The Elusive Aryans: Archaeological Search and Vedic Research; The Origin of the Hindus

The question of the original home of the Aryans and their migrations to India is only part of the problem of their elusiveness. Their subsequent assimilation and nativization in India also contributed to this elusive quality. This socio-cultural process can be traced through a study of their gods, rituals, and philosophy. Thus, changes in the nature and function of Rgvedic gods; the appearance of upstart gods in the late Rgvedic period; the elaboration of the soma ritual with elaborate supplementary rituals; the introduction of the new ritual of Agnicayana; the rise of the eschatology of punarjanma (rebirth) and samsara (eternal return) based on karma; and the ideal of mukti, or liberation from life, in place of the former ideal of a life of saradah satam (a hundred autumns) are symptoms of, as well as a witness to, the transformation of the original identity of the Aryans as revealed in the Family Books of the Rgveda. This cultural transformation is no less significant than the Yaksa prasna (knotty question) of their original home and their indubitable archaeological traces. The book addresses itself to both these questions, and, for that purpose, takes another look at some of the archaeological material and Aryan life and thought as reflected in Vedic literature.