The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture : The Indo-Aryan Migration Debate

The solution to the Indo-European problem has been one of the most consuming intellectual projects of the last two centuries. It has captivated the imagination and dedication of generations of archaeologists, linguists, philologists, anthropologists, historians, and all manner of scholarly, and not so scholarly, dilettantes. Predicated on the deduction that cognate languages necessitate an original protoform spoken by a group of people inhabiting a reasonably delineated geographic area, the problem has resulted in a massive amount of scholarship attempting to reconstruct this protolanguage, locate the original homeland where it was spoken, and conjecture on the social and cultural life of the protospeakers. Although the endeavor has very much been a preoccupation of European scholars, the belief in and pursuit of the origins of European civilization have required scholars to attempt to reconstruct and reconfigure the prehistory and protohistories of other civilizations whose languages happen to belong to the Indo-European language family.This book is primarily a historiographical study of how various Indian scholars, over the course of a century or more, have rejected this idea of an external origin of the Indo-Aryans by questioning much of the logic, assumptions, and methods upon which the theory is based. The aim of the book is threefold. A primary aim is to excavate marginalized points of view reacting against what is perceived as a flawed and biased historical construct. As a corollary of this aim, this work will further complicate the Indo-European homeland quest by exposing the whole endeavor to a critique from scholars outside mainstream European academic circles who do not share the same intellectual history as their Western peers. A further aim of this book is to present a comprehensive exposition and analysis of views from within mainstream academic circles addressing the issue of Indo-Aryan origins. Contents......Page 10 Introduction......Page 16 1. Myths of Origin: Europe and the Aryan Homeland Quest......Page 26 Biblical Origins......Page 27 India, the Cradle of Civilization......Page 31 The Aryans and Colonial and Missionary Discourse......Page 34 German Aryanism......Page 43 Two Centuries of Homeland Theories......Page 48 Present-Day Homeland Hypotheses......Page 51 Conclusion......Page 56 2. Early Indian Responses......Page 59 Hindu Nationalist Responses......Page 60 The First Reactions: Hindu Religious Leaders......Page 64 Conclusion......Page 69 3. Vedic Philology......Page 70 The Racial Evidence......Page 72 The West-to-East Geographic Shift in Sanskrit Texts......Page 76 Conclusion......Page 80 4. Indo-European Comparative Linguistics: The Dethronement of Sanskrit......Page 81 The Law of Palatals and the Discovery of Hittite......Page 82 Objections from India......Page 85 Conclusion......Page 86 5. Linguistic Substrata in Sanskrit Texts......Page 89 Linguistic Innovations in Sanskrit......Page 91 Evidence of the Loanwords......Page 97 Terms for Flora in Indic Languages......Page 103 Place-Names and River Names......Page 111 Indo-Aryan, or Dravidian and Munda Migrations?......Page 115 Conclusion......Page 118 6. Linguistic Paleontology......Page 121 Flora and Fauna......Page 122 The Horse......Page 128 Criticisms of the Method......Page 133 Conclusion......Page 136 Semitic Loans in Indo-European: Nichols's Model......Page 137 Finno-Ugric Loans......Page 139 Other Traces of Indo-Aryan......Page 142 The Avestan Evidence......Page 143 The Mitanni Treaties......Page 148 Conclusion......Page 151 8. The Viability of a South Asian Homeland......Page 153 Center of Origin Method......Page 155 Dialectical Subgroupings: Gamkrelidze and Ivanov's Model......Page 158 Nichols's Sogdiana Model......Page 164 Conclusion......Page 167 Indra Stands Accused......Page 170 The Religion of the Indus Valley......Page 173 The Sarasvatī......Page 178 The Horse......Page 182 The Chariot......Page 188 The Indus Script......Page 190 Urbanity and the Rgveda......Page 197 Conclusion......Page 205 10. Aryans in the Archaeological Record: The Evidence outside the Subcontinent......Page 210 Identifying Aryans......Page 211 The Northern Route......Page 215 The Southern Route......Page 221 Two Wave Theories......Page 230 Conclusion......Page 233 11. Aryans in the Archaeological Record: The Evidence inside the Subcontinent......Page 237 Gandhara Grave Culture......Page 238 Jhukar Culture......Page 239 Painted Gray Ware Culture......Page 242 Aryans in the Skeletal Record......Page 243 Continuity and Innovation......Page 244 Conclusion......Page 249 12. The Date of the Veda......Page 251 Dating Proto-Indo-European......Page 252 Dating the Veda......Page 256 Astronomy and Vedic Chronology......Page 264 The Mathematics of the Śulvasautras......Page 275 Conclusion......Page 277 13. Aryan Origins and Modern Nationalist Discourse......Page 280 Nationalism and Historiography: General Comments......Page 281 The Aryans in Hindutva Ideology......Page 283 Stereotypes and Counterstereotypes......Page 288 Discourses of Suspicion......Page 299 Conclusion......Page 308 Conclusion......Page 311 Notes......Page 324 Works Cited......Page 362 B......Page 394 G......Page 395 I......Page 396 K......Page 397 P......Page 398 S......Page 399 Z......Page 400 ISBN-13: 9780195169478 Contents 10 Introduction 16 1. Myths of Origin: Europe and the Aryan Homeland Quest 26 Biblical Origins 27 India, the Cradle of Civilization 31 The Aryans and Colonial and Missionary Discourse 34 German Aryanism 43 Two Centuries of Homeland Theories 48 Present-Day Homeland Hypotheses 51 Conclusion 56 2. Early Indian Responses 59 Hindu Nationalist Responses 60 The First Reactions: Hindu Religious Leaders 64 Conclusion 69 3. Vedic Philology 70 The Racial Evidence 72 The West-to-East Geographic Shift in Sanskrit Texts 76 Conclusion 80 4. Indo-European Comparative Linguistics: The Dethronement of Sanskrit 81 The Law of Palatals and the Discovery of Hittite 82 Objections from India 85 Conclusion 86 5. Linguistic Substrata in Sanskrit Texts 89 Linguistic Innovations in Sanskrit 91 Evidence of the Loanwords 97 Terms for Flora in Indic Languages 103 Place-Names and River Names 111 Indo-Aryan, or Dravidian and Munda Migrations? 