Indo-Aryan migration refers to the migration and expansion of the Indo-Aryans during the 2nd millennium BC or earlier. Archaeological and philological data indicates that there was a shift of settlements from the northwestern part of South Asia to the Gangetic valley and to the south during the second millennium BCE, but does not clearly support a migration of Indo-Aryan people into South Asia. Based on linguistic data, many scholars have argued that Indo-Aryan speakers invaded in South Asia in the second millennium BCE. This correspo ...

Including:

• Indo-Aryan migration - Overview
• Indo-Aryan migration - History
• Indo-Aryan migration - Linguistics
• Indo-Aryan migration - Philology
• Indo-Aryan migration - Rig Veda
• Indo-Aryan migration - Vedic and Puranic King lists
• Indo-Aryan migration - Puranas
• Indo-Aryan migration - Avesta and Airyanem Vaejah
• Indo-Aryan migration - Archaeology
• Indo-Aryan migration - Indus Valley Civilization
• Indo-Aryan migration - Vasishta head
• Indo-Aryan migration - Pottery
• Indo-Aryan migration - West Asia
• Indo-Aryan migration - Astronomical data
• Indo-Aryan migration - Physical Anthropology
• Indo-Aryan migration - Genetics and Archaeogenetics

Read more here: » Indo-Aryan migration: Encyclopedia - Indo-Aryan migration

The Indo-Aryans were nomadic or at least peripatetic, following their herds of cows around from pasture to pasture. Consequently they had no permanent settlements; the RgVeda only mentions temporary huts. These leave no archaeological record. So it is only to be expected that the migrations left no archaeological traces. The Huns are a comparable instance. No one doubts that the Huns actually invaded parts of western Europe on more than one occasion. Yet -- because the Huns were nomads -- they left no archaeological ...

See also:

Indo-Aryan migration, Indo-Aryan migration - Overview, Indo-Aryan migration - History, Indo-Aryan migration - Linguistics, Indo-Aryan migration - Philology, Indo-Aryan migration - Rig Veda, Indo-Aryan migration - Vedic and Puranic King lists, Indo-Aryan migration - Puranas, Indo-Aryan migration - Avesta and Airyanem Vaejah, Indo-Aryan migration - Archaeology, Indo-Aryan migration - Indus Valley Civilization, Indo-Aryan migration - Vasishta head, Indo-Aryan migration - Pottery, Indo-Aryan migration - West Asia, Indo-Aryan migration - Astronomical data, Indo-Aryan migration - Physical Anthropology, Indo-Aryan migration - Genetics and Archaeogenetics

Read more here: » Indo-Aryan migration: Encyclopedia II - Indo-Aryan migration - Archaeology

Arya (árya-) is a Sanskrit term used by Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and others. It means "master, noble, lord" or can refer to any Vaishya. In Avestan, the cognate word is an n-stem, airyan-. The honorific term -ji (which is used for example in Gandhiji), is derived from Arya (through the Pali aya or aja and Apabhramsa aje). The important Sanskrit lexicon Amarakosha (ca. 450 AD) defines Aryan as: "An Arya is one who hails from a noble family, of gentle behavior and demeanor, good-natured and of ...

Including:

• Arya - Religious and spiritual uses
• Arya - Buddhism
• Arya - Arya in the Epics
• Arya - Ramayana
• Arya - Mahabharata

Read more here: » Arya: Encyclopedia - Arya

Aryan invasion theory, often abbreviated to AIT, is a term used to refer to the theory developed by 19th Century European linguists to explain the similarity between Sanskrit and European languages, supposing the invasion or migration of peoples who originated outside of India. The term is now most used by Indian opponents of the theory, or to label obsolete forms of the theory. The term "Aryan" derives from the word arya, used in the Vedas in a sense of "nobility", and as an ethnic term in Iran. The phrase "Aryan ...

Including:

• Aryan invasion theory - Origin of the theory
• Aryan invasion theory - Racial aspects of the theory
• Aryan invasion theory - Role in Imperialism and Nazism
• Aryan invasion theory - Later developments
• Aryan invasion theory - Political and religious issues
• Aryan invasion theory - Modern Theory
• Aryan invasion theory - Literature

Read more here: » Aryan invasion theory: Encyclopedia - Aryan invasion theory

The History of India can be traced in fragments as far back as 700,000 years ago. The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world, dates back at least 5,000 years. According to the Indo-Aryan migration hypothesis, the so-called Aryans from the north-west of the Indian subcontinent migrated between 2000 BCE and 1500 BCE, possibly from Central Asia or the Middle East; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants apparently resulted in classical Indian culture. Arab incursions starting in the 8th century and Turkish ...

