Possible relationship of Mayans with Vedic India
Certain learned scholars who have done extensive research on both Hindu as well as the Aztec History have expressed a possible connection between these two cultures. However, there is no proof available till today to support these claims and they require more research. Following are some connections that can be found in these two cultures.
1. Quetzalcoatl, one of the chief deities in the Aztec culture was known by several names in Mesoamerican civilizations such as Kukulcan in the Mayan culture. Quetzalcoatl is equated to the Indian sage Astika who built the civilization at Tula for estranged Nagas (snake worshipers) who had escaped persecution in their homelands at the hands of king Janmejaya. The leader/king of the nagas was called Takshaka who led the surviving nagas to patala (South America). As a coincidence, Mexico has a place with the name ‘Texcoco’.
2. The Olmecs (predecessors of Toltecs, Mayans and Toltecs) had a calendar that starts from 3,113 BC. Interestingly, the great Mahabharata war in the east ended almost during the same time. Also, Janmejaya, the successor of the Pandavas and Kauravas became an emperor in the Indian subcontinent around the same century.
3. Ancient American texts (pre-classical texts) talk about a mighty warrior who came from the east and married one of the Naga princesses. According to Indian texts, Arjuna, the demigod and one of the Pandava princes, was a skilled warrior who went to the far end of the world and married a Naga princess.
4. Both cultures have recorded elaborate ceremonies in order to request their gods for helping in human affairs such as agriculture. Both cultures seem to have similar concepts of gods, nature and their relationship with humans.
5. The creation myth also seem to be very similar in both cultures. Both believed in the cycle of creation. Both cultures believed that it took the gods five attempts to create the earth and mankind, and they finally got it right in the fifth attempt. In fact, there are many similarities between the Indian Rig Veda