani is known as Asaram Bapu or just Bapu by his followers. He was born in 1941 in the then Sindh District of Pakistan. After partition his family moved to Ahmedabad leaving their immovable assets in Sindh. His father founded a coal and wood business. He ran his fathers business for a short time after his fathers death when he left high school when he was in class III.

When his wedding was scheduled at the age of 15 he ran away to an Ashram. His family persuaded him to return and he got married. At the age of 23 he again left home and wandered in various pilgrimage places of Uttarakhand and UP. He met his spiritual guru Lilashah in Nainital but the guru sent him home. Lilashah named him Asaram Bapu in 1964.   

Asaram returned to Ahmedabad in 1971 and built his hut at Motera which he converted later into an Ashram in 1973 starting with 5-10 followers. In 1981 and 1992 the Congress led state government allotted him 14515 Sq.Mtrs for his Ashram. In 1997 and 1999 the BJP led government allotted another 25000 Sq Mtrs for the expansion of his Ashram. As local politicians became his followers his number of devotees increased. By 2013 Asaram Bapu had 400 major and minor Ashrams in India and abroad with numerous followers.

This man is controversial right from the start and a number of Ashrams set up by him had to face legal challenges.

In the year 2000 Asaram’s Ashram was allotted about 10 acres of land in Navsari district in Gujarat by the Government. The Ashram encroached on 6 acres leading to protests in the local villages. On a complaint filed by the locals and after repeated notices brought forth no result the authorities with police assistance bulldozed the encroachments and took possession of the land.

In 2001, the Yog Vedanat Samiti of Ashraam Bapu was given permission to use the premises of Mangalya Temple in Ratlam District MP for 11 days for a Satsangh. The samiti failed to vacate the land and continued to occupy 40 acres of land. Asaram Bapu denied any involvement and stated that the allegations were baseless and untenable.

In 2002 his followers convinced a Rajkot based devotee Bhagwani Devi to donate part of her property to the Ashram. She agreed but Asaram’s men forged her signature on the Power of Attorney and transferred all her land to the trust.

The Nasik Muncipal Corporation destroyed a part of his ashram in Bhilwara for encroaching on government land.

In 2009 the Bihar state religious trust forced Asaram’s ashram to vacate a piece of land in Patna. Asaram and his followers have taken possession of the land for a temple.

In 2010 the Gujarat Government took over 67059 Sqr Mtrs of land which was encroached by Asarams Ahmedabad Ashram.

The Gujarat government has also taken over 70 acres of agricultural land from Asaram’s family arguing that his family has forged documents to show that they are farmers.

Two disciples of Asaram who helped him set up the Jodhpur Asram had their land encroached upon and filed court cases.

In 2013 the Cuttack Muncipal Corporation razed down an ashram of Asaram stating that he has illegally occupied the land.

In 2013 while addressing a gathering of his followers he gave a terrible statement about the 2012 Nirbhaya case stating that the victim is as guilty as the doers. This invited criticism by everyone and Asaram backtracked fast denying that he he has never said such a thing.

By the year 2008 Asarams ashrams ran 40 gurukuls. $ boys died in them which led to an allegation that black magic is being practiced there. In July 2008  boys went missing from the gurukul attached to Asarams ashram at Motera. 2 days later the mutilated bodies of the boys were found near the ashram. The police did not register the parents cases and harassed them which led to public agitation.

Two boys also died in the Chindwara ashram of Asaram and their bodies were found in the toilet. The Narendra Modi led Gujarat government ahs set up the justice DK Trivedi Commission to probe the deaths of the Motera Ashram. In 2009 Asaram’s followers took out a rally protesting the alleged harassment by Gujarat police. The protest turned violent and 200 protesters were arrested after they injured 20 policemen. In 2012 when the Justice Trivedi commission summoned him, he issued a threat to the Narendra Modi government.

In August 2013 a 16 year old girl accused Asaram Bapu of raping her in the guise of exorcising evil spirits in his ashram at Jodhpur. The girls parents filed a case at Delhi and the girl’s sexual assault was confirmed by the medical report.

When Asaram did not appear for interrogation by the end of August the Delhi police filed various cases on him under different sections of IPC. Ashram remained in his ashram at Indore and avoided arrest while his devotees clashed with the police and journalists outside. Eventually he was apprehended by the Jodhpur police in September 2013 and remains in jail.

Asaram totally denied the charges made by the girl and claimed he was impotent. He also claimed that it was a conspiracy launched by the Congress party to malign him. But medical examination conducted by a medical college stated that he was potent. He has since been in jail and his bail plea has been rejected a number of times.

Asaram and his son Narayan Sai wer also accused by 2 sisters of rape in October 2013 in his ashram at Motera. The case is still pending in the courts.

From 2014-15 there have been many attacks against various witnesses in the Asaram Bapu case. Amrut Prajapati a personal aide of Asaram was attacked and killed in May 2014. Another associate Akhil Gupta was killed in January 2015. Kripal Singh was killed in June 2015. Key witnesses in the case have disappeared as well.

Asaram had been in jail for the past 4 years and the Supreme Court has recently rapped the Gujarat government for their inaction on the case. So far even the victim has not been interrogated. It is surprising as to why governments should take so much time to convict such anti social elements.