Apkallu Saptarishis

The Seven Sages Angels

-

The Mystery Of The Seven Sages: Were They Visitors From The Stars?

Source: https://www.bibhudevmisra.com/2020/07/mystery-of-seven-sages.html

-

Many ancient legends tell us that in the bygone ages, a group of Seven Sages of extraordinary wisdom and untold powers visited the earth from the stars. They traveled around the world and passed on the knowledge of all the sciences and the arts to the people.

-

They advised the kings on their royal duties, instituted the proper codes of living, and established the correct modes of ritual in order to sustain the cosmic harmony, and ensure the happiness and prosperity of the people. It was said to be a time when our planet was closely integrated with our larger cosmic family; a very different era compared to the profane world we live in today.

-

The most extensive accounts of the Seven Sages have been preserved in the Mesopotamian and Indian traditions, although we find traces of similar information almost everywhere.

-

In the Mesopotamian religion, the Apkallu were Seven Sages of extraordinary wisdom who came as the teachers of humanity in the antediluvian times. The term Apkallu (Akkadian) or Abgal (Sumerian) means “sage” or “wise”. Each of the Apkallu served as a counselor of one of the seven antediluvian kings. They came from the waters of apsu, which was the “sea of freshwater” under the earth.

-

In Mesopotamia, Apsu was the term used for fresh water from underground aquifers. Lakes, rivers, springs, wells etc. were thought to draw their water from the apsu. The Apkallu were sent by the god Ea (Enki), the King of the apsu, the protector of mankind. Ea was the god of wisdom, civilization, water, fertility, crafts and magic. In the city of Eridu, Ea’s temple was called E-apsu i.e. “House of the Deep Waters”, and it was located at the edge of a swamp (an apsu).

In many texts, the Apkallu were described as “puradu-fishes”. For instance, the late Babylonian Epic of Erra, has the following lines about the Apkallu:

“Where are the seven Apkallu of the apsu, the pure puradu-fishes,
Who are perfect in lofty wisdom like Ea's, their lord,
Who can make my body holy?” (Poem of Erra; Tablet 2, line 162)

The description of the Apkallu as puradu-fishes has been an enduring mystery. Many Assyrian relief carvings of the Apkallu show them as a man wearing a fish-skin cloak. The first of the Seven Sages who had appeared in Babylon in the antediluvian times was called Uanna (Akkadian) or Oannes (Greek), and he had the title Adapa meaning "wise". The Chaldean astrologer Berossus - a contemporary of Alexander and a priest at the temple of Bel - wrote about Oannes in the Babyloniaca (c.300 BC). Berossus said that in the ancient times there was a great crowd of men at Babylon, and they lived without laws. In the first year of the reign of Alorus, the first antediluvian king of the Sumerian King List.

-

“There made its appearance, from a part of the Erythraean Sea which bordered upon Babylonia, an animal endowed with reason, who was called Oannes. The whole body of the animal was like that of a fish; and had under a fish's head another head, and also feet below, similar to those of a man, subjoined to the fish's tail. His voice too, and language, was articulate and human; and a representation of him is preserved even to this day.”

“This being in the day-time used to converse with men; but took no food at that season; and he gave them an insight into letters and sciences, and every kind of art. He taught them to construct houses, to found temples, to compile laws, and explained to them the principles of geometrical knowledge. He made them distinguish the seeds of the earth, and shewed them how to collect fruits; in short, he instructed them in everything which could tend to soften manners and humanize mankind.
From that time, so universal were his instructions, nothing material has been added by way of improvement. When the sun set, it was the custom of this being to plunge again into the sea, and abide all night in the deep; for he was amphibious. After this there appeared other animals like Oannes, of which Berossus promises to give an account when he comes to the history of the kings.”

-

The Subterranean Kingdom of the Serpents

There are so many legends from around the world which speak of a subterranean land peopled by spirits and supernatural beings. A number of Native American tribes such as the Hopi, Navajo, Iroquois, and Mandan Sioux believe that their ancestors emerged from a subterranean land, through caverns and tunnels. Every time the Hopi Supreme Creator Sotuknang destroyed the world, some of the righteous Hopi were taken to safe locations in the subterranean world. In Irish legends, the underworld Annwyn was populated with fairies and demons, spirits and deities, and could be reached through portals hidden inside mounds or tumuli.

