Vedic Brahmanism In India 3u1vi

Historical Vedic religion BCE). Both groups were rooted in the Andronovoculture[24] in the Bactria-Margiana era, in present northern Afghanistan,[23] and related to the Indo-Iranians, from which they split off around 1800-1600 BCE.[25] Their roots go back further to the Sintashta culture, with funeral sacrifices which show close parallels to the sacrificial funeral rites of the Rig Veda.[26] The immigrations consisted probably of small groups of people.[14] Jonathan Mark Kenoyer notes that “there is no archaeological or biological evidence for invasions or mass migrations into the Indus Valley between the end of the Harappan phase, about 1900 B.C. and the beginning of the Early Historic period around 600 B.C.”[27] For an overview of the current relevant research, see:

Map of northern India in the late Vedic period. The location of Vedic shakhas is labelled in green. Thar desert is in dark yellow

• Michael Witzel (2001), “Autochthonous Aryans? The Evidence from Old Indian and Iranian Texts”, in Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies (EJVS) 7-3, pp 1-93

The religion of the Vedic period (also known as Vedism, ancient Hinduism, Brahmanism and Vedic Brahmanism[note 1] ) was the religion of the Indo-Aryans of northern India.[5] It is a historical predecessor of modern Hinduism, though significantly different from it.[note 2]

• Shereen Ratnagar (2008), “The Aryan homeland debate in India”, in Kohl, PL, M Kozelsky and N BenYehuda (Eds) Selective remembrances: archaeology in the construction, commemoration, and consecration of national pasts, pp 349-378

The Vedic liturgy is conserved in the mantra portion of the four Vedas,[6] which are compiled in Sanskrit. The religious practices centered on a clergy istering rites.[7] This mode of worship is largely unchanged today within Hinduism; however, only a small fraction of conservative Śrautins continue the tradition of oral recitation of hymns learned solely through the oral tradition.

1

• Suraj Bhan (2002), “Aryanization of the Indus Civilization” in Panikkar, KN, Byres, TJ and Patnaik, U (Eds), The Making of History, pp 41-55. • Anthony, David W. (2007), The Horse The Wheel And Language. How Bronze-Age Riders From the Eurasian Steppes Shaped The Modern World, Princeton University Press[note 7]

Origins

Main articles: Indo-Aryans, Indo-Aryan migration hypothesis and Vedic period The Vedic beliefs and practices of the pre-classical See also: Indo-European migrations, Proto-Indo- era were closely related to the hypothesised ProtoEuropean religion and Proto-Indo-Iranian religion Indo-European religion,[32][33] and the Indo-Iranian religion.[34] According to Anthony, the Old Indic reThe commonly proposed period of earlier Vedic age is ligion probably emerged among Indo-European immidated back to 2nd millennium BCE.[8] The Vedic reli- grants in the zone between the Zeravshan River gion was the religion of the Indo-Aryans,[9][note 3] and ex- (present-day Uzbekistan) and (present-day) Iran.[35] It isted in northern India from c. 1750 to 500 BCE.[11][note 4] was “a syncretic mixture of old Central Asian and new The Indo-Aryans were a branch of the Indo-European Indo-European elements”,[35] which borrowed “distinclanguage family, which originated in the Kurgan cul- tive religious beliefs and practices”[36] from the Bactria– ture of the Central Asian steppes.[14][note 5][note 6] bring- Margiana Culture.[36] At least 383 non-Indo-European ing with them their language[20] and religion.[21][22] They words were borrowed from this culture, including the god were closely related to the Indo-Aryans who founded Indra and the ritual drink Soma.[37] According to AnMitanni kingdom in northern Syria[23] (ca.1500-1300 thony, 1

2

3 Many of the qualities of Indo-Iranian god of might/victory, Verethraghna, were transferred to the adopted god Indra, who became the central deity of the developing Old Indic culture. Indra was the subject of 250 hymns, a quarter of the Rig Veda. He was associated more than any other deity with Soma, a stimulant drug (perhaps derived from Ephedra) probably borrowed from the BMAC religion. His rise to prominence was a peculiar trait of the Old Indic speakers.[23]

