Evidence of Hinduism in countries other than India

Evidence of Hinduism in countries other than India

 

1.    Was the Christian Vatican originally a Shiva temple?

In these pictures take a look at the tripundra (three lines worn by Lord Shiva as tilak). The word 'Vatican' itself is derived from the Sanskrit word Vatika, which means Vedic cultural or religious centers, such as Yagna-Vatika. Such words and discoveries prove that the Vatican was a Hindu (Vedic) religious center before its incumbent was forced to accept Christianity from 1st century AD. Also, according to some reports, a Shiva linga was found during the excavation and is kept for display at a Museum in Rome.

(http://www.speakingtree.in/allslides/mysterious-cases-of-hindu-temples-that-will-shock-you)

 

Siva Linga at Gregorian Etruscan Museum, Vatican City

This Siva Lingam is exhibited in Gregorian Etruscan Museum, Vatican City. It has the most important Etruscan collection in Rome, starting with early Iron Age objects from the 9th century BC.

2.    Kaba and Mecca

and Their Roots in Hinduism

The Shiv Ling at The Kaba. It was broken in seven
places and now is held together by a silver band.

The Black Stone which is the Shiv Emblem (also known as Sange Aswad which is a corrupted form of the Sanskrit word Sanghey Ashweta--meaning non-white stone) still survives in the Kaba as the central object of Islamic veneration. All other Vedic Idols could be found buried in the precincts or trampled underfoot in labyrinthine subterranean corridors if archaeological excavations are undertaken. The Black Stone has been badly mutilated, its carved base has disappeared and the stone itself is broken at seven places. It's parts are now held together by a silver band studded with silver nails. It lies half buried in the South Eastern portion of the Kaba Wall. The term Kaba itself is a corruption of the Sanskrit word Gabha (Garbha + Graha) which means Sanctum.

Kaba itself was dedicated to the Moon God Somnath alias Shiv and the word Somnath was corrupted to Manat. The famous Black Stone is none other than the Shiv Ling of Makkeshwar alias Mecca. Lord Shiva is always shown with a crescent Moon on his head and every Shiva temple is supposed to have a sacred water spring representing the Ganges. The Crescent Moon pinnacle of the Kaba and the Zamzam spring (actually Zamza from Ganga) are irrefutable testaments to the Vedic origins of the Kaba.

Maqam-E-Ibrahim or more appropriately the pedestal of Brahma.

This shrine is actually the pedestal of Brahma. Notice that the word, Ibrahim is actually a corruption of the word, Brahma. The octogonal grill which is a Vedic design, protects the holy footprints which represent the start of the creation nearly 2000 million years ago. Before it was captured by the Muslims it was an international shrine of the Vedic trinity.

The text of the crucial Vikramaditya inscription, found inscribed on a gold dish hung inside the Kaaba shrine in Mecca, is found recorded on page 315 of a volume known as ‘Sayar-ul-Okul’ treasured in the Makhtab-e-Sultania library in Istanbul, Turkey. Rendered in free English the inscription says:
"Fortunate are those who were born (and lived) during king Vikram’s reign. He was a noble, generous dutiful ruler, devoted to the welfare of his subjects. But at that time we Arabs, oblivious of God, were lost in sensual pleasures. Plotting and torture were rampant. The darkness of ignorance had enveloped our country. Like the lamb struggling for her life in the cruel paws of a wolf we Arabs were caught up in ignorance. The entire country was enveloped in a darkness so intense as on a new moon night. But the present dawn and pleasant sunshine of education is the result of the favour of the noble king Vikramaditya whose benevolent supervision did not lose sight of us- foreigners as we were. He spread his sacred religion amongst us and sent scholars whose brilliance shone like that of the sun from his country to ours. These scholars and preceptors through whose benevolence we were once again made cognisant of the presence of God, introduced to His sacred existence and put on the road of Truth, had come to our country to preach their religion and impart education at king Vikramaditya’s behest."

