Thursday, October 15, 2015

Images of Sri Rama and Hanuma found in Iraq- Is it a hoax or truth?

It was almost six months ago that on the Facebook wall of a Kannada friend I came across with the following photograph of an ancient stone relief claiming to be of Sri Rama and Hanuma. That posting stated that the dominant male figure of the relief is that of Sri Rama and the figurine kneeled before the standing figurine is that of Hanuman.



I was greatly amused to see this image and the comment that attempted to connect it with the Ramayana. But the amateur explorer in me instigated to undertake a brief research for factual accuracy of this. So, I went on a journey of knowing the historical details of this image.

After considerable search on net, I came across with the Flickr.com profile of one Mr. Osama S.M. Amin FRCP who has uploaded around 28 photographs of this stone relief and also has given its exact location (on the cliff of mountain Darbadi Belula, Hori w Shekhan area, Sulaimaniya, near Iranian border, Iraq), genre (Akkadian) and its antiquity (Circa 2100 BC)

Based on these vital inputs, I have furthered my study and understood that there was indeed an Akkadian Empire and civilization that flourished for about 300 years in 3rd millennia BCE. This being a brief write-up I will not be narrating Akkadian history as the same can be found on net.

My interest is in explaining why this image can’t be ascribed to Rama as claimed by some websites. Hereunder is my brief account:

First let us take a closer look at the entire stone relief and identify the figurines carved therein:







 So, as told in the posting of my FB friend, this stone relief does not have two persons but three images. If Fig 1 is Rama and Fig 2 is Hanuma who is that shown in Fig 3? This must be explained by the people/websites claiming this to be a Hindu art.

Even if I assume that the Fig 3 is either Ravana or Kumbhakarna or any other demon, are those two figurines resemble the traditional iconography of Rama and Hanuma? Let us see!

These are the close-up shot and full size image of the kneeling figurine (Fig 2) claimed to be of Hanuman:

Undoubtedly, the kneeling pose resembles that of Hanuma in Dasabhava but this image is certainly missing the unique iconic details of Hanuma such as the long tail, the club (Gada) and more importantly the monkey face with swollen jaws. Also, this figurine is not showing the ornamentation that is generally carved on Hanuman images such as the crown, earrings and the anklet on the left leg.

Hence it is an unlikely proposition to infer this Fig 2 as Hanuman. It must be a figurine of a king defeated by an Akkadian king and has been shown as “begging for life” that gets translated as the victory of the Akkadian king over the latter.

If the above figurine has to be called as Hanuma it should have all or the major insignia of Hanuman. Therefore, it is a puzzle as to how the propagandists are promoting this as Hanuman?

Now let us turn towards that prominent male figurine and see:

There is no doubt that the person is holding a bow in left hand and standing in a gracious standing pose of a victor. Can the bow alone make this image as that of Sri Rama? I don’t believe so and hence let us have a closer look at the features of this figurine other than its bow:

Here we can see that the quiver is placed right behind the figurine as if on the ground and in the waistband a battle axe can be seen while the left hand is holding a dagger in an attacking or thrusting pose.

In the typical iconographic representations of Sri Rama he is shown with a bow and a single arrow but never shown with a dagger and battle axe. Also, in typical representation of Rama, the quiver is shown as tied and projected above his right shoulder’s back. But the above figurine is missing all these iconographic details barring the bow.

The other two major insignia that are missing are (1) sacred thread (Yagnopaveetam) and (2) matted hairdo (Jata Makuta) in which the former affirms his Kshatriya origin and the latter stands for the attire (Muni vesha) assumed by him during his exile.

Apart from all these, the most important aspect that should not be ignored is the inscription written in Akkadian script which can be seen right behind the kneeling figurine.




As part of my search I could not trace a translation of this inscription on net. I have asked Mr. Osama S.M. Amin FRPC to give the English translation. I have posted my request on his Flickr profile which is yet to be answered.



Once the contents of this inscription are known we can zero-in on the persons shown on the relief. I am sure that the inscription is not talking about Rama or Hanuma but must be saying something about an Akkadian king who emerged victorious against a certain other opponent of him.

Therefore, it is my sincere advice to the propagandists is that they must refrain from insulting the intelligence of Hindus by spreading unconfirmed and fake information in the garb of Hindu nationalism. Indians are not duds in knowing and understanding the history of not their country alone but of the world as well. Ill-fetched acts such as this shall damage the reputation and erudition of Sanatana Dharma let alone propagating it as a true and sincere way of life.

||Jai Sriram||

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Secret Ingredient of Improved Web Traffic

By this May (2015), I would be entering into 15th anniversary of my online netizenship. That’s quite an occasion to celebrate. Of these fifteen years, I have had the opportunity of being a participant, contributor and an administrator.