Including:

• History of India - The Paleolithic era
• History of India - The Neolithic era
• History of India - The Bronze age
• History of India - Vedic civilization
• History of India - The Mahajanapadas
• History of India - The Magadha empire
• History of India - Shishunaga dynasty
• History of India - Nanda dynasty
• History of India - Maurya dynasty
• History of India - Shunga dynasty
• History of India - Early Middle Kingdoms - the golden age
• History of India - Satavahana empire
• History of India - Kushan empire
• History of India - Gupta dynasty
• History of India - Late Middle Kingdoms - the classical age
• History of India - Harsha's empire
• History of India - The Chalukyas and Pallavas
• History of India - Chola empire
• History of India - The Pratiharas, Palas and Rashtrakutas
• History of India - The Rajputs
• History of India - The Islamic Sultanates
• History of India - Vijayanagar empire
• History of India - The Mughal era
• History of India - The Maratha confederacy
• History of India - The Kingdom of Mysore
• History of India - The Punjab
• History of India - Company rule
• History of India - The British Raj
• History of India - The independence movement
• History of India - Independent India
• History of India - Textbooks and Surveys

Read more here: » History of India: Encyclopedia - History of India

The Indus Valley Civilization, 3300 BCE–1700 BCE, was an ancient civilization thriving along the lower Indus River and the Ghaggar-Hakra river in what is now Pakistan and western India. Among other names for this civilization is the Harappan Civilization of the Indus Valley, in reference to its first excavated city of Harappa. Indus Valley Civilization - Overview. The Indus Civilization is among the world's earliest civilizations, contemporary to the Bronze Age civilizations of Mesopotamia and Anci ...

Including:

• Indus Valley Civilization - Overview
• Indus Valley Civilization - Settlements
• Indus Valley Civilization - Predecessors
• Indus Valley Civilization - Emergence of Civilization
• Indus Valley Civilization - Cities
• Indus Valley Civilization - Science
• Indus Valley Civilization - Arts and Culture
• Indus Valley Civilization - Trade
• Indus Valley Civilization - Agriculture
• Indus Valley Civilization - Writing or Symbol System
• Indus Valley Civilization - Geography
• Indus Valley Civilization - Decline collapse and legacy
• Indus Valley Civilization - Bibliography

Read more here: » Indus Valley Civilization: Encyclopedia - Indus Valley Civilization

The separation of Indo-Aryans proper from Proto-Indo-Iranians is commonly dated, on linguistic grounds, to roughly 1800 BC. The Nuristani languages probably split in such early times, and are either classified as remote Indo-Aryan dialects, or as an independent branch of Indo-Iranian. It is believed that by 1500 BC, Indo-Aryans had reached Assyria in the west and the Punjab in the east. The spread of Indo-Aryan languages has been connected with the spread of the chariot in the first half of the second millennium BC. Some scholars trac ...

See also:

Indo-Aryans, Indo-Aryans - pre-Vedic Indo-Aryans, Indo-Aryans - Vedic Aryans, Indo-Aryans - Ancient India, Indo-Aryans - Contemporary Indo-Aryans, Indo-Aryans - South Asia, Indo-Aryans - Roma and Sinti, Indo-Aryans - Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryans - Historic, Indo-Aryans - Present-day Indo-Aryans

Read more here: » Indo-Aryans: Encyclopedia II - Indo-Aryans - pre-Vedic Indo-Aryans

The term Arya is often used in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Zoroastrian texts. In the spiritual context it can be applied to Rishis or to someone who has has mastered the four noble truths and entered upon the spiritual path. The religions of India are sometimes called collectively "Arya Dharma", a term that includes the religions that originated in India (e.g. Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma), Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism). The term Aryan can also be applied to an approach to religion or to religious systems that are similar to Hinduism or Buddhism (e.g. Taoism, Paganism, Zoroastrianism). Swami Dayananda f ...

See also:

Arya, Arya - Religious and spiritual uses, Arya - Buddhism, Arya - Arya in the Epics, Arya - Ramayana, Arya - Mahabharata

Read more here: » Arya: Encyclopedia II - Arya - Religious and spiritual uses

The theory arose from the discovery by William Jones that Sanskrit was related to the classical European languages Latin and Greek, and to Avestan, the ancient language of Iran. Jones surmised that all four languages derived from a common source "which perhaps no longer exists". For Jones, writing in the 1790s, this discovery was consistent with the biblical account of the origins of the tribe of Japheth, one of the sons of Noah, who was thought to have been the ancestor of the European peoples, and to have migrated from Mount Ararat into Eu ...

