The Russian-Sanskrit Connection

Very interesting research done in the Russian-Sanskrit relation:

LOTS MORE. Interested to hear about your thoughts in this area and various connections list members may make!

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It appears Constantine Borissoff published a 9th draft of his work in December 2020:

РУССКО-САНСКРИТСКИЙ СРАВНИТЕЛЬНЫЙ СЛОВАРЬ [RUSSIAN - SANSKRIT COMPARATIVE DICTIONARY] (DEMONSTRATION SAMPLE) draft version 9

@Soretna , I could add that the Old Persian dialect used in their ancient Holy Book , the "Avesta" (which was a contemporary of the Vedas) was also astonishingly similar to Sanskrit - and hence , indirectly to Russian as well .

Regards

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Wow @sidharthabahadur, so are you saying that Zoroastrianism is the religion of the ancient Persians? As I understand it, the Avesta is the Zoroastrian scripture. The Avesta was supposedly written in the "Avestan language" and so you could say that Old Persian is this "Avestan language" and is likewise the Zorastrians were contemporary with or related to (or believed in perhaps the same things or some of the same things) as the Vedics?

Oddly I see images on Google Images of the Avesta, supposedly, that appear to be Arabic in some pictures and nearly Sanskrit in other pictures... I'm not sure what to think yet...

What conclusions or connections do you draw here?

@deandddd are you aware of this connection?

Yes @Soretna , the old Persian language is so similar to the Vedic dialect of Sanskrit that it's hard to determine as to how , why and when they separated out...

People might find it hard to believe but during the Mahabharat era , the foremost Brahmin (!!) priests for Sun worship came from what is today Eastern Iran !

Out of the 4 Vedas , the 4th one i.e. Atharva Veda is an overlap between Vedic and Persian civilisation - held sacred by both .

The miniscule Parsi community of India , numbering less than 90,000 people now , were Zorastrians who fled Persia after the Islamic invasion and took refuge in India...the famous Tata Conglomerate of India , is run by a Parsi family . This small community has the closest genetic links to the Biblical Magi .

It's a supreme irony , that the Zorastrian holy book , the Avesta , has in fact greater similarity with the Rig Veda , than the Rig Veda has with the present day ritualistic form of Hinduism (strongly oriented towards temple based worship) practiced in India...!

Regards

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Thanks @Soretna , you may find these 2 articles on Vedic influence on Russia very interesting . Moscow city is named after Moskva river , which is a Russian language derivative of "Moksha" meaning salvation , in Sanskrit . The World famous Russian Ballet is the dance of the Vedic Apsaras or semi-divine maidens (often found near lakes and rivers) of the Vedic era , that inhabited the regions to the North of the Indian subcontinent . Some of the Vedic Apsaras (very similar to the "swan maidens" of European folklore) were even described as having "golden coloured" (blonde) hair :-

https://hi-in.facebook.com/Vedicfacts/posts/752992778146553/

Hinduism (The forgotten facts) ने एल्बम में नई फ़ोटो को जोड़ा: Vedic influenceRavichandran Dayalan के साथ.

10 मई 2015 ·

Vedic influence in Russia

The name Russia i.e. Russi (also spelled as Rishi) is Sanskrit word for a Sage. Thus the term Russia signifies the land of Rishis and Sages.

• Russian phraseology and language also bears close resemblance to Sanskrit. E.g. Daughter-in-law is called Snoka like Sanskrit term for it Snusha. Name Andropov signifies one belonging to the family of Indra (In pronounced as Andro in Russian). The name Lebedev is Sanskrit name Lava-dev, meaning Lava, the son of Lord Rama.

• Name of Moscow has Sanskrit origin, when we change the places of "C" and "S" the name is spelled as Mocsow, which is Sanskrit of "Moksha", meaning salvation, which is the chief goal of life of the Rishis, Sages.

• While the term Soviet comes from the term Svet meaning white (snow-covered) region.

• Term Bolshevik is Sanskrit for Bal-Sevik, signifying Rishis (Sages) who sought to attain (Spiritual or Temporal) power.

• The names of towns ending with "Grad" are from Sanskrit "Graam".

• In Caspian Sea there is a busy port of Baku, where you find a temple of Goddess of Effulgence (Jwalamai). Buried under the heap of ashes are inscriptions left by Vedic Fire Worshippers. On the walls of the temple the sacred Gayatri Mantra is written in Devanagri Script. Even up to World War II a lone Vedic monk would station himself there in the austere surroundings to maintain the place. Local Indian Hindu merchants would bring donations for the upkeep of the temple and the monk. There may be many such Vedic Temple scattered in Russia now camouflaged as Christian Churches.

• In 30th August 1982, a Times of India publication published a discovery, a stone carving depiction a Vedic Chariot in the Region of Tajikistan.

Ancient Vedic Sages lived along with their disciples in the caves, which were hand carved just like you find in India in the Armenian Republic.

• In 27th November 1983 the Indian Express published about the Vedic remains in Russia. When Soviet archaeologists stumbled on the remains of a giant

• The mystical bird of Gandabherunda is featured in the emblem of Russia. The compound name is made of ganda,the mighty, and bherunda meaning "two headed".Its origin has been traced in hoary past in different ancient civilizations, more than 4,000 years back. The concept of two headed bird existed among Hittites, Egyptians and Sumerians as well as Hindus. The first human beings pondered over the regular movement of the Sun, tree of life and big birds soaring high in the sky all the time. This idea developed perhaps, into a celestial bird, watching in all directions.

Buddhist Cave-monastery in the Kara-Tepe hill during excavation-work in Termez in Uzbekistan, fresh light was once again thrown on the possibility of cultural relation-ship between Soviet Central Asia and India.

• The Russians also knew Ayurveda, the Vedic medicinal science. The Sanskrit text of Ashtang Ayurveda was discovered in Russia, along with a bronze image of the Vedic deity of longevity, is on display at the international academy of Indian Culture, 22-Hauz Khas Road, New Delhi. Also, people of Siberia are conversant with the preparation of Ayurvedic medicines like Triphala, Hingashtak powders. Due to the inhospitable Siberian region Christianity was unable to penetrate easily into the region thus people of Siberia were still able to preserve the knowledge.

• The word Siberia is still pronounced by local people as Shibir, which is exact Sanskrit word meaning encampment or temporary habitation.

• In the town of Samarkand there is a palatial building housing the grave of conqueror Tamerlian, confusion exists about the building whether it was a Muslim building or an earlier Vedic Building of the earlier rulers. Because at the entrance there are pictures or images of Sun and Tiger, which local guides still call "Soor-Sadul" meaning Surya-Shardul which could very well be the emblem of the Vedic rulers.

• There exist Russian Veda which is exactly like our Vedas in which the central figure is the figure called Krishen, it has the same stories of that of Bhagavad-Puran, where he kills many demons including the witch, and snake exactly like Putna and Agasura.