CHARACTERISTICS

3.1 Rituals Main articles: Yajurveda and yajna The mode of worship was worship of the elements like

The oldest inscriptions in Old Indic, the language of the Rig Veda, are found not in northwestern India and Pakistan, but in northern Syria, the location of the Mitanni kingdom.[38] The Mitanni kings took Old Indic throne names, and Old Indic technical were used for horse-riding and chariot-driving.[38] The Old Indic term r'ta, meaning “cosmic order and truth”, the central concept of the Rig Veda, was also employed in the Mitanni kingdom.[38] And Old Indic gods, including Indra, were A Śrauta yajna being performed in South India. also known in the Mitanni kingdom.[39][40][41] fire and rivers, worship of heroic gods like Indra, chanting The Vedic religion of the later Vedic period co-existed of hymns and performance of sacrifices. The priests perwith local religions, such as the Yaksha cults,[5][42][web 1] formed the solemn rituals for the noblemen (Kshatriyas) and was itself the product of “a composite of the Indo- and wealthy commoners Vaishyas. People prayed for Aryan and Harappan cultures and civilizations”.[43] David abundance of children, rain, cattle (wealth), long life Gordon White cites three other mainstream scholars who and an afterlife in the heavenly world of the ancestors. “have emphatically demonstrated” that Vedic religion is This mode of worship has been preserved even today in partially derived from the Indus Valley Civilizations.[44] Hinduism, which involves recitations from the Vedas by a The religion of the Indo-Aryans was further developed purohita (priest), for prosperity, wealth and general wellwhen they migrated into the Ganges Plain after c. 1100 being. However, the primacy of Vedic deities has been BCE and became settled farmers,[15][45][46] further syn- seconded to the deities of Puranic literature. cretising with the native cultures of northern India.[5] Specific rituals and sacrifices of the Vedic religion include, among others:[47]

2

Textual history

Texts dating to the Vedic period, composed in Vedic Sanskrit, are mainly the four Vedic Samhitas, but the Brahmanas, Aranyakas and some of the older Upanishads (Bṛhadāraṇyaka, Chāndogya, Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana) are also placed in this period. The Vedas record the liturgy connected with the rituals and sacrifices performed by the 16 or 17 Śrauta priests and the purohitas. According to traditional views, the hymns of the Rigveda and other Vedic hymns were divinely revealed to the rishis, who were considered to be seers or “hearers” (Śruti means “what is heard”) of the Veda, rather than “authors”. In addition the Vedas are said to be “apaurashaya”, a Sanskrit word meaning “uncreated by man” and which further reveals their eternal non-changing status.

3

Characteristics

See also: Proto-Indo-Iranian religion

• The Soma rituals, which involved the extraction, utility and consumption of Soma: • The Agnistoma or Soma sacrifice • Fire rituals involving oblations (havir): • The Agnihotra or oblation to Agni, a sun charm, • The Agnicayana, the sophisticated ritual of piling the fire altar. • The New and Full Moon as well as the Seasonal (Cāturmāsya) sacrifices • The royal consecration (Rajasuya) sacrifice • The Ashvamedha or A Yajna dedicated to the glory, wellbeing and prosperity of the Rashtra the nation or empire[48] • The Purushamedha. • The rituals and charms referred to in the Atharvaveda are concerned with medicine and healing practices.[49]

3 The Hindu rites of cremation are seen since the Rigvedic period; while they are attested from early times in the Cemetery H culture, there is a late Rigvedic reference invoking forefathers “both cremated (agnidagdhá-) and uncremated (ánagnidagdha-)".(RV 10.15.14)[50][51]

3.2

Pantheon

Main article: Rigvedic deities Though a large number of devatas are named in the Rig Veda, only 33 devas are counted, eleven each of earth, space and heaven.[52] The Vedic pantheon knows two classes, Devas and Asuras. The Devas (Mitra, Varuna, Aryaman, Bhaga, Amsa, etc.) are deities of cosmic and social order, from the universe and kingdoms down to the individual. The Rigveda is a collection of hymns to various deities, most notably heroic Indra, Agni the sacrificial fire and messenger of the gods, and Soma, the deified sacred drink of the Indo-Iranians.[53] Also prominent is Varuna (often paired with Mitra) and the group of “Allgods”, the Vishvadevas.[54]

