According to ancient Hindu tradition, America is none other than Patala Lok (the nether world), a land inhabited by Nagas
(the snake people). But this is an underworld with a difference - a land that is rich in gold and palaces, a beautiful land that could even rival the magnificence of heaven!
Ruins of grand palaces, temples and monuments are to be found everywhere. But who were the people that built them, and where did they come from? The absence of written (and recorded) history means that various theories and surmises have been proposed – some reasonable and others not so reasonable. The only fact that we can say for certain is that nothing can be said with certainty!
The basic problem is that there is no single origin, but a mixture of races and tribes that constitute the American Indian nation. The problem is further compounded by the fact that the descendants of the original inhabitants have changed their customs and way of life (following their conquest).
The most popular theory - and the one most commonly cited – is that of succeeding waves of immigrants over the past ten thousand years. This would explain the lack of racial unity; but where exactly did these immigrants come from? These immigrants are variously supposed to have come from Asia, Europe – and even from the submerged continent of Atlantis!
The theories ascribing the origin of the American Indians to Europe have largely been discounted; as there is no concrete archaeological evidence supporting them. This does not mean that immigration from Europe did not take place (before Columbus); only that they had a negligible / peripheral impact upon American Indian society.
Thus, the American Indians must have migrated from Asia. Common sense tells us this must have been so, as the American Indians display a mix of Indian and Mongolian physical features; and follow similar social and religious customs. Civilization - as we know it - first originated in Asia and then spread across the world. This cannot be denied. The only point of dispute that remains is whether the ancestors of these America Indians came across land or across the sea… The other point of dispute is whether this migration was driven by trade and commerce (America was a land rich in mineral wealth), conquest or population pressure.
There is no doubt that the people of the Orient migrated to America across the Pacific Ocean, as the prevailing winds and ocean currents all lead in that direction. In fact, they could not have gone anywhere else! Though the Pacific Ocean was a formidable natural barrier, it was not one that could not be crossed. Religion was important to these people, and this explains the wide variety of religious ceremony and ritual. These accounts are also (largely) corroborated by American Indian myths and legends.
The undisputed fact that many American Indians from North America made their way (across the land routes) into the Southern Continent does not mean that they could not have taken the sea route – across the Pacific Ocean – as well.
Over the centuries, these American Indians built up a culture (and civilization) that became uniquely American in style and content. But many of the components of this culture bear an unmistakable Hindu or Asian imprint.