फ़ोटो का कोई वर्णन उपलब्ध नहीं है.

https://www.facebook.com/notes/the-unknown-world-bramhalay/the-russian-veda/1745802315656297/

THE RUSSIAN VEDA

AMARENDRA SINGH·[TUESDAY, 3 MAY 2016]
:by James Robinson Cooper

While travelling throughout Russia, the great Vaisnava saint Indradyumna Marharaj met with professor Medvedev, chairman of the religious affairs committee. The irony of the professor’s name was not lost on Indradyumna Marharaj, he could immediately recognise its Sanskrit/Vedic influence. Medvedev is a common Russian word which according to academia means bear. The source of this name however is Vedic, medevedev is Madhavadeva, Madhava being a name for Krsna and deva a Sanskrit word meaning ‘God’. Madhava comes from the word madhuwhich means ‘honey’ andmadhava means ‘one who intoxicates like bees around honey’. As well as bees we find others who are also attracted to honey, namely bears. The word medvedev means ‘honey eater’, so thousands of years ago the people who lived in this part of the world used a Vedic/Sanskrit terminology to describe one of the prominent characteristics of the bear, and thousands of years later madhavadeva had become Professor Medvedev, the chairman of religious affairs in Russia.

During the conversation Professor Medvedev surprised Marharaj saying "The problem amongst our leaders may not be so much in having to accept your movement but in accepting that this Vedic culture may have been the original culture of Russia. In Russia practically all scientists accept that Vedic culture once flourished here, the centre being in the Volga river region. The debate amongst our scientists is whether the Aryans came from India or if they originated here. There is much evidence that the Vedic culture existed here, most notably the ‘Russian Veda’." Intrigued Marharaj asked the professor to explain more about this ‘Russian Veda’. "It is famous amongst our people" Professor Medvedev continued, "It is as old as Russia and the stories are exactly like those found in the Vedic scriptures. The central figure of the Russian Veda is a personality called Krishen, he is the upholder of spiritual truths and the killer of many demons. His killing of a witch and a snake are exactly like the history of child Krsna killing the Putana and Aghasura demons in the Bhagavat Purana. The ‘Russian Veda’ is not for children, it’s full of spiritual truths. This Vedic culture was once prevalent throughout the world."

The ‘Russian Veda’ mentioned by Professor Medvedev was part of a culture which went beyond Russia, a culture which was prominent amongst the Slavic people who were the largest ethnic and linguistic group of people throughout Europe. Their civilization is described as Indo/European and was spread throughout Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Serbia, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Belorussia, Croatia, Slovakia, and Macedonia. The origins of these people go back thousands of years to the time of their Gods Tarkh and Tara. Tarkh was known as the guardian of ancient wisdom and his sister was the beautiful Goddess golden Tara. The Slavic people are known as the children of Tarkh and Tara and from the names of Tarkh and Tara came the great empire known as the Tar-tar-y.

The Russian language contains numerous words which are cognate with Sanskrit. Please keep in mind that almost all languages are originally phonetic as they pass from an oral tradition to a written one, and when comparing two languages the sound of the word as well as its morphological structure should be taken into consideration.

The deities of the Slavic world were worshipped widely in Russia and very much reflect the Devas of the Vedas.

Yndra is known as the supreme thunder God, the hero in the battles to protect Svarga Loka (heaven) and the controller of rain. Yndra is quite obviously Lord Indra, the King of heaven and the great demigod of the Vedas.

Morana is their Goddess of death, also known as Mora, Marana is the Vedic Goddess of death, also known as Mara. It is reasonable to conclude they are one and the same.

In the Vedas we have Maya who is the personification of this material realm, the regulatrix of this universe, in Slavic folklore we find Maya who is one of the divine forces of nature and one of the most revered of the Gods.

Makosh is known as the mother of destiny, and the archeological evidence dates her existence to over 2,500 years. Ma is the Sanskrit matr meaning ‘mother’ and kosh is the Sanskrit kosa meaning ‘treasury’, ‘accumulated wealth’ and ‘provisions’. Makosh holds the horn of plenty and provides for those who are righteous. She has two daughters, Dolya and Nedolya, known respectively as ‘fate’ and ‘doom’. Dolya is known to hound you if you make the wrong choice, her name comes from the Sanskrit doloya which means ‘to be doubtful and uncertain’ and also dola which means ‘swinging’, ‘oscillating’. Ne is simply the Sanskrit na meaning ‘none’, so no-dolya, ‘no fate’, ‘no fortune’.

The patron Goddess of life and souls is called Jiva or Ziva and this is simply the Sanskrit word jiva which means ‘soul’, ‘living’, ‘existence’.

The Slavic God of light is Svantovich whose name is from the Sanskrit Svar meaning ‘light’. In the old picture’s we see the Slavic God named Kryshen playing his flute for the pleasure of his wife whose name is Rada. According to the Slavic tradition Kryshen journeys to the island of the Sun, described as the Greek island of Rhodes. There he meets the beautiful daughter of the Sun God her name being Rada. In the Vedas RadhaKrsna are known as the highest realization of the absolute truth, they are the two complimentary aspects of the one absolute truth. This is not the first time the island of Rhodes has been associated with the name of Radha, some suggesting her to be the source of its name. The story continues that after successfully satisfying the demands of her father, Kryshen wins the hand of his daughter. Kryshen is also known as the shepherd, the protector of cows and bulls, which is obviously Gopal Krsna the lover of the cows.

In the Slavic tradition we find many deities where their names end with the suffix bog, as in Belbog, Stribog, Ognebog and Dazhbog. This is similar to the Vedic suffix deva, as in Indradeva, Suryadeva and Gangadevi. The origin of the suffix bog is the Sanskrit bhaga which is Bhagavan the ‘Supreme Lord’. Ognebog is Agni Bhaga the Vedic God of fire, Belbog may be Bhalu Bhaga the God of the Sun, we see this name throughout the world as Bhalu, Bel and Bal, especially throughout the middle east, and it is mentioned throughout the Bible as the God Bal, the God of the Sun. Dazhbog is the God of giving, in Sanskrit we have da and dana which means ‘giving’, ‘donating’, and this seems to be the source of the name Dazh.

The laws of Rita are part of the Slavic tradition, in Sanskrit we have the same word Rta which means ‘righteousness’, Dharma. Throughout the world we find this Sanskrit word. Amongst the Greeks, many of their warriors and Kings had this Rta as a common prefix declaring themselves to be righteous. Artaphernes was the brother of the great King Darius of Persia, his name is two Sanskrit words, rta and varnas. The Greeks were always fond of adding an ‘A’ to names and so what was originally rta becomes ‘Arta’ and the ‘Phernes’ is from the Persian farnas which means ‘qualities’, and this in turn comes from the Sanskrit varnas meaning the same thing, Artaphernes being the ‘quality’ or ‘glory of righteousness’. Other Kings who had this name were Artabanos - Artabazus - Artabryzana - Artosyras - Artaxias and Artambare to name a few.