As the pilgrim proceeds towards Mecca he is asked to shave his head and beard and to don special sacred attire that consists of two seamless sheets of white cloth. One is to be worn round the waist and the other over the shoulders. Both these rites are remnants of the old Vedic practice of entering Hindu temples clean- and with holy seamless white sheets.

Another Hindu tradition associated with the Kaaba is that of the sacred stream Ganga (sacred waters of the Ganges river). According to the Hindu tradition Ganga is also inseparable from the Shiva emblem as the crescent moon. Wherever there is a Siva emblem, Ganga must co-exist. True to that association a sacred fount exists near the Kaaba. Its water is held sacred because it has been traditionally regarded as Ganga since pre-Islamic times (Zam-Zam water).

Semitic comes from the Sanskrit word Smritic. Arabs followed the
ancient Vedic Smritis such as Manu-Smriti as their revered religious guides and thus they were identified as Smritic which has been corrupted into Semitic.

For a long time the Uttarapath (Northern Highway) was the international highway to the North of India. It was via Uttarapath that Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries drew their spiritual, educational and material sustenance from India. Besides, this Sea-links were formed with India at least 800 years before the advent of Islam. Basra was the ancient gateway to India because it was at this port that the Arab lands recieved Indian goods and visitors. At that time the spoken language was Sanskrit, which later dwindled into the local variation that we now call Arabic. The proof of this is that thousands of words that were derived from Sanskrit still survive in Arabic today.

It might come as a stunning revelation to many that the word ‘ALLAH’ itself is Sanskrit. In Sanskrit language Allah, Akka and Amba are synonyms. They signify a goddess or mother. The term ‘ALLAH’ forms part of Sanskrit chants invoking goddess Durga, also known as Bhavani, Chandi and Mahishasurmardini. The Islamic word for God is., therefore, not an innovation but the ancient Sanskrit appellation retained and continued by Islam. Allah means mother or goddess and mother goddess.
One Koranic verse is an exact translation of a stanza in the Yajurveda. This was pointed out by the great research scholar Pandit Satavlekar of Pardi in one of his articles.
[Note: Another scholar points out that the following teaching from the Koran is exactly similar to the teaching of the Kena Upanishad (1.7).
The Koran:"Sight perceives Him not. But He perceives men's sights; for He is the knower of secrets , the Aware."
Kena Upanishad:"That which cannot be seen by the eye but through which the eye itself sees, know That to be Brahman (God) and not what people worship here (in the manifested world)."
A simplified meaning of both the above verses reads:
God is one and that He is beyond man's sensory experience.]

The Muslim month ‘Safar’ signifying the ‘extra’ month (Adhik Maas) in the Hindu calendar. The Muslim month Rabi is the corrupt form of Ravi meaning the sun because Sanskrit ‘V’ changes into Prakrit ‘B’ (Prakrit being the popular version of Sanskrit language). The Muslim sanctity for Gyrahwi Sharif is nothing but the Hindu Ekadashi (Gyrah = elevan or Gyaarah). Both are identical in meaning.The Islamic practice of Bakari Eed derives from the Go-Medh and Ashva-Medh Yagnas or sacrifices of Vedic times. Eed in Sanskrit means worship. The Islamic word Eed for festive days, signifying days of worship, is therefore a pure Sanskrit word. The word MESH in the Hindu zodiac signifies a lamb. Since in ancient times the year used to begin with the entry of the sun in Aries, the occasion was celebrated with mutton feasting. That is the origin of the Bakari Eed festival.
[Note: The word Bakari is an Indian language word for a goat.]

Shabibarat is the corrupt form of Shiva Vrat and Shiva Ratra.

