Reference from :Wikipedia
Meaning of Malecha or Mleccha: Who is Mleccha and its relations to Hinduism /Sanathana Dharma (Mleccha are now called Muslims...Zakir naik is agreed)
Meaning and Definition:-
Mlecchas were born of the cow (belonging to Vasishtha),
of fierce eyes, accomplished in smiting looking like messengers of
Death, and all conversant with the deceptive powers of the Asuras
In the Mahabharata the root Sanskrit word barbar meant stammering, wretch, foreigner, sinful people, low and barbarous.[3] The Vayu, Matsya and Brahmanda Puranas state that the seven Himalayan rivers pass through the Mleccha countries.[4][5] Brahmanas lay mlecchas outside the varna system.[6][7] Southworth suggests that the name comes from mizi meaning 'speak', or 'one's speech' derived from Dravidian for language.[8](see Southworth's etymological derivation of Tamil) The term 'Menchha' was also used by the medieval Marathi saint Samarth Ramdas.[9] Buddhist scriptures use the terms 'Milakkha' or 'Milakkhuka' to refer to Mlecchas.
In ancient India, this term was also applied by the ancient Indian
kingdoms to foreigners. The word Mleccha was commonly used for 'outer
barbarians of whatever race or colour'.[10][11] The Indians referred to all alien cultures that were less civilized in ancient times as 'Mlechcha'[12] or Barbarians. The Mlecchas were people who were barbaric[13] Among the tribes termed Mlechcha were Sakas, Huns, Yavanas, Kambojas, Pahlavas, Bahlikas and Rishikas.[14] The Amara-kosa described the Kiratas and Pulindas as the Mleccha-jatis. Indo-Greeks, Scythians,[15] and Kushanas,[16] were also mlecchas.[17][1
derived from the Indo-Aryan perception of the speech of the indigenous
peoples. Namely, "mlech" was a word that meant "to speak indistinctly."
As such, some suggest that the Indo-Aryans used an onomatopoetic sound
to imitate the harshness of alien tongue and to indicate
incomprehension, thus coming up with "mleccha".[19]
Early Indians spoke Sanskrit, which later got mutated to various
local tongues that we now have. Sanskrit is believed to have all the
sounds that are necessary for communication. If unfamiliar languages
were detected, early Indians would club them as foreign- meleccha basha.
As the Sanskrit word itself suggests, "mlecchas" were those whose
speech was alien.[20]
Historians cite that knowledge of "correct speech" was a crucial
component of being about to take part in the appropriate religious
rituals and sacrifices. Thus, without correct speech, one could not hope
to practice correct religion, either.
The notion of being Arya suggested a knowledge of Sanskrit in order
to effectively perform ritual hymns; thus suggesting the importance of
language. Parasher discusses the importance of knowing the correct speech in order to perform sacrifice and ritual in the religion of the brahmanas. Parasher continued that: "The best experts of the sacrificial art were undoubtedly the various families of the brahmanas who, placed in a hierarchy within the Indo-Aryan social system, became the upholders of pure and best speech".[21]
Historians note that early Indians believed that Sanskrit was the
superior language over all other forms of speech. As such, mleccha or
barbarian speech was said to have meant any of the following: "1) a
language which was not necessarily alien, but the speech of the person
or persons was improper because it was either hostile or vulgar; 2) a
language, and here most probably Sanskrit, that was mispronounced and,
thereby, incomprehensible: 3) finally, any foreign tongue which was
naturally incomprehensible because it was unintelligible to those who
did not understand a particular language".[22]
Professor Vasudeva Sharana Agrawala admits that the Indians were familiar with the mleccha language right from the time of Shatapatha Brahmana. In support of the contention he quotes the Mbh.(Adi Parva,2/103), which refers to the talks between Vidur and Yudhisthira in mleccha language. The latter explained the mleccha language to Kunti
in Sanskrit, because it was indistinct for her. During the epic age
some people having acquaintance with the Asuras used to speak their
mleccha language. The Jaimini Dharmasastra (1.3.10) mentions
certain mleccha words i.e. pika, nema, sata and tamaras meaning
respectively a bird, a half, a vessel, a red lotus.
