samaya

You see, Hinduism is a very old/ancient religion. The oldest Hindu deity idol excavated was traced back to 26,540 BCE. It was Kalpa Vigraha, a form of Lord Shiva. Kalpa Vigraha Oldest Hindu Idol of Lord Siva (26450 BC) - Archeology Around 1959-60, a heavy chest containing the idol was reportedly given to CIA officials for safekeeping at Lo Monthang (called “Mustang” in CIA files) by a Tibetan monk accompanied by Khampa bodyguards. (……) Radiocarbon (C14) dating conducted by the University of California Radiation Laboratory on the heavy 9-inch thick timber sides and lid of the chest in which it was discovered arrived at readings that indicated a period around 26,450 BCE. Even the well-known Indus Valley Civilization started in 3300 BCE, and they followed ancient Hinduism. Gradually Hindu religion expanded throughout South and Southeast Asia. This was the reach of Hindu civilization around 1250 BCE (represented with present-day borders). Tibet was a Hindu kingdom called “Trivishtapa” then. Buddha was born in 480 BCE, so Buddhism didn't exist during those days. And the Chinese Ming Dynasty came in 1368 AD, Qing came in 1644 AD. Before that, Tibet was an independent kingdom throughout history. An important place for Hindus , the Kailash Mountain and Mansarovar Lake, lies in Tibet, now China. Tibet was a part of our civilization. China is a newcomer to Tibet. Even the Tibetan alphabet is derived from Devanagari alphabet. Tibetan alphabet can well replicate Sanskrit texts, but Chinese characters can't replicate the proper pronunciation. Similarly the current day Afghanistan was a kingdom called Gandhara then. Again a Hindu kingdom. But Islamic rulers destroyed their culture and made it a fully Islamic Republic. Muhammad himself was born in 570AD, much later. Even Christianity is older than Islam by 570 years. Our traditional religions in Asia were much older. So there should not be any surprise why a Tibet-born deity became the supreme god aka Mahadeva. Hinduism's reach was much wider then, from Afghanistan to Indonesia (later became Islamic), from Tibet to Thailand (later became Buddhist).