The Great Maya India Connection
by Nitin Mehta | Aug 28, 2020 | Articles
A closer look at the ancient Mayan civilization in Mexico as
well as the Inca and Aztec reveals an amazing similarity
with thoughts and beliefs that have flowed in India for
thousands of years. Indian’s were master navigators and
seafarers. They were probably the first settlers in the
Americas. The word Catamaran for a boat or ship on which
the India’s sailed to the Americas is the same in Spanish
The Mayan civilization which covers Guatemala, Honduras,
Belize, El Salvador and the Yucatan province of Mexico has
great similarities with Hindu legends and beliefs. The
Mayans were the Hindu seafarers who settled in these
countries. here are some of the similarities
Like Hindus in India, the Mayan people believe that Earth
(Prithvi), Water (Jal), Wind (Vayu) and Fire (Agni) were the
source of human life. They worship the Sun God (Surya),
the Moon God (Chandra), and Rain God, (Indra) and many
other gods and goddesses. Their temples also have
images of elephants and other animals.The American
continent never had elephants so the question remains as
to how they were carved on their temples. The phallic
symbol of Lord Shiva is also carved on most temples and
they have also been found in many places throughout
America. The Swastika has also been found in many
Mayan ruins.Like the Hindus the Mayans were also
primarily vegetarian.The Mexicam Tortilla is very similar
to the Indian rotis or chapatis. A stone sculpture of lord
Hanuman is present in Honduras and there is a belief that
there is a whole city dedicated to Lord Hanuman not yet
found. I have personally seen stone sculptures of which
are replicas of Hindu goddesses on Mayan monuments in
Mexico.
Hindu scriptures mention the legendary enmity between
serpents and eagles. Known as Garuda the eagle is also a
carrier of Lord Vishnu. Mexicans have a similar legend of
serpents and eagles.
In the Mahabharata there is mention of a tribe called Maya
Nagas who were exiled. They sailed to what was known as
Patal Lok in Mahabharat. Patal Lok is in the Americas.
The word Maya is most probably of Sanskrit origin.
Anthropologists have recently come to the conclusion that
people from the Indian subcontinent were among the first
to arrive in the continent of America thousands of years
ago.
Mayans believed there were thirteen layers of heaven and
nine underworlds, each with its presiding god, while the
ancient Hindu texts talked about thirteen Lokas (worlds)
above the earth and seven Lokas below the earth. Like
Hindus, Mayans believe in reincarnation and
transmigration of soul.
The Hindu Lotus and Chakra motifs adorn Mayan temples.
The Maya calendar begins in 3114 BC just after the
beginning of the Kali Yuga in 3102 BC. It is around this
time that the Nagas from India travelled to the Americas.
According to Dr. Ganapati Sthapati who travelled to South
American countries the Chichen Itza is built exactly
according to the scale of Indian temples. Chilambalam is
the name of the sacred room in Chichen Itza. The Tamil
word Chidambaram also means a sacred place within a
temple. He also found that two ancient structures at
Machu Picchu matched the principles and guidelines
prescribed in the Hindu Vastu Shahstra. Vastu shastra
(vāstu śāstra – literally “science of architecture”) is a
traditional Indian system of architecture originating in
India. Ephraim George Squier ( 1821-1888 ) US charge
d’affaires to central America in 1849 wrote , ‘ a proper
examination of these monuments would disclose the fact
that in their interior as well as their exterior form and
obvious purposes, these buildings ( temples in Palenque
Mexico ) correspond with great exactness of Hindustan.
According to author Swarupa the Hindu story of the
churning of the Ocean when Lord Vishnu appears in a
tortoise form is mentioned in the Maya codex Tro-
Cortesianus.It is one of the 3 surviving pre-columbian
Maya books. The Maya long nosed God is regarded as a
form of God Ganesha. Hindus believe in a trinity of Gods
and so do Mayans. South of Mexico is Guatemala, a major
centre for Mayans. Guatemala is referred to as Ketumala
in the Mahabharata and Vishnu Purana. An archaeological
sculpture, ‘ Panel 3 of Piedras Negra ‘ in Guatemala
depicts the coronation of Lord Rama’s sons Luv and Kush.
The Mayan doctrine of the World’s Ages – the universe – is
reminiscent of the Indian Yugas. Even the colors of these
four ages, white,yellow,red, and black are identical with
and in the same order as Indian Yugas. The duration of the
first age is the same as mentioned in Hindu scriptures:
4,800 divine years. One of India’s oldest board games –
the Pachisi – seems to have an almost similar counterpart
in early American civilization – Parcheesi. The people of
Mexico still play the game. The nomenclature has
morphed to Patilli. The descendants of the Mayan people
look very similar to Indian people. The physical features
are very similar and those visiting Mexico will soon realize
that they are mistaken for Mexicans!
Friar Diego de Landa, a Franciscan monk burned all Maya
manuscripts (containing priceless information on ancient
history, mythology, medicine, astronomy, science,
religion, and philosophy) and idols in Yucatán. An act of
great sacrilege. He wrote in his book – Relación de las
cosas de Yucatán Fr: “They had a very great number of
idols and temples which were magnificent in their own
fashion and besides the community temples, the lords,
priests and leading men also had oratories and idols in
their houses where they made their prayers and offerings
in private.” The Maya made idols of not only gods but also
of animals and insects. They also believed in immortality
of the soul and afterlife. All this sounds very similar to
Hindu worship and beliefs. Like the Maya, the Hindus too
have numerous gods which are considered as the
manifestations of the principal gods. They also worship
animals, rocks, trees and rivers which are considered holy
and sacred”. The 16th century Catholicism of Spanish
conquistadors resulted in millions of deaths and the
wholesale destruction of the Mayan civilisation.It was an
act of extreme and relentless violence. A truly dark period
of history
Sir William Jones, Anglo-Welsh philogist and a scholar of
ancient India particularly known for his proposition of the
existence of a relationship among European and Indo-
Aryan languages, found in the year 1786, the imprints of
the stories of Rama and Sita in the remnants of the Mayan
civilization. His quote which appeared in the Asiatic
Researches, Vol 1, Page 426 reads: “Rama is represented
as a descendant from the sun, He was the husband of Sita
and the son of a princess named Causelya. It is very
remarkable that Peruvians, whose Inces boasted the same
descent, styled their greatest festival – Rama-Sitva,
whence we may suppose that South America was peopled
by the same race who imported into the farthest parts of
Asia, the rites and the fabulous history of Ram
The Spanish author Lopez says in his book Le Races
Aryans de Peru writes: “Every page of Peruvian poetry
bears the imprint of Ramayana and Mahabharata.”
The word Aztec could be derived from one who ‘worships
Ashtabhuja or Ashtak’ ( 8 armed ).The eight armed god
found in Mexican temples. The only other place where
multi armed God is worshipped is in India.
There could be an even older connection between India
and the Americas. Surya Siddhanta is the oldest surviving
astronomical text in the Indian tradition. It explains that
earth is shaped like a ball and at the very opposite side of
the planet from India there is a great city where the sun is
rising at the same time as it sets in India. In this city the
Surya Siddhanta claims, lives a race of Siddhas or
advanced spiritual beings . If you trace round the globe to
the exact opposite side from India, you will find Mexico.
This means that Indian’s were aware of the Americas tens
of thousands of years ago.
Looking into the present is it not a strange fate that the
followers of the same beliefs are now residing in their
millions in North America and they are building new
temples?
Knowing what we know of the enterprising skills of the
Indian community, it is quite possible that there might be
some if not many moving on to Central America and
eventually temples will open, not far from the ancient
temples of the Maya people!