 In fact, the Web Admin role has been larger than my contributor or participant’s life. Having a considerable amount of ‘front-end’ and ‘back-end’ experiences, from time-to-time, I have been blessed with little enlightenments that have changed my perceptions about the most sought out parameter of all Webmasters i.e. ‘Web Traffic.’

This write-up is not an advisory one as there many advisors flocking the field with their bit of advice. Instead, this is an honest feedback from a netizen who also happened to be the Webmaster.

Content Quantity & Its ‘Myths’:


Firstly, in this article I might not be using the conventional jargons of Webmaster analytics that may surprise the readers.

By saying ‘Content Quantity’ what I meant was the number of articles and the numbers of keywords and phrases. And by adding the ‘Mythical’ element to this, I intended to express my disbelief on the advices given by some online ‘Advisors’!

Sometime ago, I have put my honest feedback on ‘OnlineContent Writing – Quantity Vs. Quality’ which was focused on bursting the myth of quantitative approach in content development. Out of my experience, I have found that the tactics of ‘stuffing’ keywords/phrases do not always yield the desired result i.e. improved web traffic. Instead, such suffocating stuffing makes the article to become pale, patched and ugly ‘Frankenstein’.

On similar lines, I have further found that the euphoria to have as many articles as possible in your website is another myth. This ‘stack-the-website-with-loads-of-articles’ syndrome can take away the credibility of your website or blog. Yes, this is the truth about frenzied article creation and must be done away by the Webmasters as quickly as possible.

Content quantity does not win you the ‘web traffic.’

Understanding the Myth of Content Quantity:


Let me explain this part with a real time example.

I have a Telugu literary website, a history website in English and a personal blog (in English) and have analysed their web stats. The web stats (as on 09th April, 2015) are as under:
Newaavakaaya.com – Stats (Online since Feb, 2011)

No. of articles published – 1136 in 4 years since inception

Blissful Life Tips Blog – Stats (Online since Feb, 2010)

No. of articles published – 16 in 5 years since inception


MadhvaHistory.com – Stats (Online since Dec 2014)


No. of articles published : 17 in 4 months since inception

Now, in to the analysis…

The average cumulative monthly hits per article for:




If you got a question – “what do these numbers hint?” Read the following:-

Newaavakaaya.com which has adopted the concept of ‘member-driven-content’ has achieved 1.5 million views over 60 months with 28 views per article per month. This has been achieved with the help of 1,136 articles of all quality denominations i.e. from Poor to Excellent.

On the other hand, the blog and MadhvaHistory.com which have a single contributor have published 16 and 17 articles in 60 and 4 months respectively and have achieved a cumulative monthly average views per article 12 views & 148 views respectively.

In other words, a 4 months old MadhvaHistory.com with just 17 articles has surpassed 4 years old Newaavakaaya.com which has 1,136 articles to its credit!

Thus MH.com broke more-articles-more-traffic myth!

Secret Ingredient of MadhvaHistory.com:


The secret ingredient of MH.com is its ‘quality based’ articles. This website has been built on a niche subject i.e. the history of a South Indian sect called ‘Maadhvas.’ As part of this niche subject, it also touches upon the history of South India as well.

MH.com generally takes up the controversial and those past events that have been dismissed as ‘trivial.’ It picks up such aspects from the historical narratives of South India & Madhvas and tries to present a foolproof, carefully analysed account that are based on the verifiable facts and documents such as inscriptions and archeological reports.

With a handful of painstakingly drafted articles that throw light on lesser known facts, the Madhva History.com shattered the myth that I have so far believed in i.e. “Quantitative content brings more online traffic.”

End Note:

I own these websites/blog(s) and have got the first hand information about their statistics. Hence I can vouchsafe for the fact that the qualitatively superior article can easily bring much needed online web traffic to your site or blog than a basketful of mediocre stuff.

Be wise. Be a Words’worth’ if you wish to achieve the target of ‘improved web traffic’ for your site/blog.

All the best.


Monday, February 23, 2015

Dharma – A combination of Self Help & Self Upliftment

More often than not people understand the word “Dharma” as “religion.” There are many reasons for such (mis)understanding that include education system. Nevertheless, one can probe further in to the original purport of this word, if they wish to do so!

This piece of writing is one such attempt and tries to present the intended meaning of “Dharma.”

Before I venture in to the explanation of the word Dharma, I wish to mention to the readers that the ancient Indian thinkers have advised their successors to develop a skill called “coordination” or “consequential thinking” while exerting to read and understand the philosophical contents. Veda Vyasa called this as “Samanvayat” in one of his Brahma Sutra (तत् समन्वयात्)

Dharma – Its Meaning & Need

Sage Manu who was also a King says that:
धर्म ऎव हतॊ हंति धर्मॊ रक्षति रक्षितः
Meaning: If one tries to harm Dharma it harms that person and if one protects Dharma it protects him.