'foreigners' - those living outside of the Indian subcontinent - was
often accompanied by the idea that one was a barbarian. Still, it seemed
that groups who did not come from outside of these areas, as well as
foreigners, were designated by the term mleccha, which carried with it a
barbarian connotation.[23]
Thus another distinction that was made between the mlecchas and
non-mlecchas was area of habitation. Though they were considered a
marginal group, the area characterize as the mleccha-desa (the natural
border that separated their lands from that of the Aryans) was never
permanent. Instead, it was defined by the changing ideas about the Aryavarta. Parasher noted that "the only consistent areas dubbed as mleccha desa
were those regions inhabited by 'primitive tribes' who for long periods
of time did not come under the sway of the brahmanical, Buddhist or
Jaina influence".[24]
Though the area of the aryas expanded with time, the notion that was
held over all of the land was that of "purity." As Vedic literature
refers only to the places and territories that were familiar to the
Indo-Aryans, these lands eventually became part of the Aryavarta.
Parasher thus indicates that the Aryavarta was designated as: "The
region where the river Sarasvati disappears is the Patiala district in
the Punjab. The Pariyatra mountains belong to the Vindhya range,
probably the hills of Malwa. The Kalakavana is identified with a tract
somewhere near Prayaga." Still, other interpretations of the Aryavarta
refer to those areas where the black antelope roams, for these areas are
fit for the performance of sacrifice. Early Vedic literature focused on
defining the area of habitation of the aryas for this land was
considered pure; yet there is no actual reference to the mleccha country
or behavior. Wherever the territory, though, the implications of naming
such lands as the Aryavarta is that any lands excluded from that area
were considered impure.[25]
Further, there is evidence that Indians of the Vedic period actually
had contact with people outside of the subcontinent, namely the
Persians. The Persians, who ruled over the Indus river valley during
this time (522-486 BC) were not designated as mleccha, perhaps because
they did not interfere with the brahmanical way of life.[26]
Later Vedic literature speaks of the western Anava tribes as mlecchas and occupying northern Punjab, Sindh and eastern Rajasthan. The tribes of the north were mlecchas either because they were located on the frontiers such as Gandhara, Kashmira and Kambojas and therefore both their speech and culture had become contaminated and differed from that of Aryavarta, or else, as in the case of South Indians, they were once Aryas but having forsaken the Vedic rituals were regarded to mleccha status.[27
classify those who did not subscribe to the "traditional value system,"
though the characteristics of the so-called system were ambiguous. In
sum, though, the idea was that the mlecchas were peoples who did not
conform to what was culturally acceptable.[28]
Early writings refer to these foreign peoples as "half-civilized,
unconverted people who rise or eat at improper times." They stated that
monks and nuns should avoid certain areas of habitation because they
were unsafe. Namely, that "the ignorant populace might beat, harass, rob
them under the impression that they were spies from hostile villages."
Further, while some of these non-mlecchas, such as those of the Jaina
faith, had established contact with people of the forest tribes, they
were automatically designated as mlecchas. Such was the typical attitude
of people from the plains who took pride in their norms of settled
agricultural and urban lifestyles.[29]
Historians note that there were also systems in place to determine
the validity - or "purity" - of certain customs, which would ultimately
be judged by the brahmanas. As such there were intricate rules in place
to define purity from impurity, laws of behavior, as well as rituals and
customs, in an effort to educate the members of the brahmanical system.
Namely, these advisors took great pains to ensure that peoples of the
brahmanical system did not subscribe to any mleccha customs or rituals.[30]
The sanskritizing of names was a common feature among both indigenous
and foreign mlecchas who slowly tried to move away from their status of
mleccha. Very often, in the case of ruling families, it took one to two
generations to make a transition. One of the most direct forms of the
expression of the brahmanical ritual purity was the form and type of
food which a brahman could eat. He was forbidden to accept cooked food
from any nonbrahman. Thus when the Punjab
became a mleccha area the staple food was given a lower place in the
food-ranking. By the twelfth century AD wheat was described in one
lexicon as 'food of the mlecchas' and rice became the 'pure' cereal. Onions and garlic were also regarded as the food of the mlecchas and therefore prohibited to the brahman. Mlecchas drank alcohol and ate flesh of the cow, and this in later periods was strictly forbidden to an Indian.[31][
some Mleccha warriors are described as having "heads completely shaved
or half-shaved or covered with matted locks, [as being] impure in
habits, and of crooked faces and noses[33] They are "dwellers of hills" and "denizens of mountain-caves. Mlecchas were born of the cow (belonging to Vasishtha),
of fierce eyes, accomplished in smiting looking like messengers of
Death, and all conversant with the deceptive powers of the Asuras"[34] Chanakya refers to mleccha forces once attacked Chandragupta.
