Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bound to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan.
The name Georgia is an exonym, used in the West since the medieval period. It is presumably derived from the Persian designation of the Georgians as, 'gorgan', evolving from Parthian wurgan, and Middle Persian wirucan, rooting from Old persian 'vrkan' which means 'wolves', and 'varkana' meaning 'land of wolves'.
However, what is left unsaid is that the Persian 'varkana' itself originates from the Sanskrit 'vrik' (वृक) meaning 'wolf'. It is from the Sanskrit Vrika that the Persians derived varkana and the Greeks derived Hyrcania. That the root Vri which appears in Sanskrit is not derived from any other language is attested by the fact that Vrik, in Sanskrit, also means to move or go or hide, and appears in animal names such as 'vrishaba' (bull), vrischaka (scorpion), vrikari (dog) etc. For more on this subject and the Sanskrit connect to Georgian names click here.
One of the major rivers in Georgia is the Kura which is a name of Turkish origin. Some have contended that the River Kura gets its name from the ancient Albanian term for 'reservoir'. Even here the Sanskrit connect is evident. In Sanskrit, 'karshu' (कर्षू) means 'river', so does 'kula' (कूल) which is more often used to refer to a 'riverbank'. A 'kupa' (कूप) is a 'well' and 'kulya' (कुल्या) is a small river. Derivatives of 'kula' such as 'kulini' (कूलिनी) and 'kulvati' (कूलवती) also mean 'river'.
The Georgian name of the river Kura is Mt'k'vari and its roots are traced to the Georgian 'good water'. That too has a Sanskrit connect, for 'vaari' (वारि) and 'vaarii' (वारी) both mean 'water' in Sanskrit. However, a more likely etymology lies in the Georgian word 'mtvare' meaning 'moon'. And there are obvious reasons for his point of view.
The Mt'k'vari river forms a 'sangam' of sorts, a confluence, with another river by the name 'Araghave'. Mainline sources say that the name 'Araghave' originates from old Iranian Ragvi meaning 'swift'. Once again compare this to the Sanskrit 'raghu' (रघु) meaning 'rapid' or even 'raghav' (राघव) meaning 'sea' or 'ocean'. 'Araghave' is the Armenian version of the name 'Raghave'. The Georgian word for confluence is 'seshartavi'. The suffix 'tavi'' appears in the word 'Tavisa', Sanskrit for 'river' or 'ocean'. The confluence takes place near the city of Mtsekhta.
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The Aragvi (right) meets the Mtkvari at Mtskheta, one of the oldest inhabited cities of the word. Aragvi, Mtkvari and Mtskheta are names of Sanskrit origins. |
Mtsketa is one of the earliest inhabited cities of the world. It was the centre of ancient temples in pre-Christian times, and it became one of the first places to see the destruction of its temples at the time of the rise of Christianity such as the one in Tshika Gora - see picture below.
The temple of Lomisa:
The temple at Lomisa, at its earliest it is said, was dedicated to a lion goddess, hence the name Lomisa. 'Lomi' is 'lion' in Georgian. But this seems to be slight deviation from what might have been the truth. As we see, it appears that eventually the Temple came to be dedicated to a moon god and his bull. This new Lomisa deity was known to have been the rider of the bull. This is the same as the lore of Shiva, who in the Vedic tradition, as the moon god is known as 'Soma' and has a bull as its vahana or vehicle. he is often seen seated on a tiger skin- the tiger was a mystical creature which evolved from all Yagna arranged by antagonist sages to attack Shiva but is slayed by him. Therefore, the 'lion goddess' appears to be the Vedic Indic Durga who is seated either on a lion or a tiger. In later times after the original meaning of the name had been forgotten, the Georgians invented myths to explain its origins. The forgotten memory of Shiv and Soma together seemed to have generated the name
Lomisa.
Shiva rides the Nandi bull. Shiva as the moon-God wears a half crescent moon and is known as Soma. Hence Loma. In Lomisa the bulls horn gets associated with the shape of the crescent moon.
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Georgian bull-motif from an ancient temple column excavated in Tsikha Gora, Georgia is a reminder
of the Vedic 'Nandi'. Picture Courtesy: Encyclopaedia Iranica
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The image of the kneeling bull 'Nandi' is a common occurrence in Hindu temples - both ancient and present - and explains the Georgian bull motif.
