"There was once an Ethiopian monk named Gregory who visited Germany and the way in which he accounted for the tradition of a serpent king is highly interesting as when asked about King Arwe who was the first king he described an ancient tradition amongst his countrymen that the very early Ethiopians worshipped a great serpent as a god, hence the name of 'Arwe' their very first king means 'snake"  -  John Bathurst Deane  -  The Worship Of The Serpent.

 

Ethiopia was once known as the 'land of the nagas' their kings beheld the title 'nagash' their history was compiled within a book called the 'kebra nagast' meaning history ( kebra ) of kings ( nagast ) a great maritime race whose sailors were known as 'bahr nagast' meaning the kings ( nagast ) of the sea ( bahr ) and their lawbooks were known as the 'fetha nagast' meaning the lawbooks ( fetha ) of the kings ( nagast ).

 

The source of these names is 'naga' a word from the ancient language of Sanskrit whose meaning is 'snake' 'cobra' 'serpent' whose description is that which goes ( ga ) within the waters ( na ) and who are also known as a celestial race whose forms are that of a serpent and whose stories are mentioned throughout the ancient Vedas of India.

 

 

'Ananta Sesa' is described within the Vedas as the king of the nagas, the celestial serpent upon whom Visnu reclines and whose hoods are illuminated by thousands of jewels and within the country of Ethiopia we find the town of 'Shashamane' whose meaning is unknown but could possibly be formed from two Sanskrit words meaning 'the jewels ( mani ) of sesa' a description of Ananta Sesa.

 

Ancient Puranas speak of Krsna and Arjuna travelling beyond the universe to the causal ocean in search of the dead sons of a grieving brahman and upon arrival they enter into the city of Visnu who reclines upon a thousand headed serpent which is described within this following verse.

 

"In that palace was the huge awe inspiring serpent Ananta Sesa. He shone brilliantly with the radiance emenating from the gems on his thousands of hoods and reflecting from twice as many fearsome eyes. He resembled Mount Kailasa and his necks and tongues were dark blue" Srimad Bhagavatam 10.89.53.

 

 

'Shashamane' and 'sesamani' is undoubtedly tenuous yet its reasonable based upon Ethiopias past, its relationship with India and the surrounding regions which are abound with Sanskrit names such as 'Kuyera' which is hardly different from 'Kuvera' the god of wealth who is also known as the lord of the nagas and upon whose lap sits a mongoose symbolic of one who conquers the nagas.

 

We also have the regions of Jara, Dosha, Lagu, Guna, Ketu, Asada, Busa, Kula, Adaba, Tulama, Sedika, Durami, Shankula, all regions which surround Shashamane and all to be found within a Sanskrit dictionary and we also find that Shashamane is also surrounded by the Rift Valley lakes and of the major lakes we find that many have names which are related to Sanskrit.

 

'Abijatta' is a lake which is home to 144 species of water bird as well as the great white pelican and countless flamingos and in Sanskrit the word 'Abhijata' bears the meaning of that which is 'noble' that which is 'handsome' that which is 'wise' an appropriate name for such a beautiful lake.

 

 

'Abaya' is the second largest lake within Ethiopia and although its one of the most beautiful it is sadly inhabited by hungry crocodiles and this was highlighted recently by a local pastor who decided upon performing a mass baptism but the croc, pagan by nature, was having none of it and jumping out of the water ate him. 'Abhaya' is a word from the language of Sanskrit whose meaning is 'fearless' and 'peace' and although the local pastor would most likely disagree its an appropriate name for such a beautiful lake.

 

'Langano' is a lake which is very popular with tourists and city dwellers and a name which is similar to 'langana' a word from the language of Sanskrit whose meaning is that which 'crosses' that which 'rises' and that which 'passes' and once again it seems quite appropriate for a body of water such as a lake.

 

'Awasa' is a lake which resides within the middle of the Ethiopian Rift Valley and its reasonable to assume its name may have originally been 'Avasa' as the 'V' and the 'W' are very much interchangeable and within the language of Sanskrit we find 'avasa' whose meaning is that which is an 'abode' that which is 'liberating' and that which is 'free' and 'unrestrained'.

 

 

'Shala' is seen as the deepest of all the Rift Valley lakes of Ethiopia and within the language of Sanskrit we find the word 'sala' which is pronounced 'shala' whose meaning is 'river' and the name of an ancient river of India as well as other meanings such as an 'abode' a 'house' and a 'residence'.

 

'Naivasha' is one of the Rift Valley lakes whose name seems to be very much from the language of Sanskrit where we find the word 'nivasa' whose meaning is 'dwelling' 'abode' 'residence' 'thundering' and 'roaring' which may be appropriate as it happens to be a place which is known for its sudden storms.

We find other lakes whose names are 'Nakuru' which sounds quite familiar and we also have 'Magadi' a lake which is very close to 'Maghada' which was once a great empire within the lands of India and we also have 'Tana' a lake whose name is also Sanskrit meaning 'offspring' and also 'Basaka' a lake whose name is similar to 'bhasaka' whose meaning is that which is 'enlightening'.

 

 

Although that which has been proposed is undoubtedly within the realms of speculation its a fact that there are many place names throughout the lands of Ethiopia which are found within the language of Sanskrit and considering the ancient relationship between Ethiopia and India its what we should expect, anything else would be deeply suspicious.

 

"The Indi are the wisest of mankind. The Ethiopians are a colony of them, and they inherit the wisdom of their fathers." Philostratus. in Vit. Apollon (Lib. II)

 

"Within the reign of Amenophis lll ( the mighty dynasty XVlll Egyptian king ) a body of Ethiopians migrated from the country of the Indus and settled in the valley of the Nile" - Eusebius - Christian scholar.

 

"Philostratus says that the gymnosophists ( Hindu sect ) of Ethiopia, who settled near the sources of the Nile, descended from the Brahmins of India. Eustathius states that the Ethiopians came from India, Appolonius states that the Ethiopians were sent from India and in the journal of Alexander the great it says "India as a whole beginning from the north and embracing what of it is subject to Persia, is a continuation of Egypt and the Ethiopians". Godfrey Higgins - Anacalypsis.

 

"Of the cursory observations on the Hindus, which it would require volumes to expand and illustrate, this is the result, that they had an immemorial affinity with the old Persians, Ethiopians and Egyptians, the Phoenicians, Greeks, and Tuscans, the Scythians, or Goths, and Celts, the Chinese, Japanese, and Peruvians." Indologist and Sanskritist Sir William Jones - Asiatic Researches, Volume I.