See also:

Aryan invasion theory, Aryan invasion theory - Origin of the theory, Aryan invasion theory - Racial aspects of the theory, Aryan invasion theory - Role in Imperialism and Nazism, Aryan invasion theory - Later developments, Aryan invasion theory - Political and religious issues, Aryan invasion theory - Modern Theory, Aryan invasion theory - Literature

Read more here: » Aryan invasion theory: Encyclopedia II - Aryan invasion theory - Origin of the theory

The Dasa are a tribe identified as the enemies of the Aryans in the Rig-Veda. The word Dasa, later acquired derogatory connotations, meaning 'servant', implying that they were subordinated by the Aryans. The identity of the Dasa has caused much debate, closely tied to arguments over Indo-Aryan migration, the claim that the Indo-Aryan authors of the Rigveda entered India from outside, displacing its earlier inhabitants. During the nineteenth century Western scholars identified the Dasa with dark-skinned Dravidian-speaking people ...

Including:

• Dasa - Etymology of Dasa and related terms
• Dasa - Dasa
• Dasa - Dasyu
• Dasa - Related terms
• Dasa - Anasa
• Dasa - The religion of the Dasas/Dasyus
• Dasa - Symbolical and spiritual interpretations
• Dasa - The Dasas/Dasyus and krsna or asikni
• Dasa - Tvac
• Dasa - Literature

Read more here: » Dasa: Encyclopedia - Dasa

Chariot was the name of a WW2 naval weapon, the British manned torpedo. A chariot is a two-wheeled, horse-drawn vehicle. In Latin biga is a two-horse chariot, and quadriga is a four-horse chariot. It was used for battle during the Bronze and Iron Ages, and continued to be used for travel, processions and in games after it had been superseded militarily. Early forms may also have had four wheels, although these are not usually referred to as chariots. The critical invention that allowed the constructi ...

Including:

• Chariot - Early forms
• Chariot - Indo-Iranians
• Chariot - China
• Chariot - Ancient Near East
• Chariot - Egyptian
• Chariot - Hittite
• Chariot - Mycenaean
• Chariot - Chariots in the Bible
• Chariot - Iron Age Mesopotamia
• Chariot - Northern Europe
• Chariot - Central and Western Europe
• Chariot - Classical Antiquity
• Chariot - Greece
• Chariot - Roman Empire
• Chariot - Russian Tachanka
• Chariot - Additional Bibliography

Read more here: » Chariot: Encyclopedia - Chariot

Arya and Anarya are primarly used in the moral sense in the Hindu Epics. People are usually called Arya or Anarya based on their behaviour. Arya - Ramayana. In the Ramayana, the term Arya can also apply to Raksasas or to Ravana, if their behaviour was "Aryan". In several instances, the Vanaras and Raksasas call themselves Arya. The monkey king Surgriva is called an Arya (Ram: 505102712) and he also speaks of his brother Valin as an Arya (Ram: 402402434). In another instance in the Ramayana, Ravana regards himself an ...

See also:

Arya, Arya - Religious and spiritual uses, Arya - Buddhism, Arya - Arya in the Epics, Arya - Ramayana, Arya - Mahabharata

Read more here: » Arya: Encyclopedia II - Arya - Arya in the Epics

Because of the view that the Aryans were the ancestors of Europeans it was assumed by many scholars that they must have been "white" caucasians. Interpretations were made of the Vedic scriptures to support this view. The Varna (caste) system associates the high-caste Brahmins with the colour white and the low-caste Shudras with the colour black. Hence it was argued that the higher castes were white-skinned invaders, who had subordinated dark-skinned natives. The derogatory application of the word "anasa" (noseless) to the Dasa, the enemies o ...

See also:

Aryan invasion theory, Aryan invasion theory - Origin of the theory, Aryan invasion theory - Racial aspects of the theory, Aryan invasion theory - Role in Imperialism and Nazism, Aryan invasion theory - Later developments, Aryan invasion theory - Political and religious issues, Aryan invasion theory - Modern Theory, Aryan invasion theory - Literature

Read more here: » Aryan invasion theory: Encyclopedia II - Aryan invasion theory - Racial aspects of the theory

Aryan is an English word derived from the Indo-Aryan Vedic Sanskrit and Iranian Avestan terms ari-, arya-, ārya-, and/or the extended form aryāna-. The Old Persian ariya- is a cognate as well. Beyond its use as the ethnic self-designation of the Proto-Indo-Iranians, the meaning "noble" has been attached to it in Sanskrit. During the 19th century, following Max Müller's 'Aryan invasion theory', the term gained an added meaning, being used in the West to refer to what are now called the 'Prot ...

