The Rigveda: A Historical Analysis

The Rigveda is the oldest and most important source of material for India, Indo-Aryan, and even Indo-European history. It is a text which has been part of a hoary and widespread living tradition thousands of years old. Naturally, a text which has remained alive, as part of a living tradition, for so long cannot and should not be analysed without reference to what that tradition has to say about it. In the present volume, the author has confirmed emphatically that India was also the original homeland not only of the Indo-Aryans but also of the Indo-Iranians and the Indo-Europeans.;The author has gone directly to the primary sources without any preconceived notions, and examined as well analysed the available information with the help of traditional tools of interpretation. In this present study, he has elaborated a historical analysis of the Rigveda on the basis of genealogies of composers of the hymns preserved in the Anukramanis or indices of the Rigveda. Table of Contents:- Section I: The Rigveda The AnukramaNIs The Composers of the Rigveda The Chronology of the Rigveda The Geography of the Rigveda The Historical Identity of the Vedic Aryans Section II: Beyond the Rigveda The Indo-Iranian Homeland The Indo-European Homeland Section III: Appendices Misinterpretations of Rigvedic History Michael Witzel SaramA and the PaNis: A Mythological Theme in the Rigveda The Rigveda is the oldest and most important source of material for India, Indo-Aryan, and even Indo-European history. It is a text which has been part of a hoary and widespread living tradition thousands of years old. Naturally, a text which has remained alive, as part of a living tradition, for so long cannot and should not be analysed without reference to what that tradition has to say about it. In the present volume, the author has confirmed emphatically that India was also the original homeland not only of the Indo-Aryans but also of the Indo-Iranians and the Indo-Europeans.;The author has gone directly to the primary sources without any preconceived notions, and examined as well analysed the available information with the help of traditional tools of interpretation. In this present study, he has elaborated a historical analysis of the Rigveda on the basis of genealogies of composers of the hymns preserved in the Anukramanis or indices of the Rigveda. Acknowledgements 3 Bibliography and Bibliographical Index 5 Preface 23 Section I: The Rigveda 35 The AnukramaNIs 35 The Composers of the Rigveda 41 The Chronology of the Rigveda 60 The Geography of the Rigveda 149 The Historical Identity of the Vedic Aryans 214 Section II: Beyond the Rigveda 252 The Indo-Iranian Homeland 252 The Indo-European Homeland 361 Section III: Appendices 514 Misinterpretations of Rigvedic History 514 Michael Witzel 659 SaramA and the PaNis: A Mythological Theme in the Rigveda 708