3.3

Philosophy See also philosophers of Vedic age

Vedic philosophy primarily begins with the later part of the Rigveda, which was compiled before 1100 BCE.[55] Most of the philosophy of the Rigveda is contained in the sections Purusha sukta and Nasadiya sukta.[56]

scriptures. Asha (aša) is the Avestan language term (corresponding to Vedic language ṛta) for a concept of cardinal importance[61] to Zoroastrian theology and doctrine. Conformity with Ṛta would enable progress whereas its violation would lead to punishment. The term Dharma was already used in Brahmanical thought, where it was conceived as an aspect of Rta.[62] The concept of Yajna or sacrifice is also enunciated in the Purusha sukta where reaching the Absolute itself is considered a transcendent sacrifice when viewed from the point of view of the individual.[63]

4 Post-Vedic religions Main articles: Indian religions and History of Hinduism The Vedic period is held to have ended around 500 BC. The period after the Vedic religion, between 800 BCE and 200 BCE, is the formative period for Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.[2][3][4][64] According to Michaels, the period between 500 BCE and 200 BCE is a time of “ascetic reformism”.[65][note 8] Muesse discerns a longer period of change, namely between 800 BCE and 200 BCE, which he calls the “Classical Period": ...this was a time when traditional religious practices and beliefs were reassessed. The brahmins and the rituals they performed no longer enjoyed the same prestige they had in the Vedic pariod”.[67]

According to Muesse, some of the fundamental concepts Major philosophers of this era were Rishis Narayana, of Hinduism, namely karma, reincarnation and “personal Kanva, Rishaba, Vamadeva, and Angiras.[57] enlightenment and transformation”, did not exist in the Vedic religion, developed between 800 BCE and 200 BCE:[4][note 9]

3.4

Ethics — satya and rta

See also: Asha

Indian philosophers came to regard the human as an immortal soul encased in a perishable body and bound by action, or karma, to a cycle of endless existences.[69]

Ethics in the Vedas are based on the concepts of Satya and Rta. Satya is the principle of integration rooted in the Absolute,[58] whereas Ṛta is the expression of Satya, The Vedic religion gradually metamorphosed into the which further evolved into which regulates and coordinates the operation of the uni- various schools of Hinduism, [70] Puranic Hinduism. However aspects of the historical [59] verse and everything within it. Panikkar remarks: Vedic religion survived in corners of the Indian subcontinent, such as Kerala where the Nambudiri Brahmins conṚta is the ultimate foundation of everytinue the ancient Śrauta rituals, which are considered exthing; it is “the supreme”, although this is not tinct in all other parts. to be understood in a static sense [...] It is the expression of the primordial dynamism that is 4.1 Post-Vedic Hinduism inherent in everything....”[60] The term is inherited from the Proto-Indo-Iranian reli- Main articles: Hinduism and History of Hinduism gion, the religion of the Indo-Iranian peoples prior to the earliest Vedic (Indo-Aryan) and Zoroastrian (Iranian) The Hindu samskaras

4

5 SEE ALSO ...go back to a hoary antiquity. The Vedas, the Brahmanas, the Grhyasutras, the Dharmasutras, the Smritis and other treatises describe the rites, ceremonies and customs.[71]

The worshipping rituals developed in such a way that A formal distinction was maintained between Śrauta rites (rites using the Vedic hymns), which were necessarily performed by priests, and Griha (“domestic”) rites, performed by the Aryan householder himself; but both the latter and the former were subject to priestly influence. Some domestic rites became almost indistinguishable from the priestly Śrauta sacrifices; and, even where older ceremonies were retained, they were usually interwoven with elements of the priestly ritual.[72] 4.1.1

Vedanta

Adi Shankara interpreted Vedas as being non-dualistic or monistic.[81] However, Arya Samaj holds the view that the Vedic mantras tend to monotheism.[82] Even the earlier Mandalas of Rig Veda (books 1 and 9) contains hymns which are thought to have a tendency toward monotheism.[83] Often quoted isolated pada 1.164.46 of the Rig Veda states (trans. Griffith): Indraṃ mitraṃ varuṇamaghnimāhuratho divyaḥ sa suparṇo gharutmān, ekaṃ sad viprā bahudhā vadantyaghniṃ yamaṃ mātariśvānamāhuḥ “They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuṇa, Agni, and he is heavenly nobly-winged Garutmān. To what is One, sages give many a title they call it Agni, Yama, Mātariśvan”. Moreover, the verses of 10.129 and 10.130, deal with the one being (Ékam sát). The verse 10.129.7 further confirms this (trans. Griffith):