Baba Yoga , known also as Baba Yaga and Mother Yoginya was a yogini and great mystical sage of the forest. Baba Yoga belongs to a time when Brahmanas and Druids lived in the forests. In the Vedic tradition retired life was called Vanaprastha which means ‘retiring to the forest’, vana meaning ‘forest’ and prastha meaning ‘to go’, ‘proceed’. (In English, the prefix pro which we find in ‘proceed’ is actually from the Sanskrit pra which means ‘to go forth’.) Thousands of years ago the forests of Bharata (India) was the home of Brahmanas. Along the sacred rivers of the Ganga, Yamuna, Sarasvati, Godavari, Kaveri, thousands of ashrams would wind their way up to the snowy peaks of Himalaya. Thousands of ashramas, thousands of spiritual teachers and perhaps millions of Brahmanas, all part of what was once a land of enchantment. Baba Yoga was a great friend of orphaned children, she would take them to her temple within the forest and teach them the sacred lore. When the children became adults they would leave the forest and lead normal lives nourished by the teachings of Baba Yoga.

The Samodivas are described as young women with golden hair carrying bows and arrows while riding throughout the woods upon deer. They are known as the guardians of the earth, immortals and with their healing abilities they restore sick and wounded animals back to health. They have an affinity with fire, they can produce it at will and they live in huge trees. Apparently there is another, dangerous side to them, however this may be due to later propaganda from Christian Europe. The diva in Samodiva is either the Sanskrit diva meaning ‘heaven’ or deva meaning ‘divine’, ‘God’. The samo seems to come from the Sami tree - at one time fire was produced by rubbing together the branches of a tree and the wood from the Sami tree was used for sacrificial fires. The Samodivas had an affinity for fire, they could produce it at will and they lived in trees so the Sami tree may be the source of their name.

Pater Diy is described as the protector of hidden wisdom. Pater is the Sanskrit pitR meaning ‘father’, ‘Lord’, and diy may be the Sanskrit dhi meaning ‘wisdom’, ‘knowledge’ – ‘the lord of wisdom’. The Druids worshipped this God as Pater Dis.

Devana was known as the Goddess of the forest, her name is pure Sanskrit, deva meaning God and vana meaning forest – the ‘God of the forest’. Vanapagan is known as the ‘devil of the forest’, the ‘devil of the underground’, his name once again reflects this Sanskrit vana meaning ‘forest’. Veles is the Vedic God Vala. Veles is the God of the underworld, Vala is the God of the underworld, Veles is a serpent, Vala is a serpent, they seem to be one and the same. At one time in the ancient past the Slavic people spread throughout Europe and into the British Isles leaving their impressions upon Scotland and Wales. There are some that say that the name Wales comes from the name Veles, the Anglo Saxons refer to the lands as Wealas. And when we consider the spoken V invariably becomes the written W, Vales and Vaeles seems pretty close to the name Wales.

Mater Sva is described as the mother of the Slavs, indeed her other name is Slava which may well be the source of the name for the Slavic people. Mater Sva appears as a beautiful flame coloured bird, known as the bird of the Sun. Mater is simply the Sanskrit matr meaning ‘mother’ and sva is Sanskrit svar meaning the ‘Sun’ and ‘heaven’. Mater Sva is a solar Goddess whose name means the ‘Mother of the Sun’ and this of course is consistent with her being the mother of Svarog who is the God of celestial fire and the father of Dazhbog. His name comes from the Sanskrit svar which means the ‘sun’, ‘lustre’, ‘light’, and can also mean ‘heaven’. Domovoy in Slavic folklore is said to be the the house spirit, the protector of the home. Dom comes from the Sanskrit dam meaning ‘house’ as in Dampati meaning the ‘lord of the house’. We see this Sanskrit word in English term King-dom meaning the ‘house of the King’ and Dom-estic meaning ‘home’.

Dajd Bog as previously mentioned is the guardian of ancient wisdom, known as the giving God, providing his people with the Santi Veda. Dajd comes from the Sanskrit words da and dana which both mean ‘to give’. The Santi Veda comes from Sanskrit, santi meaning ‘peace’ and veda meaning ‘knowledge’ - the ‘knowledge of peace’. His sister is the beautiful golden Tara , together they cultivate the land for their people to live on. Tara pacifies the trees which are about to be cut and shows how to replace them. It is said that the Tartary Empire bears their name, the Slavic people being the children of Tarkh and Tara, hence the name Tar-tar-y. In Siberia there was once a great temple complex glorifying Tara as well as a city built in her name, and a river Tara which flows in her memory.

The Kolovrat is a Slavik symbol similar to the Swastika. It’s related to the Sun God Svarog, whose name is once again derived from a Sanskrit word, svar being Sanskrit for ‘sun’. Just as the Sun is symbolic for time, its rising and setting manifesting our days and nights, the Kolovrat, amongst other things, seems to be a symbol of time. In the Vedas we have the kAlacakra, ‘the wheel of time’, and the Kolovrat seems to be a similar concept. Kolo seems to be a corruption of kala, in Sanskrit ‘era’ and vrat is the Sanskrit vrt or vart meaning ‘to turn’, ‘revolve’. Kolovrat means the ‘wheel of time’.

We see this vrt or vart in English words too, they simply replace the ‘a’ with an ‘e’ and vart becomes the suffix vert as in divert, subvert, convert, pervert, revert, etc., and the meaning is the same – ‘to turn’.

The same Kolo we find in Kolovrat we may see reflected in Koliada, the Slavic end of the year festival which was renamed Christmas. Koli is kala the Sanskrit word for time, and da is the Sanskrit word for giving which is seen in dana, dadati, dani, etc., Its a name which does seem to reflect the nature of the festival. In the Slavik country of Belorussia it is actually called Kalada which is pure Sanskrit for ‘a time for giving’. In Lithuania it is called Kaleda, and in Bosnia, Croatia, Czechoslovakia and Sloven it is called Koliada or Koleda, which reflects the different spellings and how the spoken word may have once been Kalada, ‘the time for giving’.

At the beginning of this article, I mentioned how Professor Medvedev said that at one time the Volga river region was the centre for Vedic culture. This Volga was originally called Rasa, a Sanskrit name which means ‘water’, ‘juice’, ‘elixir’, ‘essence’, ‘nectar’, ‘love’. Its name represents a pre industrial Russia, a time when everyone and everything was connected with nature and her environment. In his book The legends of the Phoenix Alexey Trekhlebov says, "Volga was also called Rsa or Rasa ". Elena Kuzmina writes in her book The origin of the Indo/Iranians, "The common name for the sacred river Volga was Ra - Indian Rasa - Avestan Ranha", and George Erdosy writes in The Indo/Aryans of ancient South Asia, "Thus the mythical Indo/Iranian river corresponds to the Vedic Rasa, the East Iranian Ranha and the North Iranian Raha, which is preserved in Greek as Rha wherever it designates the Volga river". We should also take note of the Iranian tendency to turn a Sanskrit ‘S’ into an Iranian ‘H’ and so the Iranian name of Raha for the Volga river was most probably taken from the Vedic/Sanskrit rasa. The Greek Historian Herodotus called the Volga river the Araxes which if we take away the Greek tendency to add an ‘A’ at the beginning and if we convert the ‘X’ into the ‘S’, this once again gives us rasa. The Greco/Egyptian writer Ptolemy also describes the river Volga as the river Rha. So whether it was Ra or Rasa they are both Sanskrit names and they both reflect the culture of the time.