115 Conclusion 118 6. Linguistic Paleontology 121 Flora and Fauna 122 The Horse 128 Criticisms of the Method 133 Conclusion 136 7. Linguistic Evidence from outside of India 137 Semitic Loans in Indo-European: Nichols's Model 137 Finno-Ugric Loans 139 Other Traces of Indo-Aryan 142 The Avestan Evidence 143 The Mitanni Treaties 148 Conclusion 151 8. The Viability of a South Asian Homeland 153 Center of Origin Method 155 Dialectical Subgroupings: Gamkrelidze and Ivanov's Model 158 Nichols's Sogdiana Model 164 Conclusion 167 9. The Indus Valley Civilization 170 Indra Stands Accused 170 The Religion of the Indus Valley 173 The Sarasvatī 178 The Horse 182 The Chariot 188 The Indus Script 190 Urbanity and the Rgveda 197 Conclusion 205 10. Aryans in the Archaeological Record: The Evidence outside the Subcontinent 210 Identifying Aryans 211 The Northern Route 215 The Southern Route 221 Two Wave Theories 230 Conclusion 233 11. Aryans in the Archaeological Record: The Evidence inside the Subcontinent 237 Gandhara Grave Culture 238 Jhukar Culture 239 Cemetery H Culture 242 Painted Gray Ware Culture 242 Aryans in the Skeletal Record 243 Continuity and Innovation 244 Conclusion 249 12. The Date of the Veda 251 Dating Proto-Indo-European 252 Dating the Veda 256 Astronomy and Vedic Chronology 264 The Mathematics of the Śulvasautras 275 Conclusion 277 13. Aryan Origins and Modern Nationalist Discourse 280 Nationalism and Historiography: General Comments 281 The Aryans in Hindutva Ideology 283 Stereotypes and Counterstereotypes 288 Discourses of Suspicion 299 Conclusion 308 Conclusion 311 Notes 324 Works Cited 362 Index 394 A 394 B 394 C 395 D 395 E 395 F 395 G 395 H 396 I 396 J 397 K 397 L 398 M 398 N 398 O 398 P 398 R 399 S 399 T 400 V 400 W 400 Z 400 Oxford University Press,USA ## Abstract As a result of the discovery of similarities between Sanskrit and the classical languages of Europe, scholars hypothesized the existence of an early “proto-Indo-European” people who spoke the language from which the other Indo-European speakers evolved. The solution to this Indo-European homeland problem has been one of the most consuming intellectual projects of the last two centuries. At first it was assumed that India was the original home of all the Indo-Europeans. Soon, however, Western scholars were contending that the Vedic culture of ancient India must have been the by-product of an invasion or migration of “Indo-Aryans” from outside the subcontinent. Over the years, Indian scholars have raised many arguments against this European reconstruction of their nation’s history, yet Western scholars have generally been unaware or dismissive of these voices from India itself. Edwin Bryant offers a comprehensive examination of this ongoing debate, presenting all of the relevant philological, archaeological, linguistic, and historiographical data, and showing how they have been interpreted both to support the theory of Aryan migrations and to contest it. Bringing to the fore those hitherto marginalized voices that argue against the external origin of the Indo-Aryans, he shows how Indian scholars have questioned the very logic, assumptions, and methods upon which the theory is based and have used the same data to arrive at very different conclusions. By exposing the whole endeavor to criticism from scholars who do not share the same intellectual history as their European peers, Bryant’s work newly complicates the Indo-European homeland quest. At the same time it recognizes the extent to which both sides of the debate have been driven by political, racial, religious, and nationalistic agendas. This Work Studies How Indian Scholars Have Rejected The Idea Of An External Origin Of The Indo-aryans, By Questioning The Logic Assumptions And Methods Upon Which The Theory Is Based. Myths Of Origin: Europe And The Aryan Homeland Quest. -- Early Indian Response. -- Vedic Philology. -- Indo-european Comparative Linguistics: The Dethronement Of Sanskrit. -- Linguistic Substrata In Sanskrit Texts. -- Linguistic Paleontology. -- Linguistic Evidence From Outside India. -- The Viability Of A South Asian Homeland. -- The Indus Valley Civilization. -- Aryans In The Archaeological Records: The Evidence Outside The Subcontinent. -- Aryans In The Archaeological Records: The Evidence Inside The Subcontinent. -- The Date Of The Veda. -- Aryan Origins And Modern Nationalist Discourse. Edwin Bryant. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 349-379) And Index. "Western scholars have argued that Indian civilization was the joint product of an invading Indo-European people--the "indo-Aryans"--And indigenous non-Indo European peoples. Although Indian scholars reject this European reconstruction of their country's history, Western scholarship gives little heed to their argument. In this book, Edwin Bryant explores the nature and origins of this fascinating debate."--Global Books in Print A study of how various Indian scholars, over the course of a century or more, have rejected the idea of an external origin of the Indo Aryans by questioning the very logic, assumptions and methods upon which the theory is based. In the process, Bryant presents a complete exposition and analysis of views addressing the issue of Indo-Aryan origins