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The kneeling bull- Nandi, India |
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The Lomisa sacred site in Georgia is dedicated to the moon god Lomisa who is a rider of the bull. This is a variation of the legend of Soma, the moon god and his vahana, Nandi- the bull. |
The etymology of the name Mtskheta is unknown. However, there are cities in Georgia which have both 'kheta' and 'khetr' as the suffix. Examples include - Kakheti, Samstkhe and Java Khetr. Now 'kshetra' (क्षेत्र) is Sanskrit for 'area' and is used as a suffix in the names of ancient cities in India, such as Kurukshetra. It is highly likely then that the name Mtskheta has a distorted form of 'kshetra' as its suffix. Mtaskheta thus translates as 'mountain area'.
The name of the highest mountain in Georgia is Mount Shkhara and the second highest is Mount Janga. Both the names are of obvious Sanskrit origin- 'shikhar' (शिखर) and 'tunga' (तुङ्ग) both mean 'peaks'.
On the confluence of the rivers Ksana and Aragvi, on a watershed mountain, is located a church surrounded by the ruins of an ancient temple dedicated to a bull by the name Lomisi who is associated with the moon god represented by the half-moon.
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The church at Lomisa, Georgia with the ruins of an ancient temple associated with the half-moon-good and a bull. |
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The ancient Temple of Lomisa at Georgia and
its legend of the moon-god and his bull
is at once a reminder of Lord Shiva, and his bull, Nandi. |
So is there any trace of a Shivalinga at the temple of Lomisa mentioned above? Here is what a local travel agent, Tinatin Bujiashvili has to say, "The church built of rough stone is a triple-church basilica, in which the nave and aisles are separated by solid, continuous walls instead of by colonnades. The peculiarity of this church lies in the fact that in the middle of its interior stands the column, which doesn’t have any constructional function. Some scholars argue that it might symbolically represent 'the life-giving pillar' of Svetitskhoveli, 'sveti' meaning 'pillar' and 'tskhoveli' meaning 'life-giving'."
The central pillar of Lomisa is also believed to have miraculous properties and it is said that around it miraculous water flowed that cured people of diseases. Water is always poured over a Shivaliga which flows around it before channeled away.
Since the cult of the moon-god is forgotten, the reverence for the central-pillar is forgotten too. Unfortunately, the Shivalinga like column at Lomisa today is used to hang a chain used at the time of prayer.
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The Shivalinga like structure at Lomisa, once revered, is now used to hold a chain used at the time of prayer. |
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An artist's depiction of the 'Svetitskhoveli'. The Temple of Lomisa is in ruins but a Svetitskhoveli Temple which is now a church exists in Mtskheta in Georgia. |
The 'Svetitskhoveli' legend seems to be be akin to the Shivapurana legend of the 'Pillar of Light' or 'Pillar of Fire' which is a form of 'Lord Shiva'. The Shiva Purana says that Brahma and Vishnu were touring the Universe one day and found a pillar of light which extended farther than they could perceive in two directions. They were curious and decided to split up to see if one of them could find an end. Vishnu went in one direction and Brahma the other. After some time, they returned to their starting place. Vishnu said that he was unable to find the beginning, no matter how far he traveled. Brahma said that he found a beginning though he had not. Thereupon, the Pillar of Light immediately changed into a form of Shiva. Lord Shiva in this form is known as JyotiLingam. To Read more about the Pillar of Light or Fire of Shiva Purana click here.
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Ellora Caves, India Shiva as 'The Pillar of Light' |
And here is a look at the archaeological sites in Georgia. Most of the names are obviously of Sanskrit origins.
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Ancient archeological sites of Georgia. Most of the names have Sanskrit origins. Courtesy: Encyclopedia Iranica |
Notice the river names: Kodori, probably from Sanskrit 'kedar' (केदार) और 'basin of water', Enguri a cognate of 'angkur' (अङ्कुर) meaning 'water', Sukhumi, a cognate of 'Sukuma ' or su+kuma (सु + कुम) meaning 'good' + 'lake', Virali, a cognate of 'viral' (विरल) meaning 'rare' and so on.