INDIA'S LANDSCAPE GIANTS

Lhotse Face, Lhotse, Himalayas, Nepal China (Tibet)

by GRAHAM RUSSEL

The Author

What are Landscape Giants?

Landscape Giants (Earth Giants) are giant earth effigy's that are to be found formed in the landscape, created by the landscape itself, and were considered to represent the sleeping form of ancestors, gods or mythical beings by ancient peoples.

In this brief article, I shall reveal a well kept and explosive secret that has been preserved through ancient sites, traditions and religions through successions of generations of ancient peoples all over the world, and especially within India. We shall re-discover that the older the temple, the more in touch man and these landscape/earth giants were together. As we know through history older temples have always been replaced by newer temples, one religion being replaced by a newer one, religion, warfare and land, remembering that the landscape itself was the original temple or Holy Land. The reader is introduced to a plethora of mysteries, myths, inspirational theories, ‘so be prepared for an amazing adventure into this World of the Landscape Giants’.

INDIA'S LANDSCAPE GIANTS

This is India, a land that tears your heart and feeds your soul.

India is a myth and an idea, a dream and a vision, and yet very real and present and pervasive. With the world’s oldest written religious scriptures, ancient and profound medical science and an age-old knowledge of astronomy, India holds a seminal place among the civilizations of Asia.

Since the dawn of time, the human race has been involved with this language of landscape pictures, and as we shall soon discover all things precious that become lost in antiquity have only become lost until they are found again and that these landscape giants are really there, and that they are formed by the landscape and are involved with legends and ancient myths that we are all very familiar with. Landscape Giants (Earth Giants) have always had a fascination with ancient prophets and religions throughout history.

The earth is infused with spiritual energy. When supernatural beings shaped the lands during the age of transformation, all material things had the potential to live as humans and animals do. Because of this legacy, aboriginal thinkers see the earth as a living spiritual realm where supernatural beings still reside. Every territory has its special places, High Mountains and prominent rock formations, caves and crevices, waterfalls and springs are all spirit dwellings. Whether the earthly spirits live, ever watchful, above the land or hidden away, to be suddenly encountered on a path or waterway, they always remain powerful, even dangerous, in their abodes.
Here are a some examples of these Landscape Giants that are found in India.

Fig. 1: The Face of Nanda Devi, Chamoli District, Uttarakhand, India.
This mountain photo has been rotated 90 degrees and is clearly a visible, "human head" looking/reclining skywards.... also known as Bliss-Giving Goddess, This mountain is considered to be the home of the goddess Nanda Devi by North Indian and Nepalese Hindus.

Nanda Devi is the second tallest mountain in India.  The mountain has two peaks, Nanda Devi and Nanda Devi East. This has further elevated its sacred status as the daughter of the Himalaya (Shail Putri), in local myth and folklore. Mount Nanda devi is regarded as Goddess Parvathi, who is known as Nanda in the Garhwal & Kumaon areas. The Goddess is closely associated with the socio-cultural practices of Uttaranchal. In fact, Nanda devi means (bliss-giving Goddess). This Goddess has many shrines and temples dedicated to her in this region. 

Fig. 2: The Face of Chaukhamba Peak, Himalayas, India.
This mountain photo has been rotated 90 degrees and is clearly a visible, "human head" looking/reclining skywards....
Chaukhamba Peak, in its form and its aura echo's the presence of Lord Shiva in itself always present, always alive, always shining and waiting to be recognized.  How wonderful and fulfilling this experience is, how completely fruitful, to wish and see the presence of the Lord, not just in man made temples, but everywhere, in everything, in every piece of natural art that this earth has presented us.

The picture language is a very old language, and it becomes clear to mind that pictures are one of the oldest forms of languages known to man.

As Ancient man recognized this ancient language of pictures in the landscape, they deliberately added to these landscape giants over a long period of time by building megalithic structures, temples and earthworks upon them. 