Another river which roars across the lands of Russia is the Kama river, a Sanskrit word kama meaning ‘love’, ‘desire’, ‘beauty’, ‘pleasure’ - she conveniently pours herself into the river Rasa eg. Volga, and overflows her banks. Onwards they travel rushing ever faster towards the source of Russia’s Vedic culture, the Caspian sea, named after the great Vedic sage Kashyapa Muni. As well as the Kama river, we also have the river Samara, the river Sura and the river Saratov which all flow into this Volga and are all Sanskrit names.

In the Ural regions we have the renamed Mount Narodanya, its original name was Narada named after the another of great Vedic sages. The locals knew it as Narada and running alongside this mountain is the river Naroda, which once again was originally called Narada. This Narada river then flows into the river Pichora which is a Sanskrit word meaning ‘flute’ which is quite appropriate when we consider the relationship between Krsna and Narada. The Pichora river then flows into the river Usha, Usha being the Vedic Goddess of the dawn.

The river Danube is very much a part of the ancient Slavic culture, it flows through many countries including the Ukraine. The source of this name is the Vedic Goddess Devi Danu, the wife of Kashyapa Muni of whom the Caspian sea is so named. The river Don which flows throughout Russia gets its name from Sanskrit danu, meaning ‘fluid’, ‘dew’, ‘drop’, as well as ‘prosperity’. So does the river Dnieper which was previously called the Dnipro, and before that the Dnapara, and finally the Danu Apara, Apara a Sanskrit word meaning ‘boundless’, ‘unlimited’, and danu as previously described. The Dniester also has its prominent position in Russian/Slavic folklore, its name being a combination of the danu and the river Ister.

In India we have the suffix pur or puri which means ‘fort’, ‘town’, ‘city’ and can also mean ‘river’ as at one time forts, towns and cities were built next to rivers. Throughout India we see this in names of places such as Jagganath Puri and Hastinarpur. In Russia we have the Pur river which starts at the confluence of the Pryakpur and Aivasedapur rivers, all of which have this Sanskrit suffix pur. The Pryakpur river also has two tributaries called the Vyangapur and Purpe rivers once again expressing this Sanskrit suffix pur. We also have the Apakapur river which is a tributary of the Vyangapur, and the Puritey river which is a tributary of the Purpe river, and to this list we can also add the Goensapur river. Pur and puri as a suffix are exclusive to Sanskrit/Vedic/Indian culture, yet here in Russia we have a group of rivers and tributaries which have as their suffix the Sanskrit suffix pur. On its own this may be seen as an anomaly, but looking from a broader perspective, it is yet more evidence of the Vedic culture which once pervaded Russia.

And from this list, we should not omit to mention that in Perm Russia we have the Surya river. Now just think about that for a moment, this is not a misspelling or something which has come about by accident. Surya is one million per cent Vedic, this word belongs to no other culture than Vedic India, it is a name which belongs nowhere else and describes the personality behind the Sun, the Vedic Sun God Surya. Other names of rivers we find floating throughout Russia are the Moksha river, the rivers Maya, Kuma, Ravan, Siva, Sita, Upa, Danube, Dniester, Dnieper, Don, Siversky, Kara, Mana, Avacha, Dvina, Narada, Pichora, Kama, Samara, Sara, Vishera, Varonya, Angara, Pasha, Sura, Suna, Kala, Vaja, Valgu, Ira, Usa, Krasnaya, Padma, Sagora, Oka, Sukhana, Indola, Indomanka, Sindosa, Varna, the river OM and numerous others whose names would fit neatly in any Sanskrit dictionary.

Many names in the Russian/Slavic language end with the suffix mir which comes from the old Slavic meru which is the cosmic axial mountain of the Vedas. According to the Vedas there exists a subtle multi dimensional mountain which rises up through the centre of this universe and on top is the home of the Gods, known in various cultures as Brahmaloka, Asgard and Mount Olympus. As well as meaning ‘peace’ mir also means ‘great’, ‘world’, ‘universe’ all of which reflects the nature of this great cosmic mountain. Dragmir is one example, drag meaning ‘precious’ and mir/meru meaning ‘great’. One of the early Slavic chieftans was Mezamir, another endowed with the epithet ‘great’ in his name. Vladimir is a popular Russian name, vlad meaning ‘to rule’ and Mir being Meru meaning ‘great’, ‘great ruler’. Other names whose suffix is derived from this Vedic mount Meru are Branimira, Dobromira, Krasimira, Lubomira, Stanimira, Velmira, Lyubomir, Radomir, Vitomir, Zlatomir and many others.

In Siberia we also have the mountain, a reflection of the great cosmic mount Sumeru - Belukha. Amidst the golden mountains of Altai which stretch across Russia, Mongolia, China and Kazhakstan, it is the highest peak called Mount Belukha. Belukha is the heart of Siberia, seen as a mystical mountain, a source of magic and cosmic wisdom. Its original name was Uch-Sumer and the east Kalmuck people who lived there believed that the world is centred upon a great cosmic mountain called Sumer, which is of course the great cosmic mount Sumeru, and which once again shows how before the curtains were closed during the dark ages, the ancient Vedic culture was spread throughout the world, including Russia.

Regards

Sidhartha,

Yes, the 2 articles on Vedic influence on Russia are quite interesting. But to say "Vedic influence on Russia" is actually a misnomer. That would be like saying "American influence on the state of Illinois, or Idaho". Illinois and Idaho are American.

The Vedic culture that we find on the face of the Earth originates in the hollow earth. I won't go into all of the reasoning but, you might remember that Olaf Jansen stated that the hollow earthers spoke a language "much like the Sanskrit". And he also stated that the hollow earthers looked just like the Scandanavians.

Surely they lived just outside the rim, too, on what is now the continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean. The Arctic Ocean is so shallow because much of its sea floor used to be inhabited land before the cloud mantle fell. Which modified the weather, such that the Arctic became cold and the people migrated southwards. I think that they must have been living in down into/within Russia and Scandanavia by this time. The cloud mantle fell after the Bhagavat Gita times, 5,000 years ago.

When I read Ramayana, I got the impression that Vedic Kings had imposed an administrative structure upon certain surface populations anyway. The time of the Ramayan was much, much prior to the Bhagavad Gita war.

Anyway, the study of Russian culture is important because Russia sits right next to the opening, the opening is just above the New Siberian Islands. The Russian race, language, culture and ancient religion must have come from there. And the Vedic Puranas tell us as much anyway, although I don't want to get into any excessive writing about it right now.

India is so far away that I seriously doubt that it is the origin of Vedic culture. Vedic culture exists in the hollow earth according to the religious literature that the Hindus follow, so how could the Hindus, so far away, have been the origin? Vedic culture survived much better in India than in other places because of geography, but that doesn't make India the point of origin.

Ancient Russian culture, though, is of interest to hollow earthers.

And the 2 articles which you have sent, Sidhartha, is right on the money.

Cheers!

The sad thing we have going on with Russia is that the communists largely destroyed and/or hid so much over the past century. It may be hard to get to much/most of the truth from this atrocity at this point.