Including:

• Aryan - Etymology and History of the Term
• Aryan - Proto-Indo-European
• Aryan - Indo-Iranian
• Aryan - Indo-Aryan
• Aryan - Iranian
• Aryan - Racist connotations

Read more here: » Aryan: Encyclopedia - Aryan

The Vedic civilization is the Indo-Aryan culture associated with the Vedas, the earliest known records of Indian history. Mainstream scholarship places the Vedic civilization into the 2nd and 1st millennia BC, many Hindu scholars date its beginnings as early as the 7th millennium BC based on astronomical information in the Vedas, genetics, horse bones findings in Harappan places that suggest a Vedic way of living before 2000 BC,and the reference to a big Saraswati river in Rig Veda which proves Vedic people were there before it decrea ...

Including:

• Vedic civilization - Overview
• Vedic civilization - Rigvedic period
• Vedic civilization - Political organization
• Vedic civilization - Society and economy
• Vedic civilization - Vedic Religion
• Vedic civilization - The later Vedic period
• Vedic civilization - Kingdoms
• Vedic civilization - Society

Read more here: » Vedic civilization: Encyclopedia - Vedic civilization

Shruti Vedas Rig Veda Sama Veda Yajur Veda Atharva Veda Brahmanas Aranyakas Upanishads Smriti Itihāsas Mahābhārata Bhagavad Gītā Ramayana Puranas (List) Tantras Sutras (List) Stotras Ashtavakra Gita Git ...

Including:

• Rigveda - Text
• Rigveda - Books
• Rigveda - Translations
• Rigveda - Internal evidence
• Rigveda - Hindu tradition
• Rigveda - More recent Indian views
• Rigveda - Editions
• Rigveda - Translations
• Rigveda - Bibliography

Read more here: » Rigveda: Encyclopedia - Rigveda

The Sarasvati River is an ancient river that is mentioned in Hindu texts. The Nadistuti hymn in the Rig Veda mentions the Sarasvati between the Yamuna in the east and the Sutlej in the west, and later texts like the Mahabharata mention that the Sarasvati dried up in a desert. The largest concentration of Indus Valley sites appears to be east of the Indus, at and near the dried-up Ghaggar-Hakra riverbed. There is also a small present-day Saraswati River that joins the Ghaggar river and appears to be one of the branches of the an ...

Including:

• Sarasvati River - The Sarasvati River in Hindu texts
• Sarasvati River - Rig Veda
• Sarasvati River - Other Hindu texts
• Sarasvati River - The present-day Sarasvati
• Sarasvati River - Helmand river
• Sarasvati River - Bibliography

Read more here: » Sarasvati River: Encyclopedia - Sarasvati River

Update on the Aryan Invasion Debate is a book by Koenraad Elst. The book discusses various aspects of the Indo-Aryan migration debate. It was published in 1999 by Aditya Prakashan, New Delhi (ISBN 8186471774). In the preface to the book, K. Elst writes that "it hurts to release a book in mid-debate, knowing that much of it will be dated by the time a new consensus will have evolved", since "every hypothesis whi ...

Read more here: » Update on the Aryan Invasion Debate: Encyclopedia - Update on the Aryan Invasion Debate

The term Aryan race refers to a model of racial identity that was prevelant in Europe from around the 1880s through to 1945, most notably in Nazi Germany. It has become associated with the theory that north European Nordic peoples constitute a master race. The word "Aryan" derives from cultures of Iran and India. It was originally used in various Indo-Iranian languages. Possibly it originally referred to clan-identity, but it certainly later had a meaning roughly similar to "noble" or "honorable". It was sometimes used by the speakers of these languages to refer ...

Including:

• Aryan race - Origin of the concept
• Aryan race - The culture of the Aryans
• Aryan race - Imperialist nationalistic and Nazi uses of the term
• Aryan race - British Raj
• Aryan race - Theosophy
• Aryan race - Nazism
• Aryan race - Quotations

Read more here: » Aryan race: Encyclopedia - Aryan race

Arkaim is an archaeological site situated in the Southern Urals steppe, 8.2 km north-to-northwest of Amurskiy, and 2.3 km south-to-southeast of Alexandronvskiy, two villages in the Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, just to the north from the Kazakhstani border (52°37′37″N, 59°33′40″E). Arkaim - The site. The site is generally dated to the 17th century BC. Earlier dates, up to the 20th century BC, have been proposed. It was a ...

Including:

• Arkaim - The site
• Arkaim - Speculations
• Arkaim - Swastika City
• Arkaim - Observatory

Read more here: » Arkaim: Encyclopedia - Arkaim