Shan Hai Jing Unveiled and the Secrets of the Xia Dynasty.
Part 5: Enigma of "Makara" in Mesoamerican-Hindu-Chinese Legends
Dr Ong Hean Tatt, Ph.D. 7th January 2020.

A true unique remarkable statistics based highly scholarly deciphering of Shan Hai Jing and its practical applicable meanings!
Millennia old secrets finally broken!

The Makara, alias the "Dragon Fish"

The research into the links of the 3rd millennium text Shan Hai Jing and the Meso-America and even ancient India, came across several interesting motifs, one of them being the Hindu "makara", the crocodile or "dragon fish" motif.

• Let us start with getting a general understanding of what is regarded as a "Makara" and how to identify it. The Sanskrit makara ("sea creature") later formed Hindi and nd Urdu magar , which means crocodile, the mugar crocodile in modern times. This is of relevance later as the first depictions of the Makara where as the "vehicle" of the god Varuna. Later it was the "vehicle" of the goddess Ganga. Its appearance changed from a crocodile to a composite creature through the ages …
  Later we see the goddess Ganga on the "makara" or Great fish. Ganga is the river, it's the milkyway. Also Shiva has an avatar Matsya, where he is depicted with a great fish . Sumerian half fish dieties next to tree of life are related as Jezus as fish symbolism Stijn van den Hoven. 22-10-2017. The Makara, a clear link between Meso American and Asian Vedic cultures. Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/stijnvdhoven. Website: www.stijnvandenhoven.com )

  Makara-shaped earrings called Makarakundalas are sometimes worn by the Hindu gods, for example Shiva, the Destroyer, or the Preserver-god Vishnu, the Sun god Surya, and the Mother Goddess Chandi. Makara is also the insignia of the love god Kamadeva, who has no dedicated temples and is also known as Makaradhvaja, "one whose flag depicts a makara". Wikipedia. Makara.

Figure 1 shows the an image of the Hindu god Varuna riding a makara. Note how similar is the image to that of the Mexican Jaguar God riding a crocodile like beast..

Makara Sculptures at Entrances to Temple

Among the American Indian pyramid temples, the makara would be sculptures at the entrance to stairways in to the temples. (Figure 2). They are also found as flanking entrances to Hindu temples.

• These entrance makara are equivalent to the double dragons or lion-dogs found at entrances to sacred Chinese temples (Figure 3). They are also the Chinese Twin Door Gods.

That is, these makara sculptures would significantly serve as flanking deities at entrances to sacred buildings in a wide range of ancient cultures..

• Because the Makara's are clearly identified on the Aztec Calendar stone and on Stele 25 of Izapa by the author of this paper, it is asserted that two "snakes" on Chitzen Itza are also Makara's, their broken of horns incorrectly reconstructed to their chin. Chitzen Itza is a calendar in a 3 dimensional building (365 steps, alignment to cardinal directions etc etc), while the calendar. stone is a calendar in 2 dimensions. Stijn van den Hoven. 22-10-2017. The Makara, a clear link between Meso American and Asian Vedic cultures. Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/stijnvdhoven. Website: www.stijnvandenhoven.com )

The makara figures are originally those of the crocodile, or what the ancient Chinese called the "chiao dragon". They had been transformed into either serpents or dragons images. In some cases, they were replaced by the twin gods flanking the entrances.

Why the Makara? The Astronomical Origin

It is among the Meso-American traditions that we have some explanations of the astronomical origins of the makara.

Ancient cultures all over the world observed the night skies and the stars. These stars and their constellations form various images, many of which ancient cultures named after animals and plants.

The Milky Way, extending from the north to the south towards the ecliptic has a "Crocodile" shape, its open jaws close to the ecliptic. (Figure 4). It is this "Crocodile" part which features significantly in the Aztec religion, as the area between the "jaws" signify the Galactic Center to where Souls of the dead are supposed to go to..

Hence, one analysts sees a link between these makaras and ancient 28 Lunar Constellations astronomy:

• The sacred Hindu text Shatpatha Brhamana , a veda, mentions an idea of a mythical planetary system called Shishumara.
  This is a description of the sky, the Makara creature in particular. 14-14 stars refers to the lunar mansions. Its the milkyway figure that is described here. Exactly like Izapa stele 25. The tree of life or our revolving skies. Even though the author attempted to name the stars mentioned here, his Indian star naming knowledge falls short. It was just enough to understand the concept of what is said and link it to the Makara as such. If anyone is knowledgable to fill in below gaps related to indian star naming and complete it please contact the author of this paper.
  It is described as "having its head downward and its body coiled. On the end of its tail is the planet of Dhruva [1] This is the bird in the tree of Izapa stele 25, the little dipper containing Polaris ... Its also the top large star in the western christmas tree, which, is a representation of the tree of life as well. Its lights and balls the other stars.
  On the body of its tail are the planets of demigods Prajapati [2], Agni [3], Indra [4] and Dharma, [5] and at the base of its tail are the planets of the demigods Dhata [6] and Vidhata.[7] Where the hips might be on the Shishumara are the seven saintly sages [8] like Vasinora and Aigira.
  The coiled body of the Shishumar-cakra turns toward its right side, on which the fourteen constellations from Abhijit to Punarvasu [9] are located. On its left side are the fourteen stars from Punya to Uttaranoaha. [10] Thus its body is balanced because its sides are occupied by an equal number of stars. ..
  On the back of the Shishumara is a group of stars known as the Ajavethe [11], and on its abdomen is the Ganges [12] that flows into the sky (Stijn van den Hoven. 22-10-2017. The Makara, a clear link between Meso American and Asian Vedic cultures. Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/stijnvdhoven. Website: www.stijnvandenhoven.com )

In various ancient cultures, the "jaws of the Crocodile" would be represented by the two "Hell Dogs", vis Canis Major and Canis Minor which lie on opposite sides of the Milky Way.

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