In search of the cradle of civilization : new light on ancient India

368 Pages·2011·5.22 MB·English

by  Georg Feuerstein

IN SEARCH OF
THE CRADLE
OF CIVILIZATION
Georg Feuerstein,
»ubhash Kak & David Frawle
IN SEARCH OF
THE CRADLE OF
CIVILIZATION

IN SEARCH OF
THE CRADLE OF
CIVILIZATION
NEW LIGHT . ON ANCIENT INDIA
GEORG FEUERSTEIN,
SUBHASH
AND DAVID FHA^UEY
Quest Books
Theosophical Publishing House
Ihm ton, lllnu'i? ♦ ^ liennai (Macira~), India
Copyright © 1995, 200 1 by Georg Feuerstein, Subhash Kak. and David Frawley
Second Edition, 200 I
Second Printing, 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without
written pennission except for quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
For additional infonnation write to
Quest Books
Theosophical Publishing House
P. 0. Box270
Wheaton, Illinois 60187-0270
www.questbooks.net
Copyright acknowledgment for illustrations:
S. P. Gupta: Figs. 7-11, 14-16,18-20, 23-24, 29; Hinduism Today: Figs. 3, 5, 32, 48;
Foundation for Cultural Preservation: Fig. 17; Jan Fairservis: all illustrations used for
chapter openings; Matthew Greenblatt: Figs. 36, 47; Jean-Fran^is Jarrige: Fig. 33;
Ramakrishna Vivekananda Center: Fig. 35; Rosemary Clark: Fig. I; Georg Feuerstein:
all maps and other illustrations.
Every effort has been made to secure pennission to reproduce the images in this book.
Any additional copyright holders are invited to contact the publisher so that proper credit
can be given in future editions.
The Library of Congress has catalogued the Quest hardcover edition as follows:
Feuerstein, Georg.
In search of the cradle of civilization: new light on ancient India I
Gcorg Feuerstein, Subhash Kak, and David Frawley.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8356-0720-9
1. India—Antiquities. 2. India—Civilization. I. Kak, Subhash. II. Frawley, David.
Ill. Title.
DS418.F35 1995
934—dc20 95-6906
CIP
First Quest Hardcover Edition 1995
First Quest Paperback Edition 2001
Quest Paperback ISBN 978-0-8356-0741-4
Book and cover design by Beth Hansen-Winter
Printed in the United States of America

w
jW
CONTENT;
List of Illustrations ix
Introduction to the Second Edition xiii
Preface xiX
Acknowledgments xxv
P O
art ne
Journeying Back in Time:
An Eight-Thousand-Year Adventure
Chapter 1:
Revisioning the Past, Envisioning the Future 3
Chapter 2:
The Vedas: Pyramids qfthe Spirit 13
Chapter 3:
The Aryans: Exploding a Scientj/ic Myth 45
Chapter 4:
An Archaeological Surprise: The Cities qfthe
Indus Valley 61
Chapter 5:
The Great Catastrophe and the Reconstruction
qfthe Early Indic Civilization 77
Chapter 6:
The Vedic Peoples in the Land qfthe Seven Rivers:
The Literary Perspective 101
Chapter 7:
Deciphering the Indus-Sarasvati Script 127
Chapter 8:
The Dawn qfthe Indic Civilization:
The Neolithic Town qfMehrgarh 143
Chapter 9:
Why the Aryan Invasion Never Happened:
Seventeen Arguments 153
Part Two
The Splendor efAncient India:
Its Cultural and Spiritual Legacy
Chapter 10:
The Spiritual Heritage qfAncient India 165
Chapter 11:
The Birth qfS cience in Ritual 195
Chapter 12:
Vedic Myths and Their Astronomical Basis 229
Chapter 13:
India and the West 249
Chapter 14:
The Vedas and Perennial Wisdom 269
Notes 287
Select Bibliography 305
Index 313

ftffww
IL L U ST R A T ! 0 N,
Maps
India iv-v
Map 1: Early civilizations clustering around the Tropic of cancer xix
Map2: Eurasia with recently proposed homelands for the original
Indo-Europeans 52
Map 3: Select settlements of the Indus and Sarasvati Rivers 88
Map 4: Location of the early Indic civilization after the great catas­
trophe of circa 1900 B.C. 97
Map 5: Known and probable sea routes of the Indus-Sarasvati
merchants 109
Tables
Table 1 : The first ten numbers in various languages of the Indo-
European family 47
Table 2: Grammatical phrases showing the close relationship be­
tween Sanskrit and various European languages 48
Table 3: Hymns and groups in the Rig-Vedic books 204
Table 4: Rig-Vedic altar of books 204
Illustrations
Fig. 1: The Sphinx, oriented toward the rising sun 5
Fig. 2: The Temple of the Magician at Uxmal, Yucatan, the only
ovoid Mayan pyramid 9
Fig. 3: South Indian priest performing a fire ceremony (pzga) 16