Discovering the Vedas by Staal, Frits -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Cover Title Page Contents Dedication List of Illustrations and Tables Preface Transliteration of Sanskrit Discovering the Vedas

PART I: ORIGINS AND BACKGROUNDS

One or Many? One: Geography of the Vedas and their Language

The Rigveda and the Indus Civilization Mitanni Vedic and Indic Genetics Geography and Indo-European The Iranian Wedge and the BMAC The Tarim Mummies

Two: Archaeology and the Oral Tradition

Diversities of Reliability Carts, Chariots and the Mind Indic Representations of Spoke-Wheeled Chariots Sintashta Attested Locations on the Way to India Note on Aryan and Race

PART II: THE VEDAS

Constructing an Edifice Three: Civilization and Society

Absence of Caste in the Vedas Vedic Evidence and Scholarly Discussions Varying Terminologies and the first ‘Vedic Villages’ Rathakāra and a Note on Women

Four: The Four Vedas

Early Vedic Middle Vedic Late Vedic The Apotheosis of Schools

Five: Rigveda

Gods, Composers and Metres Agni Indra Soma A Speculative Poem The Scientific Study of the Veda

Six: Sāmaveda

Singing in Villages and Forests

Seven: Yajurveda

The Role of the Yajurveda The Ritual Arena Yajurveda Mantras and Brāhmaṇas

Eight: Atharvaveda

The Thesis of Kautsa

Nine: Brāhmaṇas Andāraṇyakas

Villages, Forests and the Ecology Brāhmaṇas and Āraṇyakas Locating Obscurities, Esotericisms and Irrationalities

Ten: Upaniṣads

Generalities Karma, Rebirth and Life after Death Karma, Jñāna and Bhakti ‘In That Way You Are’ Dhyāna, Meditation and the End of the Vedas The Two Main Contributions of the Upaniṣads

PART III: ANALYSING THE VEDAS

How to Discover Eleven: Mantras

The Meaninglessness of Mantras Language, Syntax and Recursiveness