The ancient Vedic scripture Harihareswar Mahatmya mentions that Lord Vishnu's footprints are consecrated in Mecca. An important clue to this fact is that Muslims call this holy precint Haram which is a deviation of the Sanskrit term Hariyam, i.e. the precint of Lord Hari alias Lord Vishnu. The relevant stanza reads:
"Ekam Padam Gayayantu MAKKAYAANTU Dwitiyakam Tritiyam Sthapitam Divyam Muktyai Shuklasya Sannidhau"

The allusion is to the Vamana incarnation of Lord Vishnu whose blessed feet were consecrated at three holy sites, namely Gaya, Mecca and Shukla Teertha. Worshipping such carved, holy foot impressions is a holy Vedic custom which convert Muslims are inadvertently perpetuating. But in doing this they delude themselves and mislead others that these foot-impressions which are on reverential display in several mosques and tombs around the world are in fact Muhammad's own. There are several snags in this argument. Firstly worshipping a foot -impression amounts to idolatry and should therefore be taboo for a true Muslim. Secondly Muhhamad disclaimed having performed any miracles. Therefore there can be no foot-impression of his on stone. Thirdly foot-impressions must always be in pairs like shoes. Yet in most of these shrines, it is usually a single footprint which suggests that Muhammad walked on only one foot. Another question that crops up is whether the foot-impression is of the same size and foot in all the shrines. The fact appears to be that when the Vedic Kaba shrine in Mecca was invaded by Muhammad, the pairs of foot impressions of Vedic deities there were plundered and later traded to the gullible and devout as Muhammad's own footprints for some favour, reward or personal gain by unscrupulous clergy. That is why they are single and not in pairs.

Hareem is Arabic for women — plural. Hormah is woman. Hareem is the women of the house. Hormah comes from Arabic haram, holy, sacrosanct, sanctuary. "Most surely the first house appointed for men is the one at Bekka (Mecca), blessed and a guidance for the nations. In it are clear signs, the standing place of Ibrahim ..".  The Kuran talks about Bekka (the older name of Mecca) being the first house of worship appointed for mankind. It also addresses this place as Umm ul-Qurâ i.e., Mother of the Settlements. The actual structure of the Kaaba has been demolished and rebuilt several times in the course of its history.

(http://jheevaprakaash367.blogspot.in/2010_09_01_archive.html)

the kaaba in mecca is actualy SHIVA LINGA.the word allah itself is a sanskrit word meaning ‘goddess’.to this day there r inscriptions in sanskrit language on the kaaba.As the pilgrim proceeds towards Mecca he is asked to shave his head and beard and to don special sacred attire that consists of two seamless sheets of white cloth. One is to be worn round the waist and the other over the shoulders. Both these rites are remnants of the old Vedic practice of entering Hindu temples clean- and with holy seamless white sheets. The main shrine in Mecca, which houses the Siva emblem, is known as the Kaaba. It is clothed in a black shroud. That custom also originates from the days when it was thought necessary to discourage its recapture by camouflaging it.Muslim pilgrims visiting the Kaaba temple go around it seven times. In no other mosque does the circumambulation prevail. Hindus invariably circumambulate around their deities. This is yet another proof that the Kaaba shrine is a pre-Islamic Indian Shiva temple where the Hindu practice of circumambulation is still meticulously observed.The practice of taking seven steps- known as Saptapadi in Sanskrit- is associated with Hindu marriage ceremony and fire worship. The culminating rite in a Hindu marriage enjoins upon the bride and groom to go round the sacred fire four times (but misunderstood by many as seven times). Since “Makha” means fire, the seven circumambulations also prove that Mecca was the seat of Indian fire-worship in the West Asia.

The Islamic practice of Bakari Eed derives from the Go-Medh and Ashva-Medh Yagnas or sacrifices of Vedic times. Eed in Sanskrit means worship. The Islamic word Eed for festive days, signifying days of worship, is therefore a pure Sanskrit word. The word MESH in the Hindu zodiac signifies a lamb. Since in ancient times the year used to begin with the entry of the sun in Aries, the occasion was celebrated with mutton feasting. That is the origin of the Bakari Eed festival.[Note:The word Bakari is an Indian language word]


