Irish dramatist Denis Johnston once said that myths are not created, they create themselves and then find expression in that which serves their purpose. Perhaps it�s time we helped dispel some popular misconceptions.

Islam was brought to India by Muslim invaders

Most historians now agree that India�s introduction to Islam was through Arab traders and not Muslim invaders, as is generally believed. The Arabs had been coming to the Malabar coast in southern India as traders for a long time, well before Islam had been introduced in Arabia.

Writes H G Rawlinson, in his book, �Ancient and Medieval History of India�, "The first Arab Muslims began settling in the towns on the Indian coast in the last part of the 7th century." They married Indian women and were treated with respect and allowed to propagate their faith. According to B P Sahu, head of the department of history of Delhi University, Arab Muslims began occupying positions of prominence in the areas where they had settled by the 8th and 9th centuries.

In fact, the first mosque in the county was built by an Arab trader at Kodungallur, in what is now Kerala, in 629 AD. Interestingly, Prophet Mohammed was alive at that time and this mosque in India would probably have been one of the first few mosques in the world, thus highlighting the presence of Islam in India long before the Muslim invaders arrived.

Asoka killed his 100 brothers to claim the throne

In his book, The Oxford History of India, Vincent Smith writes that the story told by the Buddhist monks of Ceylon that Asoka slaughtered 98 or 99 of his brothers in order to clear his way to the throne is absurd and obviously concocted to highlight Asoka�s alleged abnormal wickedness prior to his conversion to Buddhism.

In fact, Asoka, says Smith, took good care of his brothers long after his succession, evidence of which is found in his rock edicts. However, according to Nayanjot Lahiri, professor in the department of history at Delhi University, this is a legend which can�t be summarily dismissed and it probably has a grain of truth.

Although the reference to 100 brothers seems purely metaphorical, there are references in one Indian and two Sri Lankan literary texts that there was a protracted struggle between Asoka and his brothers for the throne. Since Asoka�s formal consecration was also delayed for some four years after the death of his father Bindusara, it indicates that his ascension to the throne was contested, says Lahiri. How many brothers were slain, or whether any were slain at all, is however a question that is still debatable.

Buddhist monks were vegetarians

Most people associate Buddhism with non-violence and imagine that Buddhist monks and nuns never consumed animal food. However, according to Nayanjot Lahiri, the idea that meat and its products were not allowed to Buddhist monks is a myth. For instance, in case of sickness, raw flesh and blood could be used by the monks.

Fish and meat were mentioned among the five superior and delicate foods that a monk who was unwell was allowed to eat. Irfan Habib, former professor of history at Aligarh Muslim University, agreed that monks could eat meat. The only restriction, however, was that they could not eat the meat of animals especially slaughtered for them. Buddhist sutras also mention that one may, with a clear conscience, receive, cook and eat meat either freely offered by someone else, or that which came from an animal which had died of natural causes, but not of that which had been especially slaughtered for eating. Even the archaeology of Buddhism provides some evidence on this, says Lahiri, as animal bones have been recorded from two famous Buddhist sites in Sri Lanka�the Abhayagiri vihara at Anuradhapura and the Sigiriya vihara�which indicate that Buddhist monks were not vegetarian.

The love story of Salim and Anarkali

A lowly courtesan falls in love with the crown prince of the Mughal empire who, in turn, is ready to defy his father�s will for the sake of his beloved. This is the story of Salim and Anarkali, made popular by films like �Mughal-e-Azam�. The tragedy, however, is that the epic romance was probably just a work of fiction.

For, Anarkali never existed. Or, even if she did, she was probably a slave girl who had no proven connection with either Salim or his father, the Emperor Akbar. According to Irfan Habib, the legend of Anarkali came into being some four years after Jahangir�s death, when she was mentioned briefly in some texts of the 1630s. After that, there�s no mention of her anywhere and there is no reference to her in Jahangir�s autobiography either. Yet, Anarkali�s name remains closely linked with Salim and she is probably more popular than even his wife, the historical Noorjahan, was. What probably fanned this popular imagination, says N R Farooqi, professor at Allahabad University, was circumstantial evidence like a tomb, believed to be that of Anarkali�s, situated in Lahore which was built by Jahangir. Or tales spread by European travellers and later picked up by popular culture, thus cementing the legend of Salim and Anarkali in people�s imagination.

Jodha Bai was the name of Akbar�s Rajput wife

Akbar�s first Rajput wife, it is believed, was the eldest daughter of Bhar Mal, the Raja of Amber. Popular perception has it that her name was Jodha Bai and that she was Jahangir�s mother. History, however, suggests otherwise.

According to Irfan Habib, there is no mention of Akbar�s Rajput wife anywhere in any Mughal text. Abul Fazal, in his �Akbarnama�, does not mention her name as Akbar�s wife. Nor does Jahangir, in his autobiography, �Tuzk-e-Jahangiri�, mention Jodha Bai as his mother. This is because, according to N R Farooqi, Jodha Bai was not the name of Akbar�s Rajput queen. It was, in fact, the name of Jahangir�s Rajput wife, whose real name was Jagat Gosain. Since she belonged to the royal family of Jodhpur, she was also referred to as Jodha Bai.

According to Farooqi, she was a very important woman in the royal household. Besides being married to the emperor, she was also the mother of Khurram, who later became Emperor Shah Jahan. The myth of Jodha Bai being Akbar�s Rajput wife, says Irfan Habib, probably gained credence during the 19th century when guides at Fatehpur Sikri gave her the mantle of Akbar�s wife, a perception which is prevalent even today.