Fig. 3: The Face of Shiva, Tirumala Hills, Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India.
These sacred seven hills of Tirumal which make up the facial features of this landscape effigy (see Fig. ), are recognized as Saptagiri and each hill that forms this landscape face is believed to be the abodes for various hindu gods...

 We can clearly see in this photo of the Tirumala Hills, the profile of a landscape face with the brow, chin and especially the nose which is a clear indication of this once being recognized as a sleeping/reclining effigy. There is probably also a landscape body attached to the head of this giant/giantess; also the orientation of this landscape giant is important with regards to a much grander landscape temple/complex that correlates with the heavens.

According to Hindu Epics.

Once the Lord asked Sage Narada for a suitable place on Earth where he could abide during the difficult period of kaliyuga (The Iron Age, when people of Earth would forget Spiritual values) Sage Narada suggested a place, south of Bharat (India), by the banks of River Svarnamukhi. The Lord was pleased. Since the Lord was about to settle on Earth for the period that Kalyuga was to last, a part of Heaven was to be brought down. Hence Adhisesha decided to take the form of one of the 7 hills of Tirumala.

It is also interesting that many cites of the world, have also been built upon seven hills.. but this is another story :

Fig. 4: The Face of Kanchenjunga - Dzongri, West Sikkim, Sikkim, India.
This mountain photo has been rotated 90 degrees and is clearly a visible, "human head." This mountain has a very powerful presence in the mythology of  India's landscape.

The Mountains and rocks that form the skeletal structure of the earth are alive, as they have distinctive shapes and substance, exhibit change and decay, and hold within them the memories of the events of creation.

The Heroic events of creation and transformation do not depend only on the recollection of ancient traditions. They live on in the shape of the land itself: every towering rock or twist in a river records the acts of India's culture heroes who changed the earth as they lived on it. In some places the marks of creation are still fresh.

Fig. 5: The Face of Nun Kun, Zanskar Range, Rangdum, India.
This mountain photo has been rotated 90 degrees and is clearly a visible, "human head" looking skywards... This region is a disputed area.
Let's hope that this landscape effigy will bring peace to this region.

The story-teller's landscape also provides an effective mental map of a tribal homeland, coloured and textured with the places where supernatural events occurred  the ability to visualize environmental detail was crucial for people who often had to travel great distances over vast, trackless environments during the seasonal rounds) Since tribal people intertwine oral and tradition and geography in this way, they still have a spiritual hold on their lost lands, a bond that they can verify and renew as long as those lands exist.
 

Fig. 6:  Sleeping Buddha, Shahpur, Karnataka, India. Nature's beauty: ‘Sleeping Buddha' is a series of hillocks on the outskirts of Shahpur town in Yadgir district.

Fig. 7: The sleeping Buddha / Shiva, Sandakphu, West Bengal, India.

From Sandakphu the best view of the mountain Kanchendzonga is possible, which is known as the sleeping Buddha or the sleeping Shiva. The head of this effigy is seen on the left looking up to the heavens.

Fig. 8: The Sleeping Giant Gayasur, Gaya Kshetra, Bihar, India.
Guyasur's Body Becomes the Landscape of Gaya Kshetra, Bihar, India.
Gaya derives its name from the mythological demon Gayasur (which literally means Gaya the demon). According to Vayu Purana, Gaya was the name of a demon (Asura) whose body was pious after he performed rigid penance and secured blessings from Vishnu. It was said that the body of Gayasura was transformed into the series of rocky hills that make up the landscape of the city of Gaya...

The connection between the city of Gaya and the sleeping giant called Gayasur.

Mythology, ancient stories and fables have their links with these landscape giants, I believe that ancient civilisations liked to create Heaven on Earth and so replicated the patterns of the heavens within their settlements...

These landscape giants also appear to be mapped out by ancient geological features such as hills, forests, groves, rivers, roads and especially with megalithic sites.

Sceptics may point out that some of the features such as canals and, particularly, modern features, were built later and conveniently fit the pattern, but, as I points out, ‘as ancient man recognised this ancient language of pictures in the landscape, they deliberately added to these giants over a long period of time by building megalithic structures, roads, temples and earthworks within them’ and still continue to do so to this very day with modern structures, knowingly and un-knowingly adding the grand design...