The Islamic term 'Eed-ul-Fitr' derives from the 'Eed of Piters' that is worship of forefathers in Sanskrit tradition. In India, Hindus commemorate their ancestors during the Pitr-Paksha that is the fortnight reserved for their remembrance. The very same is the significance of 'Eed-ul-Fitr' (worship of forefathers).The Islamic practice of observing the moon rise before deciding on celebrating the occasion derives from the Hindu custom of breaking fast on Sankranti and Vinayaki Chaturthi only after sighting the moon.Barah Vafat, the Muslim festival for commemorating those dead in battle or by weapons, derives from a similar Sanskrit tradition because in Sanskrit 'Phiphaut' is 'death'. Hindus observe Chayal Chaturdashi in memory of those who have died in battle.The word Arabia is itself the abbreviation of a Sanskrit word. The original word is 'Arabasthan'. Since Prakrit 'B' is Sanskrit 'V' the original Sanskrit name of the land is 'Arvasthan'. 'Arva' in Sanskrit means a horse. Arvasthan signifies a land of horses., and as well all know, Arabia is famous for its horses.Four months of the year are regarded as very sacred in Islamic custom. The devout are enjoined to abstain from plunder and other evil deeds during that period. This originates in the Chaturmasa i.e., the four-month period of special vows and austerities in Hindu tradition. Shabibarat is the corrupt form of Shiva Vrat and Shiva Ratra. Since the Kaaba has been an important centre of Shiva (Siva) worship from times immemorial, the Shivaratri festival used to be celebrated there with great gusto. It is that festival which is signified by the Islamic word Shabibarat. Since Eed means worship and Griha means 'house', the Islamic word Idgah signifies a 'House of worship' which is the exact Sanskrit connotation of the term. Similarly the word 'Namaz' derives from two Sanskrit roots 'Nama' and 'Yajna' (NAMa yAJna) meaning bowing and worshipping.


All Arabic copies of the Koran have the mysterious figure 786 imprinted on them . No Arabic scholar has been able to determine the choice of this particular number as divine. It is an established fact that Muhammad was illiterate therefore it is obvious that he would not be able to differentiate numbers from letters. This “magical” number is none other than the Vedic holy letter “OM” written in Sanskrit. Anyone who knows Sanskrit can try reading the symbol for “OM” backwards in the Arabic way and magically the numbers 786 will appear! Muslims in their ignorance simply do not realise that this special number is nothing more than the holiest of Vedic symbols misread.U can try reading it urself.look at the figure OM in a mirror and you can make out the Devnagari (Sanskrit-Hindi) numerals 7-8-6

24 Dec 2012

Posted by Kattar Hindu

(http://kattar-hindu.blogspot.in/2012/12/makka-madina-is-shiv-temple-proof.html)

3.    The Lost Hindu empire of Cambodia

A visit to Cambodia is recommended or may even be de rigueur for any Indian with an interest in the erstwhile history of India. There are several hundred Hindu and Buddhist temple ruins throughout the countryside, especially around the town of Siem Reap near the large lake Tonle Sap. Siem Reap is the heart of the country. Here is where the splendid temple Angkor Wat has stood for nearly nine hundred years.

 

The sprawling temple spreads over a one square mile area. Long walls with stories of Hindu mythology are sculpted as bas-reliefs. It is a magnificent temple complex, constructed in the form of mythological Mount Meru - the Hindu center of the Universe. The brilliant paint used to enhance the reliefs has faded but the architecture and beauty are still preserved. The sheer magnitude of the temple complex is impressive. All the gods of the Hindu pantheon are represented in temple sculpture. Shiva and Vishnu were held in high esteem.

4. Ancient Tamil Brahmi script found in Egypt

A broken storage jar with inscriptions in Tamil Brahmi script has been excavated at Quseir-al-Qadim, an ancient port with a Roman settlement on the Red Sea coast of Egypt. This Tamil Brahmi script has been dated to first century B.C. The same inscription is incised twice on the opposite sides of the jar. The inscription reads paanai oRi, that is, pot (suspended) in a rope net. A pottery specialist at the British Museum, London, identified the fragmentary vessel as a storage jar made in India.

