INTRODUCTION


Among the insipid legends of history, the memorable history of Aryana remains distinguished. There is no name that evokes the memory of ancient civilization as that of Aryana. The name is indissolubly connected with the rich and vigourous civilization of the ancient Arya as described in the Veda and the Avesta. The history of Aryana spans the glorious era of unity under the Pishdadian and Kaviyani kings to the regional achievements of smaller kingdoms that later flourished on its sacred soil.

The name of Aryana resounds with the history of a people who were far superior in every way to that of other nations. What were the grandeurs of Babylon, the philosophy of Greece or the imperialism of the British compared to the eternal dignity of Aryana.

The history of Aryana is not a fading earthly flower but an eternal flame. This flame burns bright in every man of pure Arya race who preserves the immortal glory of his illustrious ancestors.

THE GEOGRAPHY OF ARYANA


Literary Evidence

As described in the Vedas and the Avesta, the land of King Yama initially encompassed a small area which was later expanded to accomodate an ever increasing population. Its geographical horizons are described with precision in these scriptures.

1. Description: King Yama is recorded as having spoken with the gods through the divine intercessor Mitra. The initial site of Aryana is named Svaniratha (Veda)/Kvaniratha (Avesta) where the holy messenger Mitra communicated with the King Yama.
Evaluation: Vedic and Avestan commentaries explain that this region is the land between the now-extinct Saraswati River and the Ganga River, namely the contemporary state of Haryana.

2. Description: The region of Aryana is stated to have expanded in a south westerly direction ( Avesta, Vendidad, Fargard 2, "...on the way of the sun...").
Evaluation: The Avesta was compiled in the region of southern Afghanistan as established by linguistic evidence. Moreover, the setting of the Avesta concurs with the geography of southern Afghanistan. The only region lying to the northeast of southern Afghanistan is Punjab/Haryana which therefore is the most plausible cradle of the Arya race.

3. Description: According to the Avesta, after losing the battle against Azi Dahak, King Yima fled to Hapta Hindustan (Punjab/Haryana), where he was murdered.
Evaluation: Hypothetically, it could be reasoned that he fled to his initial homeland as it was sacred having hitherto enjoyed divine protection. He may have believed that he would be safe there, but as a punishment for his sins the gods had deserted Aryana.

4. Description: The hero Tritana resided in Varena (northern Punjab/southern Kashmir). It was here that a residual Arya culture survived the Tazi aggression of Azi Dahak. It was in Varena that Tritana was later to slay the unarya beast and restore Arya dignity.
Evaluation: The power of Azi Dahak waned towards Punjab/Haryana as it was the original centre of Arya culture. Most tyrannies face the stiffest resistance in the land where the culture they oppressoriginated and florished.

5. Description: King Yama was described as fair, but not white. This indicates a tanned hue.
Evaluation: The tanned colour is the result of a warm sunny climate. This points to a climate akin to Punjab/Haryana where the population are neither of white or black skin, but are of tanned complexion.

6. The flora and fauna described in the Veda and Avesta are found, in totality, only within Punjab/Haryana.

7. The name Haryana is a continuum of the ancient Aryana.




Genetic Evidence


Genetic study establishes that north Indian maternal DNA is generally similar throughout the region indicating that the original population has inhabited Bharat Varsha for a long period. Moreover, this indicates that there was no mass immigration from outside.




Linguistic Evidence


The word Arya, from which Aryana is derived, is attested in its oldest source in the Veda and the Avesta. These scriptures were compiled in Punjab/Haryana and southern Afghanistan respectively.
Evidence: The Avesta mentions that the Arya settled in the "var" (fortified enclosure), having travelled to the site of tis var (Afghanistan) from elsewhere. The Veda does not allude to any invasion or migration into the region of Vedic compilation (Punjab/Haryana). Such facts point to the conclusion that the region where the Veda was compiled was the original realm of King Yama.




Archaeological Evidence


The Vedas and Avesta detail the history of Aryana from the creation of the first man in c 40,000 BC to the time of the Prophet Zarathushtra (c10,000 BC). The Vedas make reference to the family of Rishi Vasishtha who flourished in the Haryana region from 10,000 BC. In 1990, the Journal of Indo-European Studies carried an article entitled "Analysis of an Indo-European Vedic Head - Fourth Millenium BC". The life-size head has a hairstyle that the Vedas describe as being unique to the family of Vasishtha, one of the great seers who composed parts of the Rig Veda. The hair is oiled and coiled with a tuft on the right, and their ears are riveted; Carbon 14 tests indicate that it was cast around 3,700 BC.




Anthropological Evidence


Anthropology has established that in c40,000 BC, hominids of various categories existed in but a few specific localities:
1. Africa: Negro.
2. Europe: Neanderthal, Cro-Magnon.
3. Middle East: Neanderthal, Cro-Magnon.
4. South-East Asia: Negro.

