The Vedas: An Introduction to Hinduism’s Sacred Texts

528 Pages·2014·1.71 MB·English

by  Roshen Dalal

ROSHEN DALAL

The Vedas
An Introduction to Hinduism’s Sacred Texts
Contents
About the Author
Also by Roshen Dalal
Dedication
Introduction
Chapter 1: Vedic Literature: The Four Samhitas
Chapter 2: Related Literature
Chapter 3: The Origins: The Indo-Europeans
Chapter 4: The Iranian Connection
Chapter 5: The Indo-Iranian Homeland
Chapter 6: The Rig Veda
Chapter 7: The Tribes and Clans
Chapter 8: The Archaeological Setting
Chapter 9: Religion
Chapter 10: Ritual and Sacrifice
Chapter 11: The Beginnings of Medicine
Chapter 12: Two Spiritual Interpretations
Conclusion
Appendix I
Appendix II: A Selection of Hymns from the Four Vedas
Select Bibliography
Glossary
Acknowledgements
Follow Penguin
Copyright
PENGUIN BOOKS
THE VEDAS
Roshen Dalal was born in Mussoorie and studied in various schools across the
country. After a BA (Hons) in History from the university of Bombay, she
completed an MA and PhD in ancient Indian history from Jawaharlal Nehru
University, New Delhi. She has taught at both school and university, and been
involved in research in the fields of history, religion and philosophy, and
education. Apart from books, she has written numerous articles and book
reviews. After working for many years as an editor, she is now a full-time writer,
living in Dehradun.
Also by Roshen Dalal
The Religions of India: A Concise Guide to Nine Major Faiths
Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide
The Illustrated Timeline History of the World
The Puffin History of India, Vols 1 and 2
The Puffin History of the World, Vol. 1
For
Shahnaz Arni
Introduction
The Vedas are the most sacred books of Hinduism and, perhaps, the most
controversial. There is no agreement on the nature and purpose of the texts, their
date, or the origin of the people who composed them.
The controversies began almost as soon as the Vedas were translated and
became known in the West. In the early 20th century, the great scholar Maurice
Winternitz wrote, regarding the Rig Veda:
In view of the very great divergence in the opinions of the specialists, it is not enough, even in a
book intended for the general reader, merely to give some approximate date, for even the
general reader must have an idea of the circumstances supporting the various opinions on the
greater or lesser antiquity of the Vedas.
(History of Indian Literature, vol. 1, A hymn to Soma)
The same principle holds true today both for controversies regarding the date
and for other aspects of the texts. One of the most important points of dispute is
the question of the homeland of the Vedic people. The other is the question of
the region of composition of the Vedas. These two points are also related to the
date of the texts.
There are four Vedas or Vedic Samhitas: Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda
and Atharva Veda. There are also numerous related texts and commentaries.
Based on both language and content, the Rig Veda is usually considered the
earliest of the four Samhitas, which makes it the earliest known text in India.
This book begins with an overview of the contents of the four Vedas, and the
different approaches used to understand them. This is followed by a summary of
the related texts and commentaries. Among the important related texts are the
Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the Upanishads. Special texts that throw light on
the Vedas include the padapathas (word texts) and anukramanis (indices). The
Vedangas are a further group of early texts, which help in understanding the
Vedas. These include texts on grammar and metre.
Where were the Vedas composed? And what was the origin of the Vedic
Where were the Vedas composed? And what was the origin of the Vedic
people? Linguistics and archaeology are believed to provide the keys to
answering these crucial questions. Since the late 18th century, it became clear
that Sanskrit was related to several European languages including Greek and
Latin. An assumption was then made that there must have been an earlier single
language from which these languages later diverged. This hypothetical language
has been termed Indo-European and its early form, Proto-Indo-European. If there
was a single language, it is presumed that there was also a single homeland, from
where all the groups speaking this language migrated and diverged, spreading
across parts of Europe and Asia. Further, looking at the very close similarities
between Rig Vedic Sanskrit and Old Avestan (earliest known language of Iran),
it was presumed that one of the early divergent groups consisted of people
speaking a language termed Indo-Iranian, which later diverged into the two
languages referred to above. In addition, similarities were noticed in religion,
myth and culture among the various Indo-European groups, and particularly
between the two Indo-Iranian groups. Based on the linguistic theories,
archaeologists began searching for an archaeological culture that would
represent the early homeland, and various other such cultures that would
represent the movements of the groups from the original homeland. In this book,
the different Indo-European theories as well as theories regarding language
change and diffusion are examined in detail, along with views that oppose or
deny these theories. This is followed by a look at the Iranian material, which is
essential for understanding the context of the Rig Veda. Despite the similarities
in language, myth and ritual, the earliest Iranian texts, known today as the
Gathas, provide an account of a very different monotheistic religion, later called
Zoroastrianism. It is therefore important to understand the differences as well as
the similarities in the Vedic and Avestan materials.
Against this background, what sort of information does the Rig Veda itself
provide? What is the internal evidence of its date and origin? Can the Rig Veda
and Later Vedic texts be equated with archaeological cultures and, if so, which
ones? Is it possible, as many have claimed, that the Rig Veda belongs to the
period of the Harappan civilization? An overview of the archaeological cultures
in early India helps to situate the Vedas while an in-depth study of the texts
provides some indications. The study includes a detailed analysis of peoples
(tribes or clans), places and rivers mentioned, and their probable locations, as
well as the likely identification of the numerous plants, trees and animals