 

5. Potsherd with Tamil-Brahmi script found in Oman

A Tamil-Brahmi script inscribed on a potsherd, which was found at the Khor Rori area in Oman, has come to light now. The script reads “nantai kiran” and it can be dated to first century CE, that is, 1900 years before the present. The discovery in the ancient city of Sumhuram has opened a new chapter in understanding the maritime trade of the Indian Ocean countries, according to specialists in history.

 

6.  Large ancient Hindu temple found in Bali

Construction workers in Bali have discovered what is thought to be the biggest ancient Hindu temple ever found on the Indonesian island, archaeologists said. The workers were digging a drain in the island's capital Denpasar at a Hindu study centre when they came across the remains of the stone temple. They reported the discovery to the Bali archaeology office, which then unearthed substantial foundations of a structure that the excavation team believes dates from around the 13th to 15th centuries.

 

7. Ruins of ancient temple found in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

The ruins of an ancient building discovered at the Indonesian Islamic University in Yogyakarta have been confirmed as a temple to worship the Hindu gods Shiva and Ganesha. Linga, the symbol for the worship of Shiva, and yoni, a Sanskrit symbol for divine passage or place of birth, were found in the area.

 

8. Mystery of Hanuman: Lost city of the 'Monkey God' found in Central America!

La Ciudad Blanca, Spanish for ‘The White City’ is a legendary settlement said to be located in the Mosquitia region of eastern Honduras in Central America. Researcher Charles Lindberg, during one of his flights over the jungles of Mosquitia in Hondurus, claimed caught a glimpse of what he thought was the ‘Lost City of the Monkey God‘ where, legend says that local people worshipped huge ‘Monkey Sculptures‘.

 

A hidden refuge of gods?

Theodore Morde – an American adventurer, worked on the tip given by Lindberg and claimed that he had finally found the lost city in 1940. He claimed sacrifices were made by local Indians to a gigantic idol of an ape. However, he was killed by a car in London before he could announce its exact location. Morde had originally been looking for the White City, a hidden refuge of gods and gold first reported by Hernan Cortez.

Discovering the statue of Hanuman

Researchers from the University of Houston and the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping flew over the Mosquitia region and revealed that there is evidence of a plaza dotted with ancient pyramids now reclaimed by the jungle on the east end of Hondurus. On the western end of Hondurus is the city of Copan – the site of the ancient Howler Monkey God statue. This monkey god that Westerners are talking about can actually be related to Lord Hanuman.

The Ramayan connection

Ramayana’s Kishkinda Kanda descibes about Trident of Peru, South America etc and Yuddha Kanda (War Episode) describes about Hanuman travelling to Paatala Loka (Central America and Brazil, which are on other side of India in globe) and meeting his son Makaradhwaja, who resembles him. After killing the King of Paatala, Hanuman makes his son Makaradhwaja as ruler of that kingdom and he is being worshipped as God since then.

This could be one of the reasons why ancient Americans of central and south paint red color to all their gods statues. The discovery of Vedic Havan Kund in peru is also one more evidence of Vedic influence in this region. After his expedition, Morder described traveling miles through swamps, up rivers, and over mountains before coming across ruins that he interpreted as the remains of a walled city. He claimed to have evidence of large, ruined buildings and said that his Paya guides told him that there once was a temple with a large staircase leading to a statue of a “Monkey God.”

The discovery of the ruins

Morde speculated that the deity was an American parallel to the Hindu deity Hanuman, who he says was the equivalent of America’s own Paul Bunyan in his amazing feats of strength and daring. Morde was told that the temple had a “long, staired approach” lined with stone effigies of monkeys. “The heart of the Temple was a high stone dais on which was the statue of the Monkey God himself - before it was a place of sacrifice.”