-

In Indian legends, there are seven subterranean regions which are collectively called Patala or Naga-loka. These are the realms of the divine serpent beings called Nagas - and other spirit beings called Daityas, Danavas, and Yakshas - all of whom are progenies of the Seven Sages of Vedic tradition. The Nagas are generally depicted in a part human - part serpent form, sometimes with a seven-hooded serpent canopy over their head, guarding the entrances to Hindu temples. They are believed to be wise and powerful and act as the guardians of treasures and sacred teachings.

-

The Nagas are still worshiped in villages across India on a specific day of the year (Naga Panchami) for fertility, virility, and protection against snakebites. The subterranean regions where the Nagas dwell are said to be delightful, filled with resplendent palaces ornamented with precious gems, groves, lakes and rivers. The sun and moon cannot be seen there, but the jewels decorating the hoods and body of the Nagas emit an effulgence that illuminates the region.

-

In Southeast Asia, the indigenous people believe that the Nagas are the benefactors and protectors of humanity. They are capable of changing their forms, and Naga princesses are said to have married human kings in the past. They assisted people in establishing cities, digging irrigation channels, and protecting dams. But if the kings or the subjects become wicked, the Nagas punish people by releasing excess water which causes disastrous floods that wipe away villages. As per Thai and Laotian beliefs, the serpent lives in a subterranean watery kingdom called Muang Badan, which is the endless water source that keeps the Mekong River and all rivers of the world from drying out.

-

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Apkallu are said to have laid the foundation for the According to Babylonian legend, Adapa was one of the wise Apkallu from the Pre-flood city Eridu.” (Josepha Sherman- Storytelling: An Encyclopedia of Mythology and Folklore)

The seven Apkallu were known as:

-

Uanna, "who finished the plans for heaven and earth",

Uannedugga, "who was endowed with comprehensive intelligence",

Enmedugga, "who was allotted a good fate",

Enmegalamma, "who was born in a house",

Enmebulugga, "who grew up on pasture land",

An-Enlilda, "the conjurer of the city of Eridu",

Utuabzu, "who ascended to heaven".

-

Uanna is believed to have been Adapa. Amar Annus, at the University of Tartu, Estonia has put forward an intriguing theory suggesting that the seven Apkallu could have been the original Watchers

-

“The Apkallus themselves were sometimes viewed negatively as malicious creatures within the Mesopotamian tradition itself. Among other associations, the Apkallus had strong ties to Mesopotamian demonology, and they were occasionally counted as demonic and evil beings, capable of witchcraft. This point of comparison shows that the wickedness of antediluvian teachers of humankind was not wholly an inversion of the Mesopotamian traditions by Jewish scholars, but was partly taken from already existing trends in Mesopotamian demonology,” Amar Annus explained.

-

Things become more interesting, though, when we consider Nergal – the god of war, destruction and pestilence - who was the Lord of the Apsu or Underworld in the Akkadian times (c.2000 BC). Nergal was depicted with serpent heads sprouting from his shoulders, waistband, battle-axe, feet - which clearly establishes his serpent nature. One of his titles was “tamer of serpents”, which can be interpreted as the “Lord of Serpents.”

-

Nergal’s son (or grandson) Ningishzida also had serpent heads emerging from his shoulders. Sometimes, he was represented as a serpent with a human head and by the symbol of a pair of serpents coiled around a staff. This is the same symbol that the Greeks call the caduceus, which was carried by Hermes, the messenger of the gods. One can find this symbol carved in stone, scattered all across India, in those places where Nagas are still worshiped.

-

The Apkallu

Source: https://www.firstlegend.info/The%20Apkallu.html

-

The Apkallu were teachers, sages with a spiritual message of righteousness and brought the arts of civilization to mankind and because of their antiquity have an unfathomable wisdom. The giving of the arts of civilization was not something that just happened, it was part of the plan which I qualify as angelic: Uanna/Adapa was the one "who finished the plans for heaven and earth." ("The Etiological Myth of the "Seven Sages", R Borger).

-

The first Apkallu is Oannes/Adapa whose city is Eridu, Sumeria's first city. He would be the eldest and by Sumerian reckoning about 450,000 years old and out living all human antediluvian kings who according to the Kings List already had extraordinarily long lives.

-

So if these beings are only semi-divine, that is a divine/human hybrid, then they are picking the fruit and not using the cone for pollination or cleansing but for sustenance. The cone is the fruit of the Tree of Life. That's why its called the Tree of Life because it confers immortality and all representations of it include the fruit in some form, the most popular being the so-called pine cone.