According to Swami Parmeshwaranand[citation needed]
Mleccha tribe was born from the tail of the celestial cow Nandini, kept
by Vashishta for sacrificial purposes when there was a fight between Vishvamitra and Vasistha. Mahabharata gives the following information regarding them:-
The term is not attested in the Vedas, but occurs for the first time in the late Vedic text Shatapatha Brahmana. The law giver Baudhâyana
defines a Mleccha as someone "who eats meat or indulges in
self-contradictory statements or is devoid of righteousness and purity
of conduct". Mleccha could refer to any being who follow different
teachings than Vedic beliefs. In the Indian history some indigenous
rulers in Assam were called Mlechhas (Mlechchha dynasty). In the Bhagavata Purana the term is used in the context of meat eaters, outcastes.
Medieval Hindu literature, such as that of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, also uses the term to refer to those of larger groups of other religions, especially Muslims.[37] In medieval India, a foreign visitor Al Biruni
(died 1048) noted that foreigners were regarded as 'unclean' or
'Mleccha' and Hindus were forbidden any social or matrimonial contact
with them.[38]
Meaning of Malecha or Mleccha: Who is Mleccha and its relations to Hinduism /Sanathana Dharma (Mleccha are now called Muslims...Zakir naik is agreed)
Meaning and Definition:-
Mlecchas were born of the cow (belonging to Vasishtha),
of fierce eyes, accomplished in smiting looking like messengers of
Death, and all conversant with the deceptive powers of the Asuras
For the dynasty of Kamarupa, see Mlechchha dynasty.
Mleccha (from Vedic Sanskrit म्लेच्छ mleccha, meaning "non-Vedic", "barbarian"), also spelt Mlechchha, referred to people of foreign extraction in ancient India. Mleccha was used by the ancient Indians much as the ancient Greeks used barbaros, originally to indicate the uncouth and incomprehensible speech of foreigners and then extended to their unfamiliar behaviour.[1][2]In the Mahabharata the root Sanskrit word barbar meant stammering, wretch, foreigner, sinful people, low and barbarous.[3] The Vayu, Matsya and Brahmanda Puranas state that the seven Himalayan rivers pass through the Mleccha countries.[4][5] Brahmanas lay mlecchas outside the varna system.[6][7] Southworth suggests that the name comes from mizi meaning 'speak', or 'one's speech' derived from Dravidian for language.[8](see Southworth's etymological derivation of Tamil) The term 'Menchha' was also used by the medieval Marathi saint Samarth Ramdas.[9] Buddhist scriptures use the terms 'Milakkha' or 'Milakkhuka' to refer to Mlecchas.
In ancient India, this term was also applied by the ancient Indian
kingdoms to foreigners. The word Mleccha was commonly used for 'outer
barbarians of whatever race or colour'.[10][11] The Indians referred to all alien cultures that were less civilized in ancient times as 'Mlechcha'[12] or Barbarians. The Mlecchas were people who were barbaric[13] Among the tribes termed Mlechcha were Sakas, Huns, Yavanas, Kambojas, Pahlavas, Bahlikas and Rishikas.[14] The Amara-kosa described the Kiratas and Pulindas as the Mleccha-jatis. Indo-Greeks, Scythians,[15] and Kushanas,[16] were also mlecchas.[17][1
Language
Some explanations of the name "mleccha" suggest that the word wasderived from the Indo-Aryan perception of the speech of the indigenous
peoples. Namely, "mlech" was a word that meant "to speak indistinctly."
As such, some suggest that the Indo-Aryans used an onomatopoetic sound
to imitate the harshness of alien tongue and to indicate
incomprehension, thus coming up with "mleccha".[19]
Early Indians spoke Sanskrit, which later got mutated to various
local tongues that we now have. Sanskrit is believed to have all the
sounds that are necessary for communication. If unfamiliar languages
were detected, early Indians would club them as foreign- meleccha basha.