@Soretna , that's true - Communist ideology did try to suppress all religious and cultural aspects from Russia's ancient Vedic past .

@deandddd , I agree that the primary source of Vedic culture on our planet is most likely Hollow Earth...however the land route from the North Polar opening to the Indian subcontinent wasn't THE only way for Vedic culture to reach the subcontinent - there was another very important source for Vedic civilisation to emerge from Hollow Earth , up into South Asia on the surface , right from the Primordial era....I am referrring to the extensive cavern/tunnel networks from the Himalayan region to the Hindu Kush on one side and of course , the Tibetan plateau on the other .

Regards

List members , the ancient Vedic name for the Volga river was Rus , from which Russia probably derived it's name .

Parshuram was a great Vedic warrior - his name meant Ram of the axe (Parshu) . There used to be an ancient axe weilding warrior clan called the Parshu/Parashika in the North-Western part of the Indian subcontinent . As per the Vedic texts , this warrior clan was pushed out and migrated Westwards into present day Iran .

Persia was thus named after this battle axe wielding warrior clan - the Parshu . Indeed , the earliest historical record of present day Iran starts from the "battle-axe culture of Eastern Iran" .

It is a striking clue that both Vedic Sanskrit and old Persian language used the exact same term for battle-axe : "Parshu" ! It is even believed that some of Parshuram's brothers may have settled in ancient Persia .

https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-iranica-online/*-COM_10433

BATTLE-AXES in Eastern Iran

Battle-axes made of bronze appeared in Eastern Iran during the Bronze Age.

BATTLE-AXES in Eastern Iran. Battle-axes made of bronze appeared in Eastern Iran during the Bronze Age. One such object comes from a burial at the Sapalli-tepa settlement in southern Uzbekistan. It has a shaft-hole, an elongated hammer butt, and its cutting edge largely widens towards the lower side. It is dated to the middle of the second millennium BCE (Askarov, p. 72, pl. XXVII/2). Battle-axes remained in use throughout antiquity and the Middle Ages (Litvinsky, 2001, pp. 418-24).

The Avesta contains information about battle-axes called čakuš; the description of Mithra’s chariots in Yašt 10.131 mentions “well made double-edged iron axes” (Gershevitch, p. 139; cf. Jackson, p. 116; Herzfeld, II, p. 783). Yašt 1.18 also mentions battle-axes among other weapons. In both cases, the term čakuš is used, and its exact New Persian correspondence is čākoš, (‘hammer’ or ‘mallet’; see Jackson, p. 116; Malandra, p. 273). In Tajik, čakuš means ‘hammer’ or ‘mallet’; the verb čukidan means ‘to hammer’ or ‘to thresh’, and čukanda stands for ‘hand threshing tool.’ ; In the Old Persian, the terms isuvā (of unknown etymology, see Brandenstein and Mayrhofer, p. 127; Kent, p. 174), and, probably, vaçā (Malandra, p. 281) were used to describe battle-axes.

Another reconstructable Old Persian term for the axes, namely *paraΘu, goes back to the common Iranian *parasu (Abaev, p. 451; Bailey, pp. 13-14). For the battle-axe, Middle Persian used the term čakuš, as well as tabar and tabarzēn (Tafazzoli, pp. 188 and 192).

To describe the pole-axes used by the Central Asian people, Greek authors used the term sagaris (Litvinskiǐ and P’yankov, p. 39). Copper pole-axes of the Massagetae (Herodotus, 9.215; Strabo, 9.8.6) and those of the Sakas (Herodotus, 7.64) are known. Quintus Curtius mentions double-blade pole-axes used by the Barkanians (Girkanians; see Curtius, 3.2.5).

Archeological excavations at the sites of Central Asian nomads have produced metal battle-axes used by the Sakas and the Massagetae. A whole series of such battle-axes derives from the Sakas burials in the eastern Pamirs (Litvinskiǐ, 1972, pp. 121-25; Litvinskij, 1984, pp. 46-48, fig. 10). Their forms vary greatly (Plate 1), which makes it possible to distinguish several types. Two bi-metal pick-axes (with a bronze bush-ear and an iron blade) have been found in burial sites nearby the Aral Sea. The earliest objects of this type (dated to the 6th century BCE) include bi-metal axes and a double-edged axe which has a long, slightly curved faceted blade with a head on one side and a long narrow blade on the other. Other axes are dated to the 5th-3rd centuries BCE. These battle-axes have a wide range of similarities among the battle-axes from the Black Sea coast, the northern Caucasus, the Kama River region, Kazakhstan, southern Siberia, and northern China (Litvinskiǐ, 2001, pp. 420-24). Central Asian battle-axes closely resemble Achaemenid battle-axes known from iconographic materials and archeological finds.

In eastern Iran, settled peoples continued using the battle-axes in warfare. Thus, iron battle-axes and an elongated silver pickaxe of an intricate shape with gilding have been found at the Old Nisa (Invernizzi, pp. 129-38, pl. H). Peculiar pickaxes, one made of bronze and several of iron, of the Indian ankuśa type, have been found at Ay Khanum (Francfort, pp. 56-69, pls. 21, 25, XXI, and XXXVI). Pickaxes and battle hammers are presented in Central Asian and Inner Asian (northern India included) iconography, as well as on coins of the late Hellenistic and post-Hellenistic times (for detailed lists with bibliographical references see Invernizzi, pp. 137-38). A warrior depicted on a plate from Orlat holds in his hand a double-edged pickaxe (Ilyasov and Rusanov, pls. IV/1 and XIII), but this is already early 3rd century CE.

Iconography and archaeological finds testify that battle-axes were still in use in the 5th-8th centuries, both as a weapon in battle and as a symbol of power of a ruler or a military commander. A silver dish from the Kulagysh village contains the scene of on-foot combat which shows broken battle-axes with a rounded cutting edge and with the butt-end in the shape of a long blade (Orbeli and Trever, table 21). Similar objects can be found in the paintings of Pendjikent. An iron battle-axe with a rounded narrow blade and a small butt was found in the layer of the 6th-7th centuries at Aktepe of Yunusabad near Tashkent (Terenozhkin, pp. 123-24, fig. 25/7; Raspopova, pp. 77-78).

Ceremonial maces existed too, they frequently appear in wall paintings. A real object of the type with the upper part executed like a male head has been found at the Azhartepa (Berdimuradov and Samibaev, p. 40, figs. 93-94).

Battle-axes of various types continued to be manufactured and used in Eastern Iran up until the Late Middle Ages (Mukminvoa, p. 114).

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List members , after very deep research (from multiple sources) I am now 100% confident of having identified THE original land of the legendary Amazons , first referred to by the ancient Greeks - it's an area around Volga (Vedic Rus) river in Russia called Staraya Mayna , part of Ulyanovsk Oblast region . Strangely , this region finds mention in the Mahabharata epic as "Stree Rajya" or the Kingdom of women , which was conquered by the Heroic Arjun . This same area was also identified with the Vedic Apsara maidens .

