Mahabharata and Ramayana are not Fictional stories, they happened for real. Here are some actual evidence of Mahabharata that we could have found out so far to prove that the epics are not just literature stories but they Happened for real. Although there are a lot of predictions written in our scriptures, Puranas, vedas and epics which have actually proved out to be true. There are many astronomical evidences, common folklore amongst the many communities which assures the realism of our epics. But this answer focuses in no clickbait but only on the actual evidences of Mahabharata that were found by the archeologists.
PAINTED GREY WARE CULTURE (PGW)
The search for proving Mahabharata to be true was conducted during 1950s by teams led by B.B. Lal who has served as the Director General of Archeological Survey of India. It is true that most of the places mentioned in the scriptures have retained their names over the years. Which led Lal to search for the evidences in the cities of Hastinapura which was the capital of Kururashtra. In the excavations, Lal and his team found out a kind of pottery characterized by style of fine, grey pottery painted with geometric patterns in black.
Some of the main aspects of PGW CULTURE include
- Cultivation of Rice, wheat, Sesame, barley, millets etc.
- Domestication of Cattle, sheep, horses
- Houses built using mud or bricks.
ALSO READ: Who Wrote Mahabharata?
PGW sites in Hastinapur and Panchala
The PGW sites were found in the Ghaggar-Hakra civilisation ( Hakra river is also known as the remnant of the Vedic Saraswati River) in the present day places of Himachal, Punjab, Haryana and might extend upto the cholistan region of present day Pakistan.
A similar kind of sites were also found in Hastinapur (Capital of Kurus), Ahicchatra (Capital of northern Panchala) Which were the dominant civilisation sites after the decline of Sindhu-Saraswati civilisation and in many other cities along the north India and those described in Mahabharata literature. This is a credible evidence of Mahabharata civilisation.
A recent excavation in the purana qila in Delhi also unearthed the PGW pottery. Although there were no specific layer was found which actually dates back to pauranic Indraprastha. However there is more work to be done.
A complete study on the Painted Grey ware culture can be found here :http://www.heritageuniversityofkerala.com/JournalPDF/Volume6/1.pdf. The PGW culture is an evidence of Mahabharata civilisation. It proves that a developed civilisation existed in those days just as described in the texts.
PRESENCE OF IRON :
1200 BCE marks the Iron age in India, and commonly it is claimed that Aryans brought Iron into India, However some recent discoveries show the presence of Iron in the Ganga civilisation years before this date. Plenty of Iron ore is found in the foothills of Himalayas and the Vindhyachal ranges. Many equipments like furnaces, slag, tuyers where excavated in the cities of Northern India which were carbon dated to be from 1800 – 1000 BCE as explained in this video. This is not a fool proof evidence of Mahabharata, but is sufficient enough to open paths for further discovery. However it is enough to prove that the Aryan invasion theory is not correct.
ALSO READ ABOUT MAHABHARATA: Jayadratha Defeated 4 Pandavas At Once – Death Of Abhimanyu
SINAULI EXCAVATIONS – Strong evidence of Mahabharata?:
Sinauli is an archeological in Baghpat district of western Uttar Pradesh, India, at the Ganga Yamuna Doab are a very strong evidence of Mahabharata The burials extracted contain various artefacts of Gold, Silver and copper jewellery pottery and some weapons. The site gained attention for its Bronze age solid-disk wheel carts, found in 2018, which were interpreted by some as horse-pulled chariots. Which again is a dent to the Aryan Invasion Theory as these chariots were dated back to 2000–1800 BCE.
DWARKA THE DROWNED CITY LORD KRISHNA
Excavations of Dr, S. R. Rao at Dwaraka prove that the descriptions found in the texts are not to be discarded as fancy stories but are to be treated as based on logic and reasoning. Dwarka is a coastal town in Jamnagar district of Gujarat situated at the shores of Arabian Sea. Excavations done at two sites on the seaward side of Dwarka brought to light submerged settlements, a large stone-built jetty, and triangular stone anchors with three holes. The settlements are in the form of exterior and interior walls, and fort bastions. Also there are discussions about the remnants of dwarka being found in the arabian Gulf. This opens gates to further discovery in these regions. The problems that we face is that only humans can dive down in that regions for only 3 months in an year, rest of the times, the human body would not be able to withstand the pressure. However the objects found till date are a strong evidence of Mahabharata.
ALSO READ THIS TOPIC ON MAHABHARATA: Who Was Ghatotkacha – Strong And Friendly Demon Son Of Bhima
Lost River of Saraswati
Satellite imagery found in the deserts of Thar in Rajasthan shows a dried up river channel, which is believed to be the ancient river Saraswati.
The first satellite images that showed evidence of the Saraswati River were taken by the Landsat satellite in the 1970s. These images showed a dried-up river channel in the Thar Desert, which is thought to be the Saraswati River. In the 1990s, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite series. These satellites provided higher resolution images of the Thar Desert, which allowed scientists to better map the course of the Saraswati River.
Saraswati River was found to be flowing from Himalayan region to all the way upto the Arabian sea, which strengthens the fact that India was more fertile in those regions. Also the Satellite imagery of lost Saraswati river strengthens the evidence of Mahabharata even more.
Lack of archeological evidence should only motivate us to research more on our scriptures, rather than disowning them.