This rich heritage of India can be seen throughout the country, from majestic temples to megalithic sites, lavish lakeside palaces to dramatic desert forts, frenetic lowland cities to isolated Himalayan villages – a diversity matched only by the warm hospitality of the India's people. Dazzling the senses with a profusion of colours, sights, smells, tastes, and sounds, India is a place so rich and complex you could spend a lifetime exploring and still not see it all.

Fig. 9: Painting (map) of the Landscape Goddess of Central Tibet. Beyul Of Pemako – Paradise On Earth

The 7th-century King Songtsen Gampo subdued the wild mountain-goddess whose body corresponds to the landscape of Central Tibet. In a magical procedure meant to end the earthquakes she caused that kept toppling Tibet’s early Buddhist temples, the king ordered that twelve temples be built on the joints of the goddess to literally pin her down. Forming three concentric squares around Central Tibet, these temples encircle the most famous and sacred site in the country: Lhasa’s Jokang Temple, which sits on the heart of the supine* goddess. In this painting, the early Buddhist temples are mapped out on the body, among other buildings and landmarks of the region. Songtsen Gampo’s construction project subjugated an ancient earth goddess and tamed Tibet’s unstable geography, allowing Buddhism to take root and flourish.

Long ago in Tibet, ancient scrolls and texts were found describing beyul - earthly paradises hidden in the Himalayas where the essence of Buddhist tantra is preserved for future generations, where a person can gain access to unobstructed knowledge and complete the Buddhist path to liberation which eventually leads to enlightenment and opens one’s consciousness to the ‘multiple and single’ perception that commands all existence. Buddhism‘s revered 8th century Guru Rinpoche, also known as Padmasambhava, hid these scrolls in places which could only be found by a visioned and privileged guru, who will have to undergo extreme conditions and difficulties.

The most sought-after, revered and mysterious of all the hidden lands is the beyul of Pemako, the “hidden land shaped in the form of a lotus”, which is the physical form of Goddess Vajravarahi, known in Tibetan as Dorje Pagmo. Unearthed scrolls describe it’s location as the region that covers South Tibet and Arunachal Pradesh in India. Here, formidable misty valleys exist filled with dense rain forest vegetation, along-with the highest gorge of the world which is three times higher than the USA’s Grand Canyon. The Tsangpo River (Brahmaputra in India) is said to be the spine of Dorje Pagmo and the surrounding remote mountains form other parts of her body, the most beautiful of which are the peaks of Namcha Barwa and Gyala Pelri which are her breasts.

Fig. 10: Lhotse Face, Lhotse, Himalayas, Nepal China (Tibet)
This mountain photo has been rotated 90 degrees and is clearly a visible, "human head" looking skywards... Notice that this mountain found in the Himalayas looks like a very realistic face... Mt Everest forms the nose of this giant/giantess.

Lhotse face (Mt Everest) peering out from the top of the world.

And yet beholding these sights, we realize how far we have come, this is an incredibly majestic and yet indescribable landscape head, which brings an awe-inspiring sense of calm and spirituality. The Tibetans will call it Chomolungma “short for Jomo Miyolangsangma" Mother Goddess of the Universe”.

Fig. 11: The Zulzul (Seotagarha) pahari (The She-hill).

The recumbent pregnant Mother Goddess Hill seen in the background here with the  megalith explorer and author Subhashis Das standing in front of the menhir in Birbir megaliths .

And of course there are many other landscape giants like this in India.

One site in particular is the famous Zulzul Goddess, seen here with Subhashis Das, The recumbent pregnant Mother Goddess taken on the winter solstice morning of 2011.

A place with great spiritual power may be marked by something startling, unexpected, that seems to remove itself from the surrounding landscape. Das's study reveals that megaliths unearth the primitive people's deep understanding of science in relation to nature.