Vedic religion was followed by Upanishads which gradually evolved into Vedanta, which is regarded by some iyám vísṛṣṭiḥ yátaḥ ābabhūva / yádi vā dadhé as the primary institution of Hinduism. Vedanta considyádi vā ná / yáḥ asya ádhyakṣaḥ paramé vyóers itself “the purpose or goal [end] of the Vedas.”[73] man / sáḥ aṅgá veda yádi vā ná véda The philosophy of Vedanta (lit. “The end of the Vedas”), “He, the first origin of this creation, whether he transformed the Vedic worldview to monistic one. This formed it all or did not, He who surveys it all led to the development of tantric metaphysics and gave from his highest heaven, he verily knows it, or rise to new forms of yoga, such as jnana yoga and bhakti perhaps even he does not” [74] yoga. There are some conservative schools which continue portions of the historical Vedic religion largely unchanged. (see Śrauta, Nambudiri).[75] 4.2 Sramana tradition Of the continuation of the Vedic tradition in a newer Main articles: Sramana, Jainism and Buddhism sense, Jeaneane D. Fowler writes the following: 4.1.2

Bhakti

The non-Vedic Sramana traditions existed alongside Brahmanism.[84][85][note 10][note 11][note 12] These were not direct outgrowths of Vedism, but movements with mutual influences with Brahmanical traditions,[84] reflecting “the cosmology and anthropology of a much older, preAryan upper class of northeastern India”.[86] Jainism and Buddhism evolved out of the Shramana tradition.[87][88]

The Vedic gods declined[77] but did not disappear, and local cults were assimilated into the Vedic-brahmanic pantheon, which changed into the Hindu pantheon.[78] Deities arose that were not mentioned or barely mentioned in the Veda, especially Shiva and Vishnu,[77] and gave rise to Shaivism and Vaishnavism.[77] There are Jaina references to 22 pre-historic Tirthankaras. In this view, Jainism peaked at the Mahavira (traditionally put in the 6th Century 4.1.3 Interpretations of Vedic Mantras in Hin- time of [89][90] Buddhism, traditionally put from c. 500 BCE). duism BC, declined in India over the 5th to 12th centuries in [91] [92][93] The various Hindu schools and traditions give various in- favor of Puranic Hinduism and Islam. terpretations of the Vedic hymns. Mimamsa philosophers argue that there was no need to postulate a maker for the world, just as there was no need for an author to compose the Vedas or a god to validate the rituals.[79] Mimamsa argues that the gods named in the Vedas have no existence apart from the mantras that speak their names. To that regard, the power of the mantras is what is seen as the power of gods.[80]

5 See also • Ahimsa • Vedas • Vedic priesthood

5 • Vedic period • Proto-Indo-Iranian religion • Proto-Indo-European religion • Vedic mythology • Iranian mythology • Yoga • Ajivika • Zoroastrianism

