The elusive Aryans : archaeological search and Vedic research; the origin of the Hindus / by Pradhan S. V.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pradhan, S. V., author.

Contributor:

George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Indo-Aryans--History.

Indo-Aryans.

Indo-Aryans--Origin.

Hindu civilization.

Vedas--Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Vedas.

History.

Physical Description:

xvii, 294 pages ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

Newcastle upon Tyne, UK : Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014.

Contents:

Digging Around the Concept of Arya

1 The Politics of Aryan Identity

2 Intellectuals and Aryan Identity

3 Limitations of pre-Indus Indology

4 Philologists on the Aryan tradition:

A Hillebrandt

B Oldenberg

C Eggeling

5 Two waves of Aryans: a linguistic hypothesis: Hoernle and Grierson

6 The impact of Soviet Archaeology on the Aryan question

Part I Archaeological Search

Chapter 1 Archaeologists and Archaeological Cultures 28

1 Archaeological visibility

2 The Pioneers:

A Gordon Childe

B Robert Heine-Geldern

3 Mid-Twentieth century British archaeologists:

A Stuart Piggott

B D.H. Gordon

C Raymond Allchin

4 Re-defining the Dasas: Asko Parpola

5 New voices in archaeology:

A Colin Renfrew: Aryans as Neolithic hunters and Iron Age pastoral nomads

B Jim Shaffer: the end of "linguistic tyranny"

C Kenneth A.R.Kennedy: what do the skeletons say?

6 Candidates for Aryan culture:

A Jhukar

B Cemetery H

C Gandhara Graves Culture

D Painted Gray Ware

E Central Asian funeral customs and their echoes in India

7 Archaeological search: an overview

Part II Vedic Research

Chapter 2 Rivers in the Rgveda: from the Rasa to the Yamuna 76

1 The Nadisukta

2 The mystery of the Rasa

3 The Sarasvati:

A Sarasvati of Book VI

B Sarasvati in the late Rgveda and the Brahmanas

C Sarasvati in the Mahabharata

4 Sutudri and Vipas

5 The Rivers of Kuruksetra and archaeology:

A The Yamuna: the eastern boundary in the Rgveda

B "Armakas" (ruins) and dry river beds

Chapter 3 Tribes in the Rgveda 105

1 The Sauma Aryans

2 The Purus and the significance of their "mrdhravak" (broken speech)

3 The Northwestern tribes:

A The Pakhtas, Bhalanas, and Sivas

B The Panis

C The significance of the Paravatas

D The significance of the Prthu-ParSus

4 The Dasas:

A Introduction

B The Dasa language

C The religion of the Dasas

5 Integration and assimilation of Sauma Aryans, Dasas, and indigenous tribes

Chapter 4 Indra 133

1 Indra from the Family Books to Books I and X

2 Indra Myths:

A Minor Myths: (i) Indra's parricide (ii) Indra's new roles as a healer and fertility god (iii) KrSanu (iv) Rauhina: ascent to heaven (v) the myth of the camasa (vi) Dadhyac: the myth of resurrection

B The Vrtra myth: (i) Vrtra (ii) Vala (iii) Susna

C Re-interpretation of the Vrtra myth: (i) late Family Books and the late Rgveda (ii) the Orientalist interpretation of the Vrtra myth

Chapter 5 Varuna: Two Traditions 153

1 Varuna in the Rgveda

2 Varuna in the rituals

Chapter 6 The Asvins 161

1 Period and region

2 The Asvins and sura

Chapter 7 Rudra 168

1 Rudra in the Rgveda

2 Rudra in the rituals

3 Rudra as SivaSankara in the Mahabharata

Chapter 8 ViSnu 178

1 ViSnu in the Rgveda:

A Early Rgveda

B ViSnu as a god of fertility

C "Paramam padam": the highest step

2 Visnu in the rituals

3 The region of ViSnu worship

Chapter 9 Prajapati 186

Chapter 10 Beyond the Family Books, Towards Metaphysics: The Philosophical Suktas 190

1 The philosophical suktas (X 90, 121 and 129):

A Purusa sukta

B Nasadiya sukta

C "K" sukta

Chapter 11 Rituals (1)-Soma Sacrifice: From the Early Rgveda to the Yajurveda 195

1 Soma sacrifice:

A Indo-Iranian and Early Rgvedic

B Soma sacrifice or agnistoma in Yajurveda (Vajasaneyi Samhita)

C Agnistoma in Yajurveda as a synthesis of separate ritualistic traditions

D Rituals and Asuras

Chapter 12 Rituals (2)-Agnicayana: The Ascent to Heaven 205

1 The myth of Prajapati's dismemberment and its rationale

2 Agnicayana as a separate sacrificial tradition

3 Synthesis of soma and agnicayana traditions

Chapter 13 The Upanisadic Tradition and its Native Roots 214

Chapter 14 The Upanisads of the Brahmanic, Brahmanopanisadic and Upanisadic Periods

1 Upanisads of the Brahmanic period (1):

A Brhadaranyaka and Kena

B Aitareya and Taittiriya Upanisads

2 Upanisads of the Brahmanopanisadic period (II):

A Baskala and Chandogya

B Brhadarannyaka and Chagaleya

C Isavasya

3 Upanisads of the Upanisadic period (III A): Theistic Upanisads:

A Mundaka

B Svetasvatara

C Katha

4 The Upanisadic period (III B): Development of "param or transcendental Brahman" from the Brhadaranyaka to Yajnvalkya and Uddalaka:

A) From the Brhadaranyaka to the Arseya

B Yajhavalkya:

i Uncompromising philosophy

ii Pragmatic compromises

C Uddalaka: (i) Uddalaka's Sat (ii) Uddalaka's Sat according to Vedantins

5 Ksatriya vidya

6 From Brahman as "prayer" to Yajnavalkya's Brahman:" an interpretation

Chapter 15 Vedic Research: An Overview 263.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 278-279) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

ISBN:

1443860328

9781443860321

OCLC:

880913291

Publisher Number:

99959508985