An Epiphany About a Mystery: The Surprising Connection Between Lord Shiva and Ancient Tibet / Ancient China

I recently encountered a beautiful rendition of Nirvana Shatakam, one of my all-time favorite Sanskrit chants, narrated by the child prodigy and revered Saint Shri Adi Shankaracharya. As I watched this short video, had a kind of an epiphany, contemplating a deeper connection between ancient India and ancient China in the many mysteries of the world!

Since the creator of the video doesn't want the videos be displayed on other websites, here's a link to the entire Chant with Hindi translation.

This one is with English Translation.

The moment was triggered as I gazed upon depictions of Lord Shiva. His long hair, tied in a knot atop his crown, struck me with such a strong resemblance to the hairstyles of ancient Tibetan / Chinese men and warriors. 

There it was: the same intricate knot, the same sense of divine elegance. It made me pause and reflect. This never occurred to me earlier , but my recent fascination with ancient Chinese culture through Chinese Dramas, made me take a note of this coincidence almost immediately!

Then, my thoughts also drifted to another such similarity between Lord Shiva's hairstyle and ancient Tibet / ancient China - the location of Mount Kailash, which is also said to be the sacred abode of Lord Shiva and his family, nestled in the Tibetan region. 

Not only is Mount Kailash revered as the home of the Lord Shiva, but it is also believed to be a powerful energy center of the Earth, the spiritual heart of Mother Gaia or maybe the Universe. 

Apart from Hindus, Mount Kailash is also considered very sacred in Jainism, Buddhism and other traditions. 

Interestingly, Tibet, where sacred Mount Kailash is located, has long been a disputed region, with China claiming it as part of their territory. How curious!

This sacred Mountain is very mysterious, that despite being of a lesser height than Mount Everest which is the highest Himalayan peak conquered by Humans, no human could ever reach the peak of Mount Kailash till date. 

Even the Chinese expeditions through Helicopters failed miserably and with very mysterious storms that suddenly erupted on a clean weather day when they tried to approach close to Mount Kailash! 

Those who retreated have given first hand experiences of mysterious and unexplainable phenomena such as sudden increase in aging and increased rate of growth of their hairs and nails. Mount Kailash is truly mysterious and mystical !

Some Trekkers and Mountaineers have also narrated how their beliefs about Mount Kailash changed from "Just another rocky mountain" to "Unexplicable Unforgettable Experience, something not from this world!"

As recorded by the western researchers, scientists and mountaineers, those who tried to deliberately cross the boundaries and climb Mount Kailash have died. 

Only One Human Saint in the entire history of mankind is recorded to have climbed the Mount Kailash. His story is no less than a miracle - A Man who learnt black magic and sorcery in his determination of revenge, later burnt in the trials of regret and pursuit and conviction to wash his sins - He could transform into the Elnlightened Saint who is the only one to be allowed to climb Mount Kailash! Saint Milarepa from Tibet was able to reach the peak of Mount Kailash due to his highly spiritual attainments! And on researching about Milarepa, there indeed is a strong connection between Mount Kailash & Tibet 

Quite interestingly, at perfect Divine timing, I came across this YouTube video speaking about a Mukha-Lingam (Lingam with a carved Face) of Lord Shiva  found in the Udaygiri Caves in India. 

I was so thrilled to see the face carved on the Lingam of Lord Shiva! And although the author of this video - Mr Praveen Mohan - mentions that the face sculpted on the Lingam appears to have Egyptian connection, ( despite myself having a strong and inborn affinity to Egyptian history and culture) I beg to differ on his opinion, because of the following observations - 

Firstly, the Egyptians would never wear their hair as a knot on the top of the crown like it is shown on this Face sculpted on the Lingam. That such way of tying a knot is seen in ancient Tibetan/ ancient Chinese men / warriors , who dressed their hairs like a knot on their crown!

Secondly, the Egyptian men's face was more chiselled and angular with a square / oblong outline instead of being the rounded chubby facial feature sculpted on this Lingam. Even the eyes on this sculpted Face on the Lingam are slightly slanted all of which so much points towards features of face of ancient Tibetan / Chinese men!

Whereas the Egyptian faces shown in same video it is seen that eyes of the Egyptian men were not so slanted, as seen on the Face on Lingam. Even the eyebrows of the Face on Lingam, although unclear, doesn't look like that of ancient Egyptian men, including the shape of lips and smile which are also quite different.

Moreover the sculpted Face on the Lingam of Lord Shiva in this video has visibly long Earlobes, which are more similar to the Earlobes of Deities in the paintings of Lord Buddha / Green Tara Maa as per ancient Tibet / ancient Chinese / oriental cultures. 

In contrast, the earlobes of Egyptian men are never so long in any of the ancient sculptures / paintings of Egyptian Pharaoh / Men, as far as I have seen till date!

In fact these paintings of deities from ancient Tibet / ancient China / oriental cultures resemble so much  like the sculpture of the face on the Mukha-Lingam shown in the Udaygiri Caves in India!

Could there be a deeper connection between Lord Shiva's divine abode on the distant Tibetan lands and the ancient Chinese culture? The striking similarity between the way Lord Shiva's hair is portrayed and the hairstyle of ancient Tibetan / ancient Chinese men is certainly intriguing. 

Was it just a coincidence, or is there an ancient link that ties these two rich cultures together, a thread woven into the fabric of history and spirituality?

This mystery leaves us with more questions than answers, but it also invites us to explore the possibility that the divine and the earthly are far more interconnected than we often realize. Perhaps, just perhaps, the sacred teachings of the East, stretching from India to Tibet and beyond, hold secrets waiting to be uncovered.

Forever a Seeker Of Truth

- Meraki Pegasus

Dr Racchana D Fadia