This region had the prehistoric Imenkovo culture of the ancient "Rus" people , from whom Russia got it's name during the Vedic era :-

SANSKRIT AND ANCIENT VEDIC CULTURE IN RUSSIA

( VISHNU from the Trinity of Brahma Vishnu and Mahesha )

SANSKRIT AND ANCIENT VEDIC CULTURE IN RUSSIA

“Do all human beings have a close universal origin? Who were the original Vedic Aryans. How Vedic society was a global influence and what shattered this once world-wide society. The Vedic influence and proof of its ancient existence has been found in such countries as Britain, France, Russia, Greece, China, Japan, Egypt, and in areas of Scandinavia. Further there are strong links between the Vedic and other ancient cultures, such as the Sumerians, Persians, Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, etc.All the major religions of the world were influenced by the Vedic tradition and still contain many Vedic elements within them.”

( Source ” Proof of Vedic Culture's Global Existence” by Stephen Knapp)

“The Vedas has a two fold interest, it belongs to the history of the world and to the history of India. In the history of the world the Vedas fills a gap which no literary work in any language could fill.”

(Max Muller)

RIGVEDA refers to a country named RUS ? Is it present day RUSSIA ?

In 2007, Dr Alexander Kozhevin from Archeology Department of Ulyanovsk State University found An ancient Vishnu idol during excavation in an old village in Russia's Volga region, raising questions about the prevalent view on the origin of ancient Russia. The idol found in Staraya (old) Maina village dates back to 7th to 10th century AD. Staraya Maina village in Ulyanovsk region was a highly populated city 1700 years ago, much older than Kiev, so far believed to be the mother of all Russian cities. Prior to unearthing of the Vishnu idol, Dr Kozhevin has already found ancient coins, pendants, rings and fragments of weapons in this region. Dr Kozhevin, who has been conducting excavation in Staraya Maina , said that every single square metre of the surroundings of the ancient town situated on the banks of Samara, a tributary of Volga, is studded with antiques.

( Photograph of the Ancient vishnu Idol discovered in Volga region of Russia )

Adds Dr Alexander Kozhevin ,

“ We may consider it incredible, but we have ground to assert that Middle-Volga region was the original land of Ancient Rus. This is a hypothesis, but a hypothesis, which requires thorough research,"

.

According to Dr. Acharya Somuchidononanda Pandey an Indian Sanskrit scholar ,

“ In the Rig Veda, there is a passage that goes, Itham ascati pasyat syantham, ekam starayath mainaa-kaalam. This translates into Staraya Maina is the name of the land of the 45 rivers (on whose banks the noble Rishis conducted the famous Horse Sacrifices), where the sun god descends into one fifty two forty seven. While the first line identifies a location, the second line talks about the exact latitude and longitude at which the solar spectrum produces interference lines at one, fifty two, and forty seven. The discovery of the idol confirms the location in Russia, identified in the Rig Veda as rus soviath sapthamahanagaratham (the ancient and holy land of the 722 flying vehicles). The ancient connections between the Russians and the Indians has been unequivocally confirmed. In Russian orthodox Christianity, worship is conducted very much like in Vishnu temples. The Russians refer to the feast of Vizhnyir Ekoratsya Vikhunh, directly corresponding with Vaikhunda Ekhadasi. The Russian language also owes a lot to Sanskrit, whose origins 50,000 years ago roughly correspond with the language of the people of the Smritzyi archaeological site, along the banks of the now-dried up Vernstokhlin (Varnasatyakhalini) river system.”

We already know that Slavic rituals and Slavic names for their gods bear close proximity to Ancient Vedic sources . And then in 2007 , an ancient Vishnu Idol was found in Volga region that led further credence to the thought that ancient Vedic society extended to Russia as well. And an abundance of interesting place names (toponyms) Sanskrit origin in Russia. For example, the river Ganga and Padma in the Arkhangelsk region, Moksha and Kama in Mordovia. Tributaries of the Kama are Krishneva and Hareva. Indra — the lake in the Yekaterinburg region. Maya — the city near Yakutsk, etc.

Adds Professor Alexander Vasilyavich Medvedev, chairman of the religious affairs committee of the Urals region.

“The problem amongst our leaders may not be so much in having to accept your movement, but to accept that the Vedic culture could have very well been the original culture here in Russia.You know in Russia practically all the scientists accept that the Vedic culture once flourished here, the center being in the Volga river region.. The debate among our scientists is only if the Aryans came from India or they originated here.”

And is Vedi sanskrit the mother of present day Russian language ?

Noted Scholar Dr Shashi Shekhar Toshkhani adds ,

“ I am happy to find you referring to the incredible lexical energy of Sanskrit . It is not just Russian or Polish, words derived from Sanskrit are present in the vocabularies of all European languages, starting with classical Latin and Greek. The Slav languages are replete with words taken from Sanskrit. As we know,the discovery of lexical similarities between Sanskrit and European languages in the 19 th century had thrilled European linguists, as in it, they found "milennial roots" of their linguistic culture. According to Dr. Lokesh Chandra, one of the most eminent scholars of Indian culture, "Sanskrit words in the European languages are millennial roots that reach down into the endless soil of time." It is not only the adoption of the basic vocabulary, he says, "Sanskrit verbal roots, prefixes and suffixes, as well as the generative system,became the building blocks of European languages." It is because of the "Westward push" of the Sanskrit speaking Indic people, and not the assumed "push to the East" of the Aryans that Sanskrit became the "substantive base of the Indo-European languages", Dr. Lokesh Chandra says, giving overwhelming evidence to substantiate his views in this regard.”

( Photograph from a page of Noted Hindi writer Bhisham sahni's book " TODAY's PASTS A MEMOIR ". Sh Sahni adds that there are many words in sanskrit and in Russian that appear common , especially those words that are in religious contexts. In this book , He also adds that Mrs Kamla Ratnam ,wife of the then Cultural ambassador of the Indian embassy at Moscow had compiled a Book on the subject and uncovered hundreds of common words in sanskrit and Russian )

Some more words that are common in sanskrit and Russian

Russian Sanskrit English
Krov Kravya Blood
Okhotnik Akhetika Hunter
svoi Sva One’s own
Tebya Tva Thou
Nosorog Narsingha Rhinoceros

Dr W R Rishi (1917-2002) eminent scholar and linguist worked as Translator in Indian Embassy Moscow for some time.. He wrote several books on affinity and closeness between Sanskrit and Russian language. In his scholarly book "India & Russia – Linguistic & Cultural Affinity" he writes ,

“In the sphere of vocabulary, there is such a large number of words which are common to these two languages that it has not been possible to mention all of them in this chapter. Only a list of basic words common to both these two languages has been given. Moreover, as explained in the succeeding paragraphs of this chapter many of the grammatical rules are common to both these languages and the number of words common to these two languages formed after the application of such common grammar rules could be further multiplied.”

(A Photograph of stone inscription in Baku. Special Thanks to Austria Based Artist Kapil Koul for the above photograph.)

