tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138082354348831474.post8780862665295727978..comments2024-03-21T00:42:18.535-07:00Comments on Koenraad Elst: The meaning of Hindu KushKoenraad Elsthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02503713923882807510noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138082354348831474.post-23842231512504395382021-11-10T21:41:51.154-08:002021-11-10T21:41:51.154-08:00Hindu kuah means southern mounten nothing else. &q...Hindu kuah means southern mounten nothing else. "Hin" means south "du" is and kuh kush means mounten. The native people of Amu Valley origineted this word to name the the geographicalsignature mountain in their native language. Similarly they named other geographical signature points of Central Asia, tibbet India for example Ural,tibbet, sidh etc.H S Bashtel Negihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03282251154788146117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138082354348831474.post-90248614250724154842021-05-16T06:44:12.226-07:002021-05-16T06:44:12.226-07:00It is abhorrent that such a simple explanation is ...It is abhorrent that such a simple explanation is just ignored. Hindu Kush simply means Indian mountains or something similar indicating the boundary or the pass to India. Ancient India extended upto the Hindu Kush mountains. All ancient invaders came via the passes in the Hindu Kush. Alexander referred to it as Caucasus Indicus meaning mountains of India. And apparently the local tribesmen in the region still seem to refer to the Hindu Kush as something like Hindi Koh and call it as the mountains of India. <br /><br />Quite simply, the evidence in totality indicates the mountain boundary of the Indian subcontinent since ancient times. Let us stop wallowing in self pity by accepting bullshit etymologies which are no more than urban legends. Bad things happened to us but our ancestors were not helpless victims. We had a bad phase but that should not color or define our existence as perpetual and helpless victims. Jaydeephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15279694878582511245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138082354348831474.post-50434181383141082882020-06-11T08:35:09.136-07:002020-06-11T08:35:09.136-07:00I'm a Jewish scholar and I have been researchi...I'm a Jewish scholar and I have been researching a massacre that I believe occurred in Hindu Kush in 500 BC. The name Kush may be older than you think and be an ancient name linking Kush Egypy, with the Kush mountains and the Sun Dynasty. In the Book of Esther, it is recorded that a massacre, occurred at that time, in Greek sources we learn of the "Day of the Killing of the Magi", and the Buddhist believe in the slaughter of the Shakyas. I believe they are all the same. This is additional proof that the name Hindu Kosh may actually have been the location of a slaughter. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14627770557295682747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138082354348831474.post-467886707993025912020-06-02T10:44:35.814-07:002020-06-02T10:44:35.814-07:00Please also find a reason behind the name of other...Please also find a reason behind the name of other mountain range extending from Hindukash into neighbouring Kirghistan which is named Karakash (black mountain). In the Kirgiz/Uyghur country this Kash or tash is used variously to describe mountains. Nayebhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12216841774283918702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138082354348831474.post-26676967258238896442018-02-22T16:19:57.016-08:002018-02-22T16:19:57.016-08:00Some Persian dictionaries also give alternative de...Some Persian dictionaries also give alternative definitions Kush. If Hindu Kush was used since 1000 AD, then its name must have been there for years. However, Sabuktigin had defeated the Hindus only a few years earlier. Regardless, Elst just relies on what Britannia says. Have you seen the map yourself?<br /><br />Such a quick adoption after his victory is highly impossible given that much later historians mention that Hindus lived under the Turk Ghaznavids and served in Muslim armies including the Hindu Tilak and Suvendh Rai. While he has bashed "leftist" Romila Thapar in past, he doesn't state that she had also backed this up with the Muslim texts by those authors. <br /><br />But will he mention the slavery including of Muslims in Hindu kingdoms like even the late "great" Vijayanagara? The Hindu abduction of Muslim women was what caused the first conquest of a whole Hindu kingdom. Read Elliot and Dawsom's History of India as told by its own Historians: Volume II if you still don't believe.