Episode 4 Indo-European Vedic Culture

A History of India

Michael Fisher (2016)

Film Review

The Vedas, dating back to 1500 BC (prior to the arrival of Indo-Europeans in India), form the basis of the Hindu* religion. While Hindus believe the Vedas are true divine wisdom, historians use them to trace changes in the Sanskrit language over time. This, in turn, helps establish the date individual Vedic poems were composed. Vedic Sanskrit, originating in western Central Asia, is the oldest Indo-European language. Ancient Persian is the language closest to Sanskrit.

The Vedas consist of four collections. The oldest, the Rigveda, consists of 10 books, with the oldest six describing the migration of Vedic Indo-Europeans into North India. Newer collections dating from 1200-600 BC describe prescribed spiritual rituals, healing, math and astronomy. The most recent collections (the Artharvaveda and the Upanishads) from 900-500 BC  describe the universe and its components.

The early Rigvedic deities included gods representing the sun, darkness, thunderstorms, fertility, the bull and fire. Each clan was associated with a deity that protected them. Indra, the martial leader of the deities, dispatched lighting bolts in the form of a bronze mace (similar to Zeus and Thor). His devotees prayed for his assistance in intra- and inter- clan struggles.

Indra was the leader of the Deva (meaning shining ones), a word related the Greek and Latin word for god (theos and deos). The Asura, initially relatives of the Deva, became their enemies until Indra eventually stripped them of their powers and defeated them. In Persian Zoroastrianism, these roles were reversed, with the deities being called Ahura and the demons Daeva.

The Vedic people infiltrated into India incrementally and were never an invading force. They traveled in oxen-drawn carts, domesticated donkeys and dogs, hunted boars, savored cow’s milk and gold and offered ghee to the gods. They had horses that pulled three-wheeled carts into battle, as well as quivers with feathered arrows tipped with (sometimes poisoned) bone or bronze blades. Archers wore gauntlets to protect their arms from their bows and warriors, as well as  impenetrable inner and outer armor. Early Vedic poems also refer to flutes, lutes, harps and drums, as well as gambling with dice.

The Vedas also refer to the Pani (who may have been Adivasi) who came out of the  forests to raid their cattle.

Later Vedic poems refer to complex mathematically constructed Vedic birds used in rituals. Since the Indo-Europeans brought no knowledge of mathematics with them, they may have borrowed this knowledge from Indus Valley descendants.

DNA evidence suggests North Indian Indo-European, Indus Valley and Adivasi intermarried, with all their descendants speaking languages derived from Sanskrit. All South Indians speak Dravidian languages.

*Hindu was a word coined by foreigners meaning “beyond the Indus River.” It was eventually adopted by native Indians to describe their primary religion (embracing 80% of the Indian population).

Film can be viewed free with a library card on Kanopy.

https://pukeariki.kanopy.com/en/pukeariki/video/366254/366179