Adds Kapil Koul
" I found this image in a book about Azerbaijan: inscribed stone (in Devnagri script/ Sanskrit) in the wall of the forte in Baku, 12 th Century." And according to Dr Shashi Shekhar Toshkhani
" The Azerbajan inscription referred to by Kapil Kaul Ji is regarding the Jwala Ji (Goddess of fire ) temple in Baku."
Furhter one can see Swastika engraved on the stone . oldest swastika is reported to have been found in stone engravings in Ukarine .it is surely a Vedic symbol representing what is known as PURASHAARTHHAA or combination of Dharma (natural order), Artha (wealth), Kama (desire), and Moksha (liberation.) )

Journey of a religion or culture , quite often, means the journey of a language . We must understand and try to find out which religion or culture traveled where along with the language. So many factors are responsible for journey of a language.

( Autar Mota )

PS

In his Book "Arctic home of Vedas" , Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1856-1920), believed that the climate of North pole must have been friendlier in ancient times as has also been mentioned in some ancient scriptures mailny Vedas and Zoroastrian Avesta. He also brings in some geological, astronomical and archaeological witness to support his theory . And according to him, when the climatic conditions changed , the Aryans moved southward into present-day Europe, Iran and India. Although this theory has never gained widespread reception among mainstream scholars since it was first published in 1903 yet Tilak has made a undeniable case which is not easily refutable.Some western Historians also believe that Arctic to be the primordial cradle of the Aryan race.

There is another Book Titled ANCIENT INDIA 2000 BC to 800 AD ( Published in 1904 by LONGMAN LONDON ) that deals with this theory .According to this the book” A section of Aryans apparently got disgusted about “animal sacrifices and the use of the fermented Soma wine”, struck their tents and led off their cattle to Iran to found the Avestic tradition.”

Another book “The Origin of the Aryans “ by Isaac Taylor. Isaac Taylor (1829–1901) provides a comprehensive summary of the problematical issue of the origins of the Indo-European peoples. Taylor’s book was the first major English-language work to reject the Ex oriente lux theory of Indo-European origins in favor of a birthplace in southern Russia. He points out that language alone cannot be a final indicator of racial origins.Using a thorough evaluation of cranial, archaeological and cultural evidence, he presents his conclusion.

Regards

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List members , in this post , the vocabulary of Vedic Sanskrit and Old Persian are compared...the similarity is so striking . I almost feel that the "Tower of Babel" represents an event in ancient human history when people forgot their original language , which may have been Sanskrit or the language from which Sanskrit itself was born :-

Sanskrit and Persian are two languages with a very ancient connection. In this video, we compare some of the similarities between Sanskrit (संस्कृत) and Persian (فارسی), with Aanandi and Arnika representing Sanskrit, and Aryana and myself on the Persian side. Though we compared Sanskrit to Modern Persian for a wider reach, the words have entered modern Persian through Old Persian and as you will notice in the video, Old Persian and Sanskrit were much closer in terms of sounds, syntax, grammar and alphabetical order. The influence of both languages on Modern Persian, and the journey of some Sanskrit words back to the Indian subcontinent via Modern Persian are some of the themes we have discussed here. Be sure to follow us on Instagram and send us all your questions, suggestions and feedback: Here are the words we used in the video: - Branch – Sanskrit शाखा (shaakhaa). Persian شاخه (shaakheh) - Fist – Persian مشت (mosht). Sanskrit मुष्टि (muShTi) - Thirst and thirsty, respectively – Sanskrit तृष्णा. Persian تشنه (teshneh) - Newborn – Persian نوزاد (nozaad). Sanskrit नवजात (navajaata) - Fifth – Sanskrit पंचम (panchama). Persian پنجم (panjom) - Name – Persian نام (naam). Sanskrit: नाम (naama) - Leather/skin – चर्म (charma). Persian چرم (charm) - Nature – Persian سرشت (seresht), Sanskrit सृष्टि (Srishti) - Knee – Sanskrit जानु (Jaanu). Persian زانو (zaanu) - Milk – Persian شیر (sheer). Sanskrit क्षीर (Ksheera) - Water – Sanskrit आप् (aap). Persian آب (aab). - Cloud – Persian ابر (abr). Sanskrit अभ्र (abr) Additional words that came up in conversation were names of body parts like prushtha/posht, angushtha/angosht. Words under consonant change: Saptaha/hafte, Swapna/khwab and Swasru/khwahar. Some other words that we discussed: names of animals such as ewe (mesh/meesh), mouse (mooshak/moosh), camel (Ushtra à oshtor à shotor), jackal (shrigal/shoghal). Sanskrit (संस्कृत) is one of the oldest Indo-Aryan languages. It has influenced several Indo-European, Iranian, as well as European languages. It is the primary liturgical language of Hinduism and some texts of Buddhism and Jainism. Today, Sanskrit is still spoken as a primary language in some parts of India. Sanskrit has had a significant impact on languages outside of the Indian subcontinent. Sanskrit manuscripts and inscriptions have been found in China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Mongolia, Thailand, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Japan, and other parts of the world. It is very common to find words that are derived from Sanskrit in Chinese, Sino-Tibetan languages, Thai, Khmer, and Lao. Austronesian languages, such as Javanese, Malay, Tagalog, and Indonesian, also derive a portion of their vocabulary from Sanskrit. European languages, including English, also contain words derived from Sanskrit. The Persian language (Farsi) is also an ancient language which has had a huge impact on other languages and cultures, mainly the Middle East, as well as Central and South Asia. Classified as one of the Western Iranian languages, Persian holds official status in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. Persian has strongly influenced numerous Turkic languages, as well as Armenian, Georgian, and many languages in the Indian subcontinent. Persian has a long history of literature and it was the first language in the Muslim world to break through Arabic's monopoly on writing. It was even established as a court tradition instead of Arabic under many ruling Muslim dynasties.

Regards

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Folks , just an interesting trivia :

One of the most famous Russian names - Anastasia , has a Sanskrit origin..."Anastasya" , it's a Sanskrit name for girls - it means "to resurrect" !

Regards

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A fascinating video on this topic:

Another interesting video I stumbled upon:

It would be wonderful if someone was able to make a much more comprehensive list of words common between Sanskrit and Russian like she does in this video.

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Great research @Ephraimite - thanks for sharing !
At the end of the second video , when that Russian lady said goodbye or "Das-vida-nya" , it struck me that the equivalent Sanskrit word is "vida" :))

Very few texts acknowledge this in the Academic world but in reality :-

Vedic dialect of Sanskrit = Old Persian in the Zorastrian scripture (Avesta) = Old Russian

**The above statement is more than 80% accurate.

Regards

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@sidharthabahadur do you think the further up you go into Russia the older the dialect / accent becomes for the ancient Vedic language? I am thinking more isolation and closer to the north pole. They say similar things about peoples who are in the mountains such as for example, the accents of the Appalachian region in the USA ("hillbilly" accent) is closer to the older English accent of initial colonization of North America ("The king's English, not queen's of later English immigrants"), etc.

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@Soretna , you may find the enclosed article relevant . There is a concept in Sanskrit grammar called "Sandhi Vichhed" or getting to the root word/true meaning of a complex word by breaking it down into it's constituents . So , I tried my own hand at one of the well known Russian names - that of Dmitry Medvedev . You may note here that Russian names are often very long and complex words , like names of people in India :-

Med-Ved-Dev (God) = Medh (Intellect)-Ved-Dev (God) in Sanskrit .