-

First Enoch is where we encounter the greatest of detail concerning the Watchers and the rebellion. There is also a reference to an unusually fragrant tree that not only confers wisdom by eating its fruit but also, "its leaves and blooms and wood wither not for ever" (1 Enoch, chapter 24:4).

-

This particular tree grows in heaven which Enoch visits in a vision. Further on Enoch has a discussion with the angel Raphael. "Then I said: 'How beautiful is the tree, and how attractive is its look!' Then Raphael the holy angel, who was with me, answered me and said: 'This is the tree of wisdom, of which thy father old (in years) and thy aged mother, who were before thee, have eaten, and they learnt wisdom and their eyes were opened, and they knew that they were naked and they were driven out of the garden.' (Chapter 32:6)

-

This is a tree that is forbidden to all mortals. It is only for the "righteous and holy" who we know from the Book of Jubilees are the Watchers. When Enoch spoke with the angel Michael about this fragrant tree Michael had some very interesting comments. "It shall then be given to the righteous and holy. Its fruit shall be for food to the elect: it shall be transplanted to the holy place, to the temple of the Lord, the Eternal King."

-

Then shall they rejoice with joy and be glad,
And into the holy place shall they enter;
And its fragrance shall be in their bones,
And they shall live a long life on earth,Such as thy fathers lived:
And in their days shall no sorrow or plague
Or torment or calamity touch them.(1 Enoch Chapter: 5-6)
-
Holy the city...
The land of Dilmun is holy
Sumer is holy...
The land of Dilmun is pure,
-
The lion slew not,
the wolf was not
carrying off lambs,
-
No eye-diseases said there:
'I the eye-disease.'
No headache said there:
'I headache.'
No old woman belonging to it said there:
'I old woman.'
No old man belonging to it said there:
'I old man.'
(Enki and Ninhursag: A Sumerian Paradise Myth)

-

The flood in the Sumerian tradition is the breaking point from the past. And likewise from a Biblical standpoint. Supposedly humanity was wiped out by the flood and repopulating the earth begins anew with the descendants of Noah. But even here the Nephilim survive and they have to in order to carry the antediluvian story forward. "An important issue reflected upon in the ancient sources in regard to antediluvian knowledge was its survival during the flood and its transmission after it."(Ideas of Man in the Conceptions of the Religions, herausgegeben vonTarmo Kulmar und Rüdiger Schmitt © 2012 Ugarit-Verlag, Münster.

Melechesh – Apkallu Counsel -

Lyrics:

Ea rewards the Sages with seven gems

Each is stamped onto copper and burnished gold

Ea melts defined sigils into magic squares

As the cyclones of water start to rise

[Ea:]

"Now, you are emerging from the voids of Apsu

Your law will shelter the gifts of enchantment

But when the silhouettes of the icons appear

(The) five deities of planets will stalk below"

Tempests break through as Ishtar arrives

Wer and imsuhhu as a unit collide

Stones fall to pieces as Nabu becomes visible

Shulpae leads the others into confiscation

[Ea:]

"As I flood the fresh water with my insight,

Symbols sculpt and carve the charms with my rule

As I stand before the set of deities

I rape magnetic charge from their earthy path"

He went through gates of fate

According to cuneiforms

It said Dreamers observed

To find him crown the shrine:

"While we gave your wisdom to the far-sighted

We beheld Ea falling in the Apsu."

Saatchi Art

Source: https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-Apkallu-mesopotamia-myth-illustration/1748935/8265311/view

Pictures Videos Music and Additional Reading

Apkallu Saptarishis The Seven Sages Angels

This gypsum wall relief depicts an eagle-headed and winged man; this is a protective spirit or Apkallu. He holds a bucket and a cone, and wears an elaborate dress and accessories as well as sandals. Neo-Assyrian Period, reign of Ashurnasirpal II, 865-860 BCE. Panel 2, Room 2, the Temple of Ninurta at Nimrud (Kalhu), Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq. (The British Museum, London)

Source: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/6987/apkallu-from-the-temple-of-ninurta/

Music Ambient

Apkallu - Plains of Alcyon

Minimal Dark Ambient

This depiction of a fish-apkallū of the purādu-fish type guarded the entrance to the temple of Ninurta at Nimrud. A fish’s head can be seen on the Apkallu’s head, and its skin hangs down over the back of his body. It is important to recall that the so-called Seven Sages of Sumeria were apkallū of this type. Neo-Assyrian era, 865-860 BCE. From the Temple of Ninurta, Nimrud (ancient Kalhu; Biblical Calah), northern Mesopotamia, Iraq. (The British Museum, London) Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP (Glasg)

Source: http://www.ancient.eu/image/2708/

Enki depicted on Adda Seal (c. 2300 BC), Image credit: British Museum

Synaxis of the Archangel Michael (Собор Архистратига Михаила). An Eastern Orthodox Church icon of the "Seven Archangels." From left to right: Jegudiel, Gabriel (גַּבְרִיאֵל), Selaphiel, Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Barachiel. Beneath the mandorla of Christ Emmanuel are representations of Cherubim (in blue) and Seraphim (in red).

