By :- Kumar Shanu (2012Ch70161)
There are many myths about the origin of Vedic civilisation and tradition. It’s all started with the question about how did it origin? Where did it begin? Who was the creator ‘Indian people or invaders’? Where did it rise and how ancient it is? And there are many more questions to be answered. So, first of all we will start with a simple question about its existence.
How Vedic tradition came into existence?
Among many myths one myth is about Aryans, light skinned people who invaded India, brought Vedic tradition around 1500 BC. But as the scientific evidence came into picture it became clear that it was cognized by the people of India who lived here for thousands of year. So, it arose in north India in Indus-Saraswati civilisation much before than any mythology suggests.
Origin of Indo-European Hypothesis
It was European scholars who observed the similarity between European and Indian languages. They found many European, Iranian and Sanskrit languages share many common words and similar grammatical structures. Sir William Jones showed this similarity and stated Sanskrit as more perfect, more copious and more exquisitely than other languages. And later many linguist suggested Sanskrit as root of Indo-European languages and this theory of Indo-European origin. But for many it was not acceptable and they speculated about Indo-European Proto-Languages.
So, it was proposed that the people speaking Indo-European language invaded India and these people were called Aryans. But it is one of the greatest myth of all, formed by European scholars.
The end of Invasion theory
During 1990’s a series of scientific evidence blew away all the false assump...
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...phical studies show the river flowed seasonally before 3000 BC and got dried after 1900 BC due to climatic changes. It shows beginning of Vedic tradition took place well before 3000 BC earlier than the civilisation of Harappa, Egypt or Mesopotamia.
Astronomical reference in Rig Veda and other evidences
There are many astronomical events mentioned in Vedas like spring equinox coinciding with Pleiades. Now by calculation, spring equinox happened to be in about 4500 BC. After reviewing all the evidences and adding 1900 years for literature development many scholars came to conclusion that Vedic civilisation originated around 6500 –7000 BC.
Summary
We must not assume a fixed single date for the origin of Vedic tradition as it is an oral tradition so no left no past to study. These evidences eliminate Aryan myths and European scholar’s false and wild speculations.
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known in Northeast India in the 6th century BC. Looking back to the earliest roots,
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However, it only provides the idea that Indian and Mesopotamian people from the different areas somehow came in contact and shared their different ideas and thoughts. Alf Hiltebeitel, a professor of religion asserted in his book: “The comparison of Indian and ancient near Eastern and Mediterranean traditions concerning the goddess is by no means a new one. It is widely held that such similarities as have been found result, in some combination of factors, from the common Neolithic background, the agricultural revolution, the rise of the great river-based urban civilizations (including the “Harappan”), and the mutual contacts and diffusions that were a result of rated and the movement of peoples (Hiltebeitel
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