So here we have it, a brief outline of some of India's landscape giants, but these landscape effigy's and their science are not just limited to one area or location, their stories are to be found world wide, 'what can be lost in one, can be re-discovered again in the other'...

Here is a brief look at a few other landscape giants that are to be found littered around the world. Each landscape giant has its own mythology, folk tales, traditions, archaeology, tribal heritage and memory.

As I will reveal, I believe that ancient peoples built temples and other earth structures upon these landscape giants, incorporating their own designs to the anatomy of these landscape effigy's, so as to record and pass down their wisdom and knowledge of the ages, so that we may re-discover again, what it was, that we lost.

Fig. 12: The Face of Notch Peak, Millard County, Utah, U.S. This mountain photo has been rotated 90 degrees and is clearly a visible, "human head" looking skywards... Spear points dating to 12,000 years ago document the earliest presence of Paleo-Indians in this area.

Fig. 13: Sleeping Beauty, La Bella Durmiente, Castrovirreyna en Huancavelica, Peru.

Fig. 14: The Face of Mount Borah, Idaho, USA This mountain photo has been rotated 90 degrees and is clearly a visible, "human head" looking skywards....Borah Peak (also known as Mount Borah or Beauty Peak) is the highest mountain in the U.S. state of Idaho.

Native Americans of Idaho preserve oral traditions which speak of a time, very long ago, when their ancestors came into contact with "giants" that lived in this region, which played a part with their activities...

Stories and legends of giants are not confined to the Native American traditions, however. Although varied from region to region, their fundamental similarities present a haunting commonality Native Americans of Idaho preserve oral traditions which speak of a time, very long ago, when their ancestors came into contact with "giants" that lived in this region, which played a part with their activities... Stories and legends of giants are not confined to the Native American traditions, however. Although varied from region to region, their fundamental similarities present a haunting commonality Native Americans of Idaho preserve oral traditions which speak of a time, very long ago, when their ancestors came into contact with "giants" that lived in this region, which played a part with their activities... Stories and legends of giants are not confined to the Native American traditions, however. Although varied from region to region, their fundamental similarities present a haunting commonality Native Americans of Idaho preserve oral traditions which speak of a time, very long ago, when their ancestors came into contact with "giants" that lived in this region, which played a part with their activities...

Stories and legends of giants are not confined to the Native American traditions, however. Although varied from region to region, their fundamental similarities present a haunting commonality

Fig. 15: The Face of Mt Alpspitze, Bavaria, Germany.

This mountain photo has been rotated 90 degrees and is clearly a visible, "human head." 　Germany's mountains have many myths associated with them...

Fig. 16: The Face of Pico Paraná, Brazil. This mountain photo has been rotated 90 degrees and is clearly a visible, "human head.

Fig. 17: The Sleeping Giant, Papatūānuku – the land, Te Mata Peak, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.Places were often named after tribal ancestors. Te Mata Peak and adjacent hills are believed to be the final resting place of Rongokako, grandfather of Kahungunu (founder of the Ngāti Kahungunu tribe). His prone form can be seen in the hillscape, called Te Mata-o-Rongokako (the face of Rongokako). European settlers also thought the hills resembled a man lying down, and called him the sleeping giant.
Notice the Moko carvings on the face, being replicated onto the land...

Fig. 18: Valley of the Sleeping Giant, The Cribbarth, Upper Swansea Valley, South Wales, UK.

Legend says that the giant will waken from his slumber and come to the aid of the people when really needed. This giant even has a collar and a belt  The best view of the Sleeping Giant is from the main A4067 road just North of Caerbont and one mile South of Abercrave Village

Fig. 19: The "Sleeping Giant" of the Big Belt Range, north of Helena, Montana, USA.

You can almost feel this giant breathing...  It is called The Sleeping Giant because it looks like a giant man 'Orion' laying on his back...  Salish Spirits of Helena, Helena was one of the original homelands of the Montana Salish. Of the four historically-connected tribes that we know the names of, the Salish are the ones with the oldest connection to Helena, probably over a thousand or more years..