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138082354348831474.post-14828330183664965892015-12-18T22:29:49.226-08:002015-12-18T22:29:49.226-08:00Whether cold or the sword was the direct cause of ...Whether cold or the sword was the direct cause of any of these described events, human intention was the proximate cause. Thus, "slaughter" fits for describing the human action causal element. "Killing" suggests passivity at work.JamesB.BKKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14327552035907688020noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138082354348831474.post-86916083363612066092013-06-22T22:55:04.246-07:002013-06-22T22:55:04.246-07:00This post is some 3-year old now. I note that no c...This post is some 3-year old now. I note that no commentator has checked Encyclopedia Britannica to verify Mr. Sinha's allegation that "This statement is nowhere to be found in the Encyclopaedia Britannica." Perhaps like Koenraad Elst, no one has access to EB.<br /><br />I happen to have access to many old versions of EB. Here is 1911, 11th edition. Since this 100 year old publication is past copyright period protection, and in public domain, I can quote the two relevant paragraphs; the 2nd paragraph mentions Ibn Battutah; in 1911, EB spelled his name bit differently. <br /><br />So, older versions of EB did include "Hindu Kush means Hindu killer", with some clarification. Rajiv Sinha made a mistake in claiming otherwise.<br /><br />Quote from Encyclopedia Britannica 1911 edition:<br /><br />Hindu Kush is the Caucasus of Alexander's historians. It is also included in the Paropamisus, though the latter term embraces more, Caucasus being apparently used only when the alpine barrier is in question. Whether the name was given in mere vanity to the barrier which Alexander passed (as Arrian and others repeatedly allege), or was founded also on some verbal confusion, cannot be stated. It was no doubt regarded (and perhaps not altogether untruly) as a part of a great alpine zone believed to traverse Asia from west to east, whether called Taurus, Caucasus or Imaus. Arrian himself applies Caucasus distinctly to the Himalaya also. The application of the name Tanais to the Syr seems to indicate a real confusion with Colchian Caucasus. Alexander, after building an Alexandria at its foot (probably at Hupian near Charikar), crossed into Bactria, first reaching Drapsaca, or Adrapsa. This has been interpreted as Anderab, in which case he probably crossed the Khawak Pass, but the identity is uncertain. The ancient Zend name is, according to Rawlinson, Paresina, the essential part of Paropamisus; this accounts for the great Asiastic Parnassus of Aristotle, and the Pho-lo-sin-a of Hsiian Tsang.<br /><br /><b>The name Hindu Kush is used by Ibn Batuta, who crossed (c. 1 33 2) from Anderab, and he gives the explanation of the name which, however doubtful, is still popular, as (Pers.) Hindu-Killer, "because of the number of Indian slaves who perished in passing" its snows.</b> Baber always calls the range Hindu Kush, and the way in which he speaks of it shows clearly that it was a range that was meant, not a solitary pass or peak (according to modern local use, as alleged by Elphinstone and Burnes). Probably, however, the title was confined to the section from Khawak to Koh-i-Baba. The name has by some later Oriental writers been modified into Hindu Koh (mountain), but this is factitious, and throws no more light on the origin of the title. The name seems to have become known to European geographers by the Oriental translations of the two Petis de la Croix, and was taken up by Delisle and D'Anville. Rennell and Elphinstone familiarized it. Burnes first crossed the range (1832). A British force was stationed at Bamian beyond it in 1840, with an outpost at Saighan.Americanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03687845102811849258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138082354348831474.post-26749928776610443762012-10-04T07:01:18.943-07:002012-10-04T07:01:18.943-07:00@Khoti:
Thanks for sharing additional info.. Hind...@Khoti: <br />Thanks for sharing additional info.. Hindu Raj I didn't knew.. till I saw it on Google maps too..<br /><br />Its amazing how names of places come into existencewhite pawnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16195475680091551490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138082354348831474.post-38430291301032788562012-10-04T06:56:42.878-07:002012-10-04T06:56:42.878-07:00One Question:
When Alexander came to India.. I rem...One Question:<br />When Alexander came to India.. I remember reading that he too came through same mountain pass of Hindu Kush.<br /><br /><b>Please tell me what was the name of the mountain (Hindu Kush) during Alexander's time?</b>white pawnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16195475680091551490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138082354348831474.post-51924438998128287912012-09-26T07:14:13.738-07:002012-09-26T07:14:13.738-07:00Hello Sir.. Love your articles.. they are so infor...Hello Sir.. Love your articles.. they are so informative and eye opener!<br /><br />Keep enlightening us!white pawnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16195475680091551490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138082354348831474.post-41413484534913431982012-09-26T07:13:44.464-07:002012-09-26T07:13:44.464-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.white pawnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16195475680091551490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138082354348831474.post-1357753399938042392012-04-30T04:34:19.407-07:002012-04-30T04:34:19.407-07:00The word Hindu was a secular term which was used t...The word Hindu was a secular term which was used to describe all inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent (or Hindustan) irrespective of their religious affiliation. It was only towards the end of the 18th century that the European merchants and colonists referred collectively to the followers of Indian religions as Hindus.<br /><br />The earliest known use of this name "Hindu Kush" was by the famous Arab traveller, Ibn Battta c. 1334, who wrote: "Another reason for our halt was fear of the snow, for on the road there is a mountain called Hindu kush, which means "Slayer of Indians," because the slave boys and girls who are brought from India die there in large numbers as a result of the extreme cold and the quantity of snow."<br /><br />However, this interpretation is usually considered to be only a "folk etymology." Numerous possibilities for its origin have been put forward, including:<br /><br />1) that the name is a corruption of "Caucasus Indicus."<br /><br />2) In modern Persian, the word "Kush" is derived from the verb Kushtan - to defeat, kill, or subdue. This could be interpreted as a memorial to the Indian captives who perished in the mountains while being transported to Central Asian slave markets.<br /><br />3) that the name refers to the last great 'killer' mountains to cross when moving between the Afghan plateau and the Indian subcontinent, named after the toll it took on anyone crossing them;<br /><br />4) that the name is a corruption of Hindu Koh, from the (modern) Persian word Kuh, meaning mountain. Rennell, writing in 1793, refers to the range as the "Hindoo-Kho or Hindoo-Kush";<br /><br />5) that the name means Mountains of India or Mountains of the Indus in some of the Iranian languages that are still spoken in the region; that furthermore, many peaks, mountains, and related places in the region have "Kosh" or "Kush" in their names.<br /><br />6)that the name is a posited Avestan appellation meaning "water mountains."<br /><br /> It must be noted that the mountain range between Hindu Kush and Karakoram is known as "HINDU RAJ"Khotihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08908646073376691813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138082354348831474.post-30783844063226827252011-09-20T06:57:11.114-07:002011-09-20T06:57:11.114-07:00Thanks for clarifying the dispute for all.Thanks for clarifying the dispute for all.Shankar Sharanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05302753258206444854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138082354348831474.post-55056748024811996962011-03-08T01:58:59.139-08:002011-03-08T01:58:59.139-08:00'Kushtan' in persian means 'to kill...'Kushtan' in persian means 'to kill' whereas 'Koh' is a mountain. So 'Kush' clearly has a lot to do with death.patriothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17956868326346288826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138082354348831474.post-64852909974022261072011-02-16T07:49:01.356-08:002011-02-16T07:49:01.356-08:00@ I like you Shanti. You made me laugh with your t...@ I like you Shanti. You made me laugh with your throwing light into the well.<br />Tell me: If I just into the tank with a wheelchair, do I get new tires?<br />just loafingomKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13021385925105358465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138082354348831474.post-62444260072358228422011-02-16T07:38:24.810-08:002011-02-16T07:38:24.810-08:00India like stories. A country of liars with magnif...India like stories. A country of liars with magnifying glasses.<br />I intend to create a CD album of fusion lounge downtempo indian music by the name of "Hindu Couch". Let me slaughter tradition. YakYakYak (hairy bull).omKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13021385925105358465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138082354348831474.post-46806045051853624792010-11-18T00:36:46.252-08:002010-11-18T00:36:46.252-08:00Thanks Dr. Elst for taking this up.
The Secularis...Thanks Dr. Elst for taking this up.<br /><br />The Secularist argument of Hindu-kush having etymologically developed from "-koh" is also patently false. If the argument had any merit, what is the reason why the "-koh" in the names of **ANY** single other hill around the Khyber ranges of Afghanistan not similarly got etymologically converted into "-Kush"? We do find many hills of the Himalayan passess in Afghan retain the '-Koh' word to mean Hill. Some examples: Safed-Koh, Ambar-Koh, Pase-Koh, Man-Koh, Kamber-Koh, Sapal-Koh, Sera-Koh, Feroz-Koh, Shib-Koh, Zer-i-Koh Khwaja-du-Koh, Koh-i-baba, Koh-i-Safi, Koh-i-Soleman, Koh-i-Mondi, Koh-i-Qaf, Koh-i-Amroda... there are many more hill / Hill-district names in Afghanistan that retain the Arabic-Persian title of 'Koh' without corrupting into Pushto 'Kush'. Now, can seculars name some positive examples to demonstrate where 'Koh' did become 'Kush'...<br /><br />Regards<br />SarveshAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138082354348831474.post-55180410824648172632010-11-08T06:41:39.675-08:002010-11-08T06:41:39.675-08:00Slave trade was actively promoted by Islam and Mus...Slave trade was actively promoted by Islam and Muslim mauraders of the yore. Gypsies are said to be Indians of this period, who have eventually spread out in the entire European continent. Prof. Harsh Narain and Prof. KS Lal have also written about the en masse death of Hindus who were transported through this route as slaves. Now, Rajesh Sinha, whoever he is, is trying to reinvent the history. A new upcoming lefitst historian for whom, truth is of no consequence, as long as it serves the secular agenda.Gururaj B Nhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03964816448433835494noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138082354348831474.post-78541629737529829722010-10-31T20:11:37.075-07:002010-10-31T20:11:37.075-07:00<<>>
Just a correction, it is Kush no...<<>><br /><br />Just a correction, it is Kush not Khush.<br /><br />Khushi means happy in Farsi where as Kushi means death/slaughter/kill.Julianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12132525552127001861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138082354348831474.post-30603968262526324302010-10-30T15:11:07.705-07:002010-10-30T15:11:07.705-07:00Khush is to kill or death as in Persian word Khud ...Khush is to kill or death as in Persian word Khud Khushi for suicide, translating to self death . Here it literally translates to Hindu Khush meaning Hindu DeathTruth Always Winshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12477546223812218587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138082354348831474.post-25978895137076694342010-10-26T19:44:22.793-07:002010-10-26T19:44:22.793-07:00To those wondering about the meaning of Kush, as p...To those wondering about the meaning of Kush, as pointed out at the beginning of the article it means "kill/slaughter" in Farsi.<br /><br />Note for example the Urdu word "Khud Kushi" now used in Bollywood to refer to "suicide" instead of Atma Hatya.<br /><br />And now this kush has nothing to do with the kusha grass of Sanskrit.Julianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12132525552127001861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138082354348831474.post-55751447554352788182010-10-21T02:12:05.840-07:002010-10-21T02:12:05.840-07:00I'm sure that's his real name. His use of...I'm sure that's his real name. His use of that phrase is certainly an affectation.Philliphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07829053219715458764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138082354348831474.post-57289555500758057092010-10-20T11:40:23.606-07:002010-10-20T11:40:23.606-07:00Very nice article. But you may also have mentioned...Very nice article. But you may also have mentioned that this man RAJESH SINHA seems to be a Muslim writing under a Hindu name- since his reference "Insha-Allah" gives up the game.Manmath Deshpandehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13893962320927016487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138082354348831474.post-75403397357797618952010-10-19T02:42:23.373-07:002010-10-19T02:42:23.373-07:00They built mosques on our temples and shown them a...They built mosques on our temples and shown them as proud symbols of their victory over hindus. And Hindu kush name stands as their word to remind hindus being sold as slaves.CHAKRAMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18373484003658634324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138082354348831474.post-85158545494480887022010-10-17T10:14:20.539-07:002010-10-17T10:14:20.539-07:00The more pertinent question is, what does the word...The more pertinent question is, what does the word "kush" mean in Persian/Pashto?Bhuvanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07555147183688312897noreply@blogger.com