Hence it becomes imperative for the wise people to uphold Dharma at all times.

But what is this Dharma?

Shri Krishna in Bhagavadgita says that:

श्रॆयान् स्वधर्मॊ विगुणः परधर्मात्वनुष्टितात्।
स्वधर्मॆ निधनं श्रॆयः परधर्मॊ भयावहः॥

Krishna classifies Dharma as (1)Sva Dharma – One’s own Dharma and (2) Para Dharma – Other Dharm (or other than own Dharma). He also lets us to know that own Dharma is better than the Dharma of others. He clarifies that the one’s own Dharma is safer though it looks ugly but the Dharma of others though looks beautiful may become brutal.

From the above we can understand that Dharma is something that comes naturally to a person owing to his/her place, time & character. This Dharma may remain standardized throughout the lifespan of a person and this is how “Sva Dharma” or one’s own dharma comes in to the picture.

Likewise, a whole community may have its own “Sva Dharma” in the form of common habits/interests, beliefs, practices and lifestyle. Similarly, a nation can become a home for multiple communities built upon their unique “Sva Dharmas” which in turn would have individuals having their own “Sva Dharmas.”

The bottom line is that these Sva Dharmas need not to be ‘great’ or ‘majestic’ or ‘common-to-all’ type.

Krishna says that “let each Sva Dharma live its own life till it wishes to modify itself.” He opines that by forcing “Para Dharma” on “Sva Dharma” creates ‘fear’ and such ‘fear’ can lead to further complications. “So”, says Krishna, “let the Sva Dharma be there!”

Here the bottom line is that every single Sva Dharma should not harm other Sva Dharma just because the other Dharma is looking drab or ugly! Thus, Godhead Shri Krishna puts emphasis on “Dharma Nirapeksha” i.e. ‘being unperutrbed by the Dharma of others.”

Example for Sva Dharma:

Ancient thinkers of Bharat thought that the philosophical aspects can be best explained with examples. Thus came Puranas & Ithihasas which depict the types of Dharmas and the conflicts between them.

Let me pick up an example to illustrate the Dharma Rakshana (Protection of Dharma) suggested by Manu and the need of adhering to Sva Dharma as preached by Krishna in Bhagavadgita.

There is this shloka widely publicised wherein Rama tells to Lakshmana who was gazing at the beautiful Lanka city built with gold:

अपि स्वर्णमयीं लंका मॆ रॊचसि लक्षणा|
जननी जन्मभूमिश्च स्वर्गादपि गरीयसि॥

“Lakshmana! Though this Lanka city is full of gold but it does not light me up. For me, my mother and mother land are greater than the heaven!”

Here Rama tells Lakshmana that a precious metal like gold is inferior to heaven which is inferior to his mother who in turn inferior to his mother land.

This is the perfect example that I could quote for ‘Sva Dharma.’ Lord Rama believes that it is the duty of every human being to revere his/her parents and the land that has supported them to lead the life. Rama refutes to yield to the glitters of Lanka’s gold which is Para Dharma to him. Rama wished to embrace death in his battle with Ravana than yielding to the wealth and pomp of the latter.

Let us also take the cue from this that Dharma has got nothing to do with ‘religion’ or ‘religious beliefs’ but it is a matter of practicality that has a universal applicability.

Let me take you back to Rama’s words. Who on this earth wish to disrespect their parents? Does religion stop any one from honouring their mother or father for their love and care? Can an American say that what Rama told is inapplicable to him?
So, the words of Rama and the stories of Ramayana are not of religious angle alone. They carry the element of humanitarianism and mutual respect to one & all.

The need of the Hour:

Today there is an urgent need for every one of us to think deeply about “Dharma” taught by the ancient thinkers from Bharat. 

Dharmik values must be embedded in our minds & actions. If Islamic State wants to erase other Dharmas from the face of the earth they must realize that the same Dharma can destroy them and it can destroy without wielding arms.

I have read about some young Indian muslims wishing to join IS gangs. I request such youngsters to widen the horizons of their mental faculties and give some deep thought about Sva Dharma & Para Dharma. For them, ‘Sva Dharma’ lies not in joining IS but to serve their parents and the homeland. For them, the foremost ‘Sva Dharma’ is to help other fellow unemployed youth to abstain from choosing wrong paths.

If one can remove that superimposed dogma of ‘religion’ from ‘Dharma’ their vision becomes clear and that clarity shall help them to choose the right path.

||Shantihi||