6

Notes

[1] The term ancient Hinduism is also applied, but not appropriate. In the 19th century the term “Hinduism” was restricted to “living Hinduism”, with its emphasis on Bhakti.[1] Under the influence of the Neo-Hinduistic reform movements, which emphasised the Vedic heritage, and the growing awareness of the continuity of certain elements, the term “ancient Hinduism” has been applied by some to the Vedic period.[1] Nevertheless, the period between 800 BCE and 200 BCE sees fundamental changes, which result in “Hinduism”.[2][3][4] Other incorrect are Brahmanism and Vedic Brahmanism. The Encyclopædia Britannica of 2005 uses all of “Vedism”, “Vedic Brahmanism” and “Brahmanism”, but reserves “Vedism” for the earliest stage, predating the Brahmana period, and defines “Brahmanism” as “religion of ancient India that evolved out of Vedism. It takes its name both from the predominant position of its priestly class, the Brahmans, and from the increasing speculation about, and importance given to, Brahman, the supreme power.” [2] Stephanie W. Jamison and Michael Witzel, Vedic Hinduism, 1992, "... to call this period Vedic Hinduism is a contradiction in since Vedic religion is very different from what we generally call Hindu religion – at least as much as Old Hebrew religion is from medieval and modern Christian religion. However, Vedic religion is treatable as a predecessor of Hinduism”. [3] Michaels: “They called themselves arya (“Aryans,” literally “the hospitable,” from the Vedic arya, “homey, the hospitable”) but even in the Rgveda, arya denotes a cultural and linguistic boundary and not only a racial one.”[10] [4] There is no exact dating possible for the beginning of the Vedic period. Witzel mentions a range between 1900 and 1400 BCE.[12] Flood mentions 1500 BCE.[13] [5] The Indo-Aryans were pastoralists[15] who migrated into north-western India after the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization,[10][16][17] [6] The Aryan migration theory has been challenged by some researchers,[10][18] due to a lack of archaeological evidence and signs of cultural continuity,[10] hypothesizing instead a slow process of acculturation[10] or transformation.[16]

Nevertheless, linguistic and archaeological data clearly show a cultural change after 1750 BCE,[10] with the linguistic and religious data clearly showing links with IndoEuropean languages and religion.[19] According to Singh, “The dominant view is that the Indo-Aryams came to the subcontinent as immigrants.”[18] [7] Some writers and archaeologists have opposed the notion of a migration of Indo-Aryans into India.[28][29] Edwin Bryant used the term “Indo-Aryan Controversy” for an oversight of the Indo-Aryan Migration theory, and some of its opponents.[30] These ideas are outside the academic mainstream. Mallory and Adams note that two types of models “enjoy significant international currency,” namely the Anatolian hypothesis, and a migration out of the Eurasian steppes.[31] According to Upinder Singh, “The original homeland of the Indo-Europeans and IndoAryans is the subject of continuing debate among philologists, linguists, historians, archaeologists and others. The dominant view is that the Indo-Aryans came to the subcontinent as immigrants. Another view, advocated mainly by some Indian scholars, is that they were indigenous to the subcontinent.”[18] An overview of the “Indigenist position” can be obtained fromBryant, Edwin F.; Patton, Laurie L., eds. (2005), The Indo-Aryan Controversy: Evidence and inference in Indian history, London: Routledge, ISBN 0-7007-14634. See also Indigenous Aryans. [8] According to Michaels, the period between 200 BCE and 1100 CE is the time of “classical Hinduism”, since there is “a turning point between the Vedic religion and Hindu religions”.[66] [9] Although the concept of reincarnation originated during the time of the Shramanic reforms and the composition of the Upanishads,[4] according to Georg Feuerstein the Rig-Vedic rishis believed in reincarnation and karma.[68] [10] Cromwell: “Alongside Brahmanism was the non-Aryan Shramanic culture with its roots going back to prehistoric times.”[84] [11] Y. Masih (2000) In : A Comparative Study of Religions, Motilal Banarsidass Publ : Delhi, ISBN 81-208-08150 Page 18. “There is no evidence to show that Jainism and Buddhism ever subscribed to Vedic sacrifices, vedic deities or caste. They are parallel or native religions of India and have contributed to much to the growth of even classical Hinduism of the present times.” [12] P.S. Jaini, (1979), The Jaina Path to Purification, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, p. 169 “Jainas themselves have no memory of a time when they fell within the Vedic fold. Any theory that attempts to link the two traditions, moreover fails to appreciate rather distinctive and very nonVedic character of Jaina cosmology, soul theory, karmic doctrine and atheism”

7 References [1] Stietencron 2005, p. 231. [2] Smart 2003.

6

7

[3] Michaels 2004.

[35] Anthony 2007, p. 462.

[4] Muesse 2003.

[36] Beckwith 2009, p. 32.

[5] Samuel 2010.

[37] Anthony 2007, p. 454-455.

[6] “The Four Vedas”. About dot Com. Retrieved 7 November 2012.

[38] Anthony 2007, p. 49.