The region of Bharat Varsha was unpopulated by these races although skeletal traces of the Arya race have been found in burials within Punjab (these date to 20,000 BC). On the basis of such evidence, Punjab/Haryana is the most plausible cradle of the Arya race.




CONCLUSION


Such abundance of evidence conclusively establishthat Punjab/Haryana was indeed the cradle of the Arya race. The onset of the ice age forced the Arya retreat to a cave that was sufficiently large for a vast population to survive and could sustain agriculture due to the presence of a bright light. Such caves are found only in Afghanistan such as the notorious caves of Tora Bora.

At the close of the ice age the Arya emerged from the cave and brought the light of progressive civilization to the world.

HISTORY



Aryana, the ancestral birthplace of the Arya race was ruled by the just and sagacious King Yama. This land was a veritable paradise as described in the Avesta, Hom Yasht, Yasna 9,5:

In the reign of brave Yima there was neither cold nor heat, there was neither age nor death, nor envy demon-made. Like teenagers walked the two forth, son and father, in their stature and their form, so long as Yima, son of Vivanghvant ruled, he of the many fields!

The king and his people were protected by the gods who revealed the first religion through the divine messenger Mitra. As the population increased the kingdom expanded to occupy land to the southwest. However, the gods warned King Yama of an impending ice age instructing him to build a fortified enclosure (var) in which he and his people would be safe. King Yama obeyed their words and ordered the construction of the var. He led his people to safety therein and the onset of the ice age turned the rest of the world into an icy desert.

After the passage of 10,000 years, the cessation of the fierce cold led to a warming of the global climate. The Arya emerged from the var and populated the surrounding regions, creating urban and agricultural settlements. Blessed by the gods, Aryana was the absolute perfection of perfection. The people enjoyed a quality of life more prosperous than any known since. Such unbridled luxury developed in King Yama a pride that was to lead to his downfall. His hubris led to his neglect of the Arya religion and even to consider himself superior to the Supreme Creator. As he had deserted the gods, they deserted him. Consequently, lacking divine protection, Aryana was vulnerable to attack from their enemies, the unarya. The civilized towns and bountiful pastures of Aryana were envied by the surrounding unarya who had no civilization of their own.

The king of Tazistan, Azi Dahak, used this opportunity to seize Aryana whose wealth he had long coveted. His troops invaded Aryana, murdered King Yama and initiated a reign of fear and oppression. Under the tyranny of this demonic unarya vile customs such as animal sacrifice and meat consumption were introduced to the hitherto peaceable vegetarian Arya.

Unarya savagery demanded that each year two Arya boys were sacrificed and fed to the snakes of Azi Dahak. After witnessing the murder of his sons in this foul Tazi custom, the Arya smith Kavi raised an army and marched to Varena where lived Tritana, the son of Aptya , the descendant of King Yama. Kavi swore an oath of loyalty to Tritana and petitioned his assistance in ridding Aryana of this evil Tazi.

Tritana led the Arya forces into battle, smiting the Tazi soldiers until he had captured Azi Dahak whom he bound in fetters deep inside Mount Damavand. Tritana became the king of Aryana.

King Tritana divided his realm amongst his three sons. Airik received Aryana (Afghanistan and northern Hindustan), Salm received Sarmatia (Kazakhstan) and Tur received Turania (Chinistan). Envy on the part of Salm and Tur led to the fratricide of Airik whose lands Salm and Tur stole.

This injustice was absolved by the son of Airik, Manuchethra, who killed Salm and Tur in single combat and united the three kingdoms under his rule. King Manuchethra was succeeded by King Huzuba Tukhmaspah under whom the region of Turania seceded under Pashang. King Pashang of Turania was later to kill King Huzuba Tukhmaspah of Aryana.

The two sons of King Huzuba Tukhmaspah were deemed unworthy of sovereignty by the Arya nobility who sought to find somebody more worthy of the position. On arrival at Mount Damavand they found a descendant of Kavi named Kavi Kavata whom they elected as king. He became the first of the Kaviyania dynasty. King Kavi Kavata expanded Aryana to the southwest (Pars) where he founded the city of Istakhr.

King Kavi Kavata was succeeded by his son Kavi Usadhan. Aided by his daring general Rustam, King Kavi Usadhan killed the unarya king of Mazandaran and annexed his kingdom into Aryana. He expanded Aryana to include Turania, Chinastan, Makran and other lands as far as the Zereh Sea. From there he defeated the kings of Egypt and Syria and exacted tribute.

King Kavi Usadhan was succeeded by King Khosrow Siavakshan under whom the lesser kings declared the separation of their fiefdoms from his empire. This marked the end of a united Aryana which henceforth disintegrated into smaller empires governed by potentates possessing lesser magnificence.