The artifacts from the site include Lord Hanuman

Morde and Brown brought back thousands of artifacts, most of which became part of the collection of the Heye Foundation Museum of the American Indian in New York City. These included metal razors, stone blades, a flute, stone statuary, and stone utensils. Morde and Brown also reported having found evidence of gold, silver, platinum, and oil and are now at display in National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

9. Munneswaram Temple in Munneswaram, Sri Lanka

This temple is said to have been in existence since the days to the Ramayana. It is said that Lord Ram prayed to Lord Shiva here after he won against Ravana. It is a temple complex comprising of five temples. Of these the one dedicated to Lord Shiva is the central and the biggest one. This temple has been destroyed twice in the past by the Portuguese before it was finally handed over to the Jesuits who rebuilt it.

10. Mukti Gupteshwar Temple in Minto, Australia

The 13th and the last Jyothirlinga was gifted to Australia in 1999 by the then King of Nepal -- the late Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev. Together with this was gifted 7996 hymns arranged in eight volumes especially to be sung in praise of this deity. According to the scriptures, construction of this lingam had to be in the southern hemisphere which symbolised the 'mouth of the snake', the snake being like an ornament around Lord Shiva's neck. Hence Australia was chosen. This temple's foundation was laid on Shivratri in 1999 in Minto -- Sydney's suburb. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it is the only cave temple to have been constructed by man. Together with the 13th Jyotirlinga, the temple also houses the replicas of the other 12 Jyotirlingas.

11. New finds take archaeologists closer to Krishna, in Afghanisthan

The conch and the Sudarshana Chakra are unmistakable. Although the figures do not match popular images of Krishna sporting a peacock feather, archaeologists are convinced that the coins are of Krishna, revered as an avatar of Vishnu. "These square coins, dating back to 180- BC, with Krishna on one side and Balram on the other, were unearthed recently in Al Khanoun in Afghanistan and are the earliest proof that Krishna was venerated as a god, and that the worship had spread beyond the Mathura region," says T K V Rajan, archaeologist and founder-director, Indian Science Monitor. Having done extensive research in Brindavan, Rajan is convinced that a lot of the spiritual history of ancient India lies buried.

 

12. Ancient Hindu temple unearthed in Sri Lanka

A heap of ruins where a Hindu temple of Chola period was believed to have been buried has been unearthed in the Northern part of Delft. The temple is 40 feet long and 10 feet wide. Professor P. Pushparatnam of the Jaffna University History Department commenting on the findings, said the people of the locality are unable to say when this temple was built. The ruins indicate that the building would have been built many years ago.

 

13. Ancient Idol of Lord Vishnu found in Russia

An ancient Vishnu idol has been found 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 VII-X 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.

 

Dr Kozhevin, who has been conducting excavation in Staraya Maina for last seven years, 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. Prior to unearthing of the Vishnu idol, Dr Kozhevin has already found ancient coins, pendants, rings and fragments of weapons. “We may consider it incredible, but we have ground to assert that Middle-Volga region was the original land of Ancient Rushi.

 

14. Hindu temples of Quanzhou - A forgotten history of china

Quanzhou and its surrounding area consists of shrines or temples that according to historians is part network of number of Hindu shrines and temple. At present, there are no Hindus in Quanzhou. But there previously existed a small Hindu community in late 13th century, mostly situated in southeastern part of China. The inscription of bilingual Tamil and Chinese-language has been associated with the remains of a Shiva temple of Quanzhou. Shiva temple is one of the two south Indian-style Hindu temples.

 

The roots of the shrine do not lie in china but from the south India. Most of the residents of the village think that deity is Guanyin the female Bodhisattva who is venerated in many parts of China. Every morning the local residents of the village pray, they light incense sticks and chant prayers unlike any deity one might find elsewhere in China. The Hindu temple in the village collapsed 500 years ago but as local residents had belief that they still carry, goddess brought them good fortune, they dug through the ruins, saved the deity and rebuilt the temple.