As the Sanskrit word itself suggests, "mlecchas" were those whose
speech was alien.[20]
Historians cite that knowledge of "correct speech" was a crucial
component of being about to take part in the appropriate religious
rituals and sacrifices. Thus, without correct speech, one could not hope
to practice correct religion, either.
The notion of being Arya suggested a knowledge of Sanskrit in order
to effectively perform ritual hymns; thus suggesting the importance of
language. Parasher discusses the importance of knowing the correct speech in order to perform sacrifice and ritual in the religion of the brahmanas. Parasher continued that: "The best experts of the sacrificial art were undoubtedly the various families of the brahmanas who, placed in a hierarchy within the Indo-Aryan social system, became the upholders of pure and best speech".[21]
Historians note that early Indians believed that Sanskrit was the
superior language over all other forms of speech. As such, mleccha or
barbarian speech was said to have meant any of the following: "1) a
language which was not necessarily alien, but the speech of the person
or persons was improper because it was either hostile or vulgar; 2) a
language, and here most probably Sanskrit, that was mispronounced and,
thereby, incomprehensible: 3) finally, any foreign tongue which was
naturally incomprehensible because it was unintelligible to those who
did not understand a particular language".[22]
Professor Vasudeva Sharana Agrawala admits that the Indians were familiar with the mleccha language right from the time of Shatapatha Brahmana. In support of the contention he quotes the Mbh.(Adi Parva,2/103), which refers to the talks between Vidur and Yudhisthira in mleccha language. The latter explained the mleccha language to Kunti
in Sanskrit, because it was indistinct for her. During the epic age
some people having acquaintance with the Asuras used to speak their
mleccha language. The Jaimini Dharmasastra (1.3.10) mentions
certain mleccha words i.e. pika, nema, sata and tamaras meaning
respectively a bird, a half, a vessel, a red lotus.
Territory
In Ancient India, historians have stated that the notion of'foreigners' - those living outside of the Indian subcontinent - was
often accompanied by the idea that one was a barbarian. Still, it seemed
that groups who did not come from outside of these areas, as well as
foreigners, were designated by the term mleccha, which carried with it a
barbarian connotation.[23]
Thus another distinction that was made between the mlecchas and
non-mlecchas was area of habitation. Though they were considered a
marginal group, the area characterize as the mleccha-desa (the natural
border that separated their lands from that of the Aryans) was never
permanent. Instead, it was defined by the changing ideas about the Aryavarta. Parasher noted that "the only consistent areas dubbed as mleccha desa
were those regions inhabited by 'primitive tribes' who for long periods
of time did not come under the sway of the brahmanical, Buddhist or
Jaina influence".[24]
Though the area of the aryas expanded with time, the notion that was
held over all of the land was that of "purity." As Vedic literature
refers only to the places and territories that were familiar to the
Indo-Aryans, these lands eventually became part of the Aryavarta.
Parasher thus indicates that the Aryavarta was designated as: "The
region where the river Sarasvati disappears is the Patiala district in
the Punjab. The Pariyatra mountains belong to the Vindhya range,
probably the hills of Malwa. The Kalakavana is identified with a tract
somewhere near Prayaga." Still, other interpretations of the Aryavarta
refer to those areas where the black antelope roams, for these areas are
fit for the performance of sacrifice. Early Vedic literature focused on
defining the area of habitation of the aryas for this land was
considered pure; yet there is no actual reference to the mleccha country
or behavior. Wherever the territory, though, the implications of naming
such lands as the Aryavarta is that any lands excluded from that area
were considered impure.[25]
Further, there is evidence that Indians of the Vedic period actually
had contact with people outside of the subcontinent, namely the
Persians. The Persians, who ruled over the Indus river valley during
this time (522-486 BC) were not designated as mleccha, perhaps because
they did not interfere with the brahmanical way of life.[26]
Later Vedic literature speaks of the western Anava tribes as mlecchas and occupying northern Punjab, Sindh and eastern Rajasthan. The tribes of the north were mlecchas either because they were located on the frontiers such as Gandhara, Kashmira and Kambojas and therefore both their speech and culture had become contaminated and differed from that of Aryavarta, or else, as in the case of South Indians, they were once Aryas but having forsaken the Vedic rituals were regarded to mleccha status.[27
Cultural behavior
The word mleccha emerged as a way for the ancient Indians toclassify those who did not subscribe to the "traditional value system,"
though the characteristics of the so-called system were ambiguous. In
sum, though, the idea was that the mlecchas were peoples who did not
conform to what was culturally acceptable.[28]
Early writings refer to these foreign peoples as "half-civilized,
unconverted people who rise or eat at improper times." They stated that
monks and nuns should avoid certain areas of habitation because they
were unsafe. Namely, that "the ignorant populace might beat, harass, rob
them under the impression that they were spies from hostile villages."