REFERENCES

[39] Anthony 2007, p. 50. [7] Geoffrey Samuel. The Origins of Yoga and Tantra: Indic Religions to the Thirteenth Century. Cambridge University. p. 113.

[40] Flood 2008, p. 68.

[8] Pletcher, Kenneth (2010). The History of India. Britannica Educational Publishing. p. 60.

[42] Basham 1989, p. 74-75.

[9] Singh 2008, p. 185.

[43] White 2006, p. 28.

[41] Melton & Baumann 2010, p. 1412.

[11] Michaels 2004, p. 32.

[44] White, David Gordon (2003). Kiss of the Yogini. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 28. ISBN 0-226-894835.

[12] Witzel 1995, p. 3-4.

[45] Samuel 2010, p. 48-51, 61-93.

[13] Flood 1996, p. 21.

[46] Hiltebeitel 2007, p. 8-10.

[14] Anthony 2007.

[47] Prasoon, (Prof.) Shrikant. Indian Scriptures. Pustak Mahal (11 August 2010). Ch.2, Vedang, Kalp. ISBN 97881-223-1007-8.

[10] Michaels 2004, p. 33.

[15] Witzel 1995. [16] Flood 1996, p. 30-35. [17] Hiltebeitel 2007, p. 5. [18] Singh 2008, p. 186. [19] Flood 1996, p. 33. [20] Samuel 2010, p. 53-56. [21] Flood 1996, p. 30. [22] Hiltebeitel 2007, p. 5-7. [23] Anthony 2007, p. 454. [24] Anthony 2007, p. 410-411.

[48] Ralph Thomas Hotchkin Griffith, The Texts of the White Yajurveda. Translated with a Popular Commentary (1899), 1987 reprint: Munshiram Manoharlal, New Delhi, ISBN 81-215-0047-8. [49] Bloomfield Maurice. Hymns of the Atharva Veda. Kessinger Publishing (1 June 2004). P. 1-8. ISBN 1419125087. [50] Dudi, Amar Singh. Ancient India History. Neha Publishers and Distributors (10 January 2012). Ch. 9. Vedic Religion, Rituals. ISBN 978-93-80318-16-5. [51] Sabir, N. Heaven Hell OR??. Publisher: Xlibris (7 October 2010). P. 155. ISBN 1453550119.

[26] Anthony 2007, p. 375, 408-411.

[52] Singhal, K. C; Gupta, Roshan. The Ancient History of India, Vedic Period: A New Interpretation. Atlantic Publishers and Distributors. ISBN 8126902868. P. 150.

[27] Kenoyer, M., 1998. Ancient Cities of the Indus Valley Civilization. 174 Oxford: Oxford University Press.

[53] “Botany of Haoma”, from Encyclopædia Iranica. Accessed 15 June 2012

[28] Bryant 2001.

[54] Renou, Louis. L'Inde Classique, vol. 1, p. 328, Librairie d'Ameriqe et d'Orient. Paris 1947, reprinted 1985. ISBN 2-7200-1035-9.

[25] Anthony 2007, p. 408.

[29] Bryant, Edwin. The Indo-Aryan Controversy. 342 [30] Bryant 2005. [31] Mallory & Adams 2006, p. 460-461. [32] B. S. Ahloowalia (2009). Invasion of the Genes Genetic Heritage of India. Strategic Book Publishing. ISBN 9781-60860-691-7. [33] Roger D. Woodard (18 August 2006). Indo-European Sacred Space: Vedic and Roman Cult. University of Illinois Press. pp. 242–. ISBN 978-0-252-09295-4. [34] Beckwith 2009.

[55] Oberlies (1998:155) gives an estimate of 1100 BC for the youngest hymns in book 10. Estimates for a terminus post quem of the earliest hymns are more uncertain. Oberlies (p. 158) based on 'cumulative evidence' sets wide range of 1700–1100 [56] Krishnananda. Swami. A Short History of Religious and Philosophic Thought in India, Divine Life Society. p. 1819. [57] P. 285 Indian sociology through Ghurye, a dictionary By S. Devadas Pillai

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[58] Krishnananda. Swami. A Short History of Religious and Philosophic Thought in India, Divine Life Society. p. 21 [59] Holdrege (2004:215)

[84] S. Cromwell Crawford, review of L. M. Joshi, Brahmanism, Buddhism and Hinduism, Philosophy East and West (1972)

[60] Panikkar 2001:350–351

[85] Dr. Kalghatgi, T. G. 1988 In: Study of Jainism, Prakrit Bharti Academy, Jaipur

[61] Duchesne-Guillemin 1963, p. 46.