The name Dmitry may have come from the Greek Goddess Demeter , or alternatively , from the Vedic God Mitra . Incidentally "mitr" in Sanskrit also means "friend" . So the full meaning in Sanskrit , of the Russian name Dmitry Medvedev could be - Mitra , the Vedic God of Intellect !

Sanskrit and Russian: Ancient kinship

NOV 03 2014

RAKESH KRISHNAN SIMHA

A Sanskrit manuscript. Source: wikipedia.org

A Sanskrit manuscript. Source: wikipedia.org

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The striking similarities in Sanskrit and Russian indicate that during some period of history, the speakers of the two languages lived close together.

When was the last time you had a shot of vodka? Well, next time you have one, remember that this Russian word has its origins in the Vedic Sanskrit word for water – udaka.

The classical Sanskrit word for water is jal and is familiar to most Indians. But the fact that the Russian word for water voda is closer to the Vedic Sanskrit word points to the close – and ancient – kinship between the two languages.

While it is commonly known that both languages belong to the Indo-European family of languages, most people believe the relation between Russian and Sanskrit is as distant as that between Persian and Sanskrit or Latin and Sanskrit. Linguist and author W.R. Rishi writes in his book ‘India & Russia: Linguistic & Cultural Affinity’ that Russian and Sanskrit share a deeper connection.

According to Rishi, the relation between these two languages is very close and correspondence between these two languages is so minute that it cannot be attributed to mere chance. “The facts…lead us to conclude that during some period of history the speakers of Sanskrit and Russian lived close together.”

Rishi points to another feature of the Indo-European languages – the power to form compounds of various words. Such compounds have been carried on from Indo-European to Greek, Sanskrit and Old Church Slavonic.

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St Petersburg’s illustrious Sanskrit connections

The origin of the Russian word gorod (Old Slavonic grad) meaning ‘city’ can also be traced. In ancient Russia and in India the cities were built to serve as forts for protection and defence against aggression from an enemy. The corresponding word in Hindi is gadh which means ‘fort’. In modern Russian the suffix grad and in modern Hindi the suffix gadh are used to form names of cities: such as Leningrad (the city of Lenin), Peterograd (the city of Peter) and Bahadurgarh (the city of the brave).

The two languages have two broad similarities. One, Russian is the only European language that shares a strong common grammatical base with Sanskrit.

Secondly, both Russian and Sanskrit are pleasing to the ear. The very name ‘Sanskrit’ means carefully constructed, systematically formed, polished and refined. Colonial era linguist William Jones wrote: “Sanskrit language is of a wonder structure; more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin and more exquisitely refined than either.”

Admirers of Russian are equally liberal with their praise. In a lecture at London University in March 1937, philologist and linguist N.B. Japson said: “It is nevertheless a matter of common experience that a person completely ignorant of Russian, who for the first time hears the language spoken by a native, will voluntarily exclaim: “Why, how melodious Russian sounds.” Novelist Ivan Turgenev wrote: “But it is impossible to believe that a language was not given to a great people.”

Linguist S. Zharnikova writes in Science & Life: “There are many Russian names and words in Russian the origin of which can easily be traced with the help of the Sanskrit language. For example, it is linguistically possible to find traces of the name of the Russian river Volga. Herodotus calls this river by the name of Oaros which can be best explained with the help of the purely Sanskrit word var meaning water.”

What explains the similarities? Vedic Sanskrit was spoken as late as 300 BCE but its antiquity may stretch back thousands of years from that date. Russian may either be the result of ancient Indians taking their language and culture from the banks of the Saraswati river to the banks of the Ob. The discovery of Shiva statues in Central Asia and Russia points to the spread of Hindu culture far beyond the Indian heartland.

Kharma Bhoomi

Read section: Karma Bhoomi

There is the other conjecture that Vedic Sanskrit was introduced to India by blond Aryans who originated from southern Russia. This idea is popular with Europeans, including Russians, despite clear evidence that the current belief in an Aryan invasion of India was the result of a body of lies developed by English and German scholars.

While DNA evidence is gradually chipping away at the notion that Aryans brought civilisation to India, scholars such as Shrikant Talageri have analysed the Vedic texts and showed how the older books talk about places in eastern India whereas the later ones provide descriptions of the geography of northwestern India. This can only mean one thing: the ancient Indians moved into Central Asia and perhaps then on to Europe.

While it may take decades to settle the issue one way or the other, it is a fact that Vedic Hindu civilisation was spread over a great area. According to Bulgarian linguist Vladimir Georgiev, geographical names are the most important source for determining how a group of people acquire their ethnicity. This can originate through a process of self-identification or it could be the result of outside identification.

Georgiev says the most stable – or longstanding – names are that of rivers. “But in order to preserve the names it is necessary to maintain the continuity of the population, transmitting these names from generation to generation. Otherwise, new people may come and give it their own name,” he says.

Georgiev illustrates that in 1927 a detachment of geologists "discovered" the highest mountain in the Urals. The mountain was called Narada by the local population, and interestingly the ancient Indian epics describe the great sage Narada as living in the north. But since it was the 10th anniversary of the October Revolution, the geologists decided to mark the event and rename the mountain as Narodnoy – or People. And that’s what it is now called in all geographic references and on all maps.

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Time travels: Scripting the wonder called India

Luckily, many other words remain unchanged. Russian scientist and academician AI Sobolewski provides a list of Russian water bodies with Sanskrit names. In his article ‘The Names of the Rivers and Lakes of the Russian North’, he gives the names of the following rivers and lakes: Vaja (from vaja - strength), Valga (from Valgu - simple), Ira (a refreshing drink), Karak (karaka - water jar), Cala (black), Lala (lal - play), Padma (lotus), Punk (silt), Sagara (ocean), Sarah (sara - juice), Sukhona (suhana - easy) and Harina (goose).

The uncanny similarities between Sanskrit and Russian clearly indicate a close kinship between the two nations in the distant past. That could explain why Indians and Russians get along so easily compared with any other nation. For, both nations are sisters under the skin. As the science of language and DNA studies progress, more secrets will tumble out, providing us a better picture of the past.

NO MERE CHANCE

Russian Sanskrit English
Naš Nas Ours
Svoi Sva One's own
Ty Tvam Thou
Tebya Tva Thou
Brov Bhuru Brow
Dever Dever Brother in law
Govorit Gavati To speak
Grabit' Grabhati To seize, loot
Griva Griva Neck
Krov Kravya Blood
Myaso Mansa Flesh
Zhizn' Jivana Life
Nosorog Nasasringa Rhinoceros
Okhotnik Akhetika Hunter
Nebo Nabhas Sky
Veter Vata Wind
Gora Giri Mountain
Bog Bhaga God
Pochitaniye Pujan Worship
Noch Nakta Night
Ogon Agni Fire
Dver Dvara Door
Soyuz Samyoga Union

Regards

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I really think we need to carefully go through Constantine Borissoff's information / website more carefully and aggregate it all before it goes away. He hasn't updated it for quite some time and this causes concern that he's in bad health or no longer with us on this side of the veil. We don't want to lose his research and book efforts.

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