In parts of Ortiental Orthodox Christianity and Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Eight Archangels may be honoured, including Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, as well as Salathiel, Jegudiel, Barachiel and Jeremiel (in the Coptic tradition the latter four are named as Surael, Sakakael, Sarathael and Ananael). The Eight Archangels are commemorated on the Feast of the Archangels.

Saptarshi: Vishvamitra (top left), Jamadagni (top middle), Gautama (top right), Vasishtha (in the middle, beardless), Kashyapa (down left), Bharadvaja (down middle, in a yogic asana, upside down), Atri (down right). Pahari, from a Bandralta-Mankot workshop; c. 1700. Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saptarshi

Video Explanation 3:37 Min

Saptarishi are the highest class of Brahmarishis who have fully understood the meaning of life and brahman....Saptarishi are the seven mind-born sons of Lord Brahma and they also help lord shiva to maintain balance in the universe.

Berossus cites fish-man, Oannes, who imparted "wisdom and knowledge" to mankind (rather like Adam imparts knowledge of good and evil to mankind), is Sumerian U-an, Adapa's Sumerian name:

"...Adapa (Read More Adapa Son of Enki The First Apkallu click), one of the Seven Sages...They often appear in magic texts and incantations as the abgal (Akkadian apkallu), fish-like creatures under the command of Enki/Ea. The masks worn by some priests represented on seals and a number of Assyrian reliefs are connected with the power of the Apkallu to ward off evil.

They were personified as traditionally seven 'culture heroes', sent by Ea to teach mankind the arts of civilization. In the late Babylonian compositon known as the Erra epic. they are called 'the seven sages' of the Apsu, the pure paradu fish, who, just as their lord Ea, have been endowed with sublime wisdom. They were the councilors of the antediluvian kings, also seven in number, and responsible for the invention and the building of cities.”

(pp. 25-26. "Eridu Stories." Gwendolyn Leick. Mesopotamia, The Invention of the City. London. Penguin Books. 2001. paperback) Berossus

Source: http://www.bibleorigins.net/AdapaAdamPicturesFishmen.html

Akhenaten - Apkallu: Seven of the Abzu

Lyrics

Descend from the stars, emerge from the Abzu Apkallu

Priests of Enki cast down illumination

Judgment of Gods cultivate our breed

Rise from the Abzu, through scales of Truth

From the sands of Sumeria where the Seven have come

Apkallu

Enki thy King from the sands of Sumeria your Sages of Seven have come

In Indian legends, there are seven subterranean regions which are collectively called Patala or Naga-loka. These are the realms of the divine serpent beings called Nagas - and other spirit beings called Daityas, Danavas, and Yakshas - all of whom are progenies of the Seven Sages of Vedic tradition.

The Nagas are generally depicted in a part human - part serpent form, sometimes with a seven-hooded serpent canopy over their head, guarding the entrances to Hindu temples. They are believed to be wise and powerful and act as the guardians of treasures and sacred teachings. The Nagas are still worshiped in villages across India on a specific day of the year (Naga Panchami) for fertility, virility, and protection against snakebites.

Rudra - Hymns To Thee

Lyrics:

The youthful lord imparts the ageless truth

Under the Banyan tree, facing the south

Uprooting primordial nescience

With his burning eyes of wisdom

For the benefit of the four Rishis

He teaches the inconceivable truth

In silence he teaches

In silence the knowledge revealed

The guru of gurus

Teacher of Atmavidya

Lord of all learning

Whose nature is Ananda

With the chinmudra unfolding Brahmavidya

Duality vanishes without a trace

om namah pranavaarthaaya shuddha jnaanaika moortaye

nirmalaaya prashaantaaya dakshinaamoortaye namah

Beyond death he takes you

By staring into the eyes of death

Where there is no place to reach

By just listening you gain all there is