Notes
Where is Shak Dweep
The following verse from the Udyog Parv of the MBH seems to show that
the Shak Dweep was situated in the West.
Shakanaam Pahlavanaan cha Daradanam cha ye nripah |
Kaamboja Rishikaa ye cha pashchim.anupakash cha ye ||MBH, 5.5.15||
The kings of the Shak, the Pahlavaa, the Daradaas and the Kaamboj Rishikaa
live in the Anooparegion" in the West.
According to MBH account Sakal
Dweep got its name because of Shak tree ie Saagaun tree (Oak or Teak tree).
Sakaldwip might have been the only place where this tree was found in ancient
time.
(2) There is also a story in the "Kaalakaachaarya Kathaanak"
by Mahesara Suri, which says that that Gardabhilaa, the king of Ujjayinee,
abducted Saraswatee, the sister of the Jain monk Kaalakaachaarya and the
monk took the help of a Shak King from the Shak Dweep to recover his sister.
The Shak king defeated Gardabhilaa, recovered Saraswatee and captured
Ujjayinee. Gardabhilaa retired to the forest and a tiger killed him there.
His son Vikramaaditya defeated the Shak king and recovered Ujjayinee in 57
BCE. If the story is to be believed, then the Shak Dweep was probably
situated to the west of Ujjayinee.
Vasco
Da Gama
When Vasco da Gama came to India, his ship has crashed in Caaleecat and
that was the first time European exploration started in sea and he took 24
months to cross the distance generally which others (Chinese and Arab)
took maximum one month because they were not familiar with sea voyages
which later they acquired all skills from colonies.
It was the
King of Caaleecat, who gave him 7 ships with spices, free of cost as a
token of a king (after giving him all treatment etc to gain strength
because he was so weak to walk after traveling for 24 months in the sea
and King acted against the advise of Chinese and Arab merchants present in
court at that time saying "this is our custom to respect the asylum
seekers and guests) and perhaps if this had not happened then the world
would have been different. Now what happened, that then Vasco Da
Gama came with 80 ships (from the profits selling those spices which he
took from here) and started firing at the Caaleecat port and destroyed lot
of Arab ships and a ship carrying
old men and
woman and killing all who were
traveling for Haj. Finally king had to sent his army to drive him away
(even he cut the nose of a mediator)
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