[86] Zimmer 1989, p. 217.

[62] Day, Terence P. (1982). The Conception of Punishment in Early Indian Literature. Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. P. 42-45. ISBN 0-919812-15-5.

[87] Jain, Arun. 2008. Faith & philosophy of Jainism. p. 210.

[63] The Purusha Sukta in Daily Invocations by Swami Krishnananda [64] Flood 1996, p. 82, 224–49. [65] Michaels 2004, p. 36. [66] Michaels 2004, p. 38. [67] Muesse 2011, p. 115. [68] (Page 169) The Yoga Tradition By Georg Feuerstein [69] Muesse 2003, p. 14. [70] Swami Krishnananda, A Short History of Religious and Philosophic Thought in India, Divine Life Society. p. 42 [71] Pandey, Rajbali, “Hindu Samskaras” (Motilal Banarasidass Publ., 1969) [72] Hopkins, Thomas J., The Hindu Religious Tradition (Belmont: Dickenson Publications, 1971), 15 [73] Robert E. Hume, Professor Emeritus of History of Religions at the Union Theological Seminary, wrote in Random House's The American College Dictionary (1966): “It [Vedānta] is concerned with the end of the Vedas, both chronologically and teleologically.” [74] “Patanjali’s Yoga Darsana – The Hatha Yoga Tradition,” InfoRefuge. [75] Kelkar, Siddharth. UNESCO’s leg-up for city Veda research. Express India. Retrieved 16 June 2012. [76] P. 46 Perspectives of Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Hinduism By Jeaneane D. Fowler [77] Michaels 2004, p. 40. [78] Michaels 2004, p. 39. [79] Neville, Robert. Religious ruth. p. 51. [80] Coward, Harold. The perfectibility of human nature in eastern and western thought. p. 114. [81] Sharma, Chandradhar (1962). “Chronological Summary of History of Indian Philosophy”. Indian Philosophy: A Critical Survey. New York: Barnes & Noble. p. vi.

[88] Svarghese, Alexander P. 2008. India : History, Religion, Vision And Contribution To The World. p. 259-60. [89] Helmuth von Glasenapp,Shridhar B. Shrotri. 1999. Jainism: an Indian religion of salvation. P.24. “Thus not only nothing, from the philosophical and the historical point of view, comes in the way of the supposition that Jainism was established by Parsva around 800 BCE, but it is rather confirmed in everything that we know of the spiritual life of that period.” [90] Dundas, Paul. 2002. The Jains. P.17. “Jainism, then, was in origin merely one component of a north Indian ascetic culture that flourished in the Ganges basin from around the eighth or seventh centuries BCE.” [91] “Buddhism”. (2009). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 26 November 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online Library Edition. [92] P. 78 - 83 Freeing the Buddha: Diversity on a Sacred Path-large Scale Concerns By Brian Ruhe [93] P. 110 A text book of the history of Theravāda Buddhism by K. T. S. Sarao, University of Delhi. Dept. of Buddhist Studies

8 Sources 8.1 Published sources • Anthony, David W. (2007), The Horse The Wheel And Language. How Bronze-Age Riders From the Eurasian Steppes Shaped The Modern World, Princeton University Press • Basham, Arthur Llewellyn (1989), The Origins and Development of Classical Hinduism, Oxford University Press • Bryant, Edwin (2001), The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture: The Indo-Aryan Migration Debate, oxford University Press • Bryant, Edwin; Patton, Laurie, eds. (2005), IndoAryan Controversy: Evidence and Inference in Indian History, Routledge

[82] Light of Truth by Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Chapter 7

• Flood, Gavin D. (1996), An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge University Press

[83] Macdonell, Arthur Anthony. Vedic Mythology. Forgotten Books (23 May 2012). P. 17. ISBN 1440094365.

• Flood, Gavin (2008), The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism, John Wiley & Sons

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