Fig. 20: The Mountain of the Sleeping Woman, Jebel Musa, Morocco.  Jebel Musa (Arabic: جبل موسى, Jabal Mūsā, in Berber Adrar Musa), Mount Moses when translated literally into English, is the name given to a mountain located in the northernmost part of Morocco on the African side of the Strait of Gibraltar. It is part of the Rif mountain chain. The mountain is generally identified as the southern Pillar of Hercules.

Fig. 21: The Lady of Beauty, Ngadi Chuli, Himalayas, Nepal.

Fig. 22: The Giants Head, Yangshuo county, Guangxi Zhuang, China.
This giants head which is looking skyward, has been rotated 90 degrees and is clearly a visible "human head."

Fig. 23: The Head of Zhob, Zhob Hill, Zhob Valley, Balochistan Province, Pakistan.
This hill photo has been rotated 90 degrees and is clearly a visible, "human head" looking skywards....　
Few people know that Zhob valley is also an archaeological site. The remains of an ancient civilization have been discovered here.

Fig. 24: The Face of Mount Inglismaldie, Alberta, Canada.

This mountain photo has been rotated 90 degrees and is clearly a visible, "human head" looking skywards....
What is today the province of Alberta, Canada has a history and prehistory stretching back thousands of years.

Fig. 25: The Face of Mount Solimana, Condesuyos, Peru.
This mountain photo has been rotated 90 degrees and is clearly a visible, "human head" looking skywards...

Mount Solimana, 

The name of one of the most important apus. It towers 19,990 feet above sea level, towering over the Cotahuasi Valley. It is one of the most important ritual and burial sites to the Inca. For the Inca, mountain gods associated with high peaks were believed to govern the wild plants and animals, crops and herds, waters, and people in the surrounding region. The sacred mountain that is home of the ancestors. It is easy to understand why the Inca and their descendants would conceive of such an impressive mountain as a deity of great power.

In Inca mythology, Apu was the name given to powerful mountain spirits. The Incas also used Apu to refer to the sacred mountains themselves; each mountain had its own spirit, with the spirit going by the name of its mountain domain.

The word "apu" has several possible meanings, depending on context:

A god or supreme being. The spirit of the sacred mountain; the most powerful of all nature spirits.

Summery:

This is a brief account which comes from a vast amount of work and research, my quest in writing this article is to briefly highlight to the reader, the real reasons why the landscape has been, since ancient times, associated with being sacred and holy land.

Landscape Giants have survived mainly through ancient stories, legends and traditions, and have only really survived because we can still see them in the landscape, remembering that some giants are bigger than others.

Despite the generations of change over the centuries, this secret knowledge of the landscape has remained fairly quiet and secretive, yet the knowledge of these giants has remained intact, and is only waiting to be rediscovered again.

As the picture language is a very old language, it becomes clear to mind that pictures are one of the oldest forms of languages known to man. We can all admit to recognising the same picture even though we may speak different languages, yet no matter what names or sounds we may call the picture, we both still see the same thing.

Therefore, even if the meaning does become lost we can both rediscover the meaning again through pictures. Ancient peoples, would also have communicated in this way, recording their knowledge by going to great lengths to immortalise these giants in their landscape.

As Ancient man recognised this language of pictures in their landscape, they deliberately added to these giants by building temples, earthworks and roads within them. These landscape giants that are formed by the landscape were considered to represent the sleeping form of ancestors, gods and mythical beings.

Students of ancient religions all around the world, sensed secrets in the landscape, and many others intuitively sought the secret knowledge of antiquity, a secret landscape that has been documented in ancient and old sources which literally-clearly confirms the former existence of these giants whose key had long since been lost.

Landscape giants are startling things; so startling to our present state of knowledge and climate of thought that many dismiss them out of hand without examining the evidence. But this reception is not unusual for discoveries that are destined to expand.

I end this brief article by wishing you all a wonderful adventure into this World of the Landscape Giants.