Goddess Saraswathi in Bali

The gate of Balinese Hindu temple, Pura Taman Saraswati, dedicated to the goddess Sarasvati, Ubud, Bali

Shiva in South Africa

In South Africa, Ina Cave called Sudwara ( Good Gate ) archaeologists found , Mahadeva (SHRI SHIV) ६००० year old idol of Shiva which got created from hard granite stone.Archaeologist who found this Shivling statue of Lord Shiv are so perplexed to know , it remain so far 6000 years how safe? The most recently World largest statue of Lord Shivshakti(Lord Shiv) has been unveil in South Africa . In this Statue along with Lord Siva, His consort Parvati (The Power of Universe) is also present. The statue of Lord Shiva in enshrined in city The highest Shiva-Shakti statue in the world, towering 20 metres above the ground has been unveiled in South Africa.Nine artisans from India spent 10 months building and putting the finer detail on the steel statue at Actonville in Benoni City of South Africa which features Lord Shiva on one half and Mother Shakti on the other.

In Petra Jordan

Historians tell us that sometime during the 6th - 4th centuries BC, the Nabataeans, a nomadic tribe from north-western Arabia, entered the region of Petra, and established their cultural, commercial and ceremonial center at Petra. Petra was located strategically at the intersection of the overland Silk Route which connected India and China with Egypt and the Hellenistic world, and the Incense Route from Arabia to Damascus. It soon developed into a thriving commercial center.

Sometime during the 3rd century BC, the Nabataeans began to decorate their capital city with splendid rock-cut temples and buildings. [Right: The Khasneh or "Treasury"] Their economic prosperity and architectural achievements continued unabated even after they came under the control of the Roman Empire in 106 CE. The neglect and decline of Petra started soon after Emperor Constantine declared Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire in 324 CE. A series of earthquakes crippled the region in the 7th - 8th centuries and Petra disappeared from the map of the known world, only to be rediscovered centuries later in 1812, by a Swiss explorer named Johann Burckhardt.

While the architectural grandeur of Petra continues to captivate us, the mysterious religious beliefs of the Nabataeans have puzzled historians.

Within the temple of Al Deir, the largest and most imposing rock-cut temple in Petra, is present an unworked, black, block of stone, like an obelisk, representing the most important deity of the Nabataeans -- Dushara.

The term Dushara means 'Lord of the Shara', which refers to the Shara mountains to the north of Petra. The symbolic animal of Dushara was a bull. All over Petra, Dushara was represented symbolically by stone blocks.

At the entrance of Petra there are three massive standing blocks of stone, known as Djin blocks, which were sacred to the inhabitants. There are nearly 40 such Djin blocks present throughout Petra. In addition, at religious sites throughout the city, the Nabataeans carved a standing stone block called a baetyl, literally meaning 'house of god'.

A baetyl physically marked a deity's presence. It could be a square [Above, left] or rounded like a dome [Above, right]. Some baetyls' were depicted with a lunar crescent on the top. The Nabataeans also appear to be snake worshippers. One of the most prominent structures in Petra is the snake monument, which shows a gigantic coiled-up snake on a block of stone. [Below]

In Nepal

Pashupatinath Temple is the oldest Hindu temple in Kathmandu. It is not known for certain when Pashupatinath Temple was built. But according to Nepal Mahatmaya and Himvatkhanda,^[7] the deity here gained great fame there as Pashupati, the Lord of all Pashus, which are living as well as non-living beings. Pashupatinath Temple's existence dates back to 400 B.C. The richly-ornamented pagoda houses the sacred linga or holy symbol of Lord Shiva.

In Vietnam

My Son Vedic temple

In Mangolia

In Myanmar

Web References:

(http://www.speakingtree.in/allslides/mysterious-cases-of-hindu-temples-that-will-shock-you)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Hindu_temples_in_Indonesia

https://www.facebook.com/ResurgingHinduism/posts/516857758385387

http://www.viewzone.com/petra.html

https://pparihar.com/2016/09/03/vishnupurbishnupur-in-burma-ancient-aryan-city/