Further, while some of these non-mlecchas, such as those of the Jaina
faith, had established contact with people of the forest tribes, they
were automatically designated as mlecchas. Such was the typical attitude
of people from the plains who took pride in their norms of settled
agricultural and urban lifestyles.[29]
Historians note that there were also systems in place to determine
the validity - or "purity" - of certain customs, which would ultimately
be judged by the brahmanas. As such there were intricate rules in place
to define purity from impurity, laws of behavior, as well as rituals and
customs, in an effort to educate the members of the brahmanical system.
Namely, these advisors took great pains to ensure that peoples of the
brahmanical system did not subscribe to any mleccha customs or rituals.[30]
The sanskritizing of names was a common feature among both indigenous
and foreign mlecchas who slowly tried to move away from their status of
mleccha. Very often, in the case of ruling families, it took one to two
generations to make a transition. One of the most direct forms of the
expression of the brahmanical ritual purity was the form and type of
food which a brahman could eat. He was forbidden to accept cooked food
from any nonbrahman. Thus when the Punjab
became a mleccha area the staple food was given a lower place in the
food-ranking. By the twelfth century AD wheat was described in one
lexicon as 'food of the mlecchas' and rice became the 'pure' cereal. Onions and garlic were also regarded as the food of the mlecchas and therefore prohibited to the brahman. Mlecchas drank alcohol and ate flesh of the cow, and this in later periods was strictly forbidden to an Indian.[31][
Literature describing the Mleccha (Highlight Paragraph)
In the epic Mahabharata,some Mleccha warriors are described as having "heads completely shaved
or half-shaved or covered with matted locks, [as being] impure in
habits, and of crooked faces and noses[33] They are "dwellers of hills" and "denizens of mountain-caves. Mlecchas were born of the cow (belonging to Vasishtha),
of fierce eyes, accomplished in smiting looking like messengers of
Death, and all conversant with the deceptive powers of the Asuras"[34] Chanakya refers to mleccha forces once attacked Chandragupta.
According to Swami Parmeshwaranand[citation needed]
Mleccha tribe was born from the tail of the celestial cow Nandini, kept
by Vashishta for sacrificial purposes when there was a fight between Vishvamitra and Vasistha. Mahabharata gives the following information regarding them:-
- Mleccha who sprang up from the tail of the celestial cow Nandini sent the army of Viswamitra flying in terror.
- Bhagadatta was the king of mlecchas.
- Pandavas, like Bhimsean, Nakul and Sahadeva once defeated them.
- Karna during his world campaign conquered many mlaccha countries.
- The wealth that remained in the Yagasala of Yudhisthira after the distribution as gifts to Brahmins was taken away by the mlecchas.
- The melecchas drove angered elephants on the army of the Pandavas.
The term is not attested in the Vedas, but occurs for the first time in the late Vedic text Shatapatha Brahmana. The law giver Baudhâyana
defines a Mleccha as someone "who eats meat or indulges in
self-contradictory statements or is devoid of righteousness and purity
of conduct". Mleccha could refer to any being who follow different
teachings than Vedic beliefs. In the Indian history some indigenous
rulers in Assam were called Mlechhas (Mlechchha dynasty). In the Bhagavata Purana the term is used in the context of meat eaters, outcastes.
Medieval Hindu literature, such as that of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, also uses the term to refer to those of larger groups of other religions, especially Muslims.[37] In medieval India, a foreign visitor Al Biruni
(died 1048) noted that foreigners were regarded as 'unclean' or
'Mleccha' and Hindus were forbidden any social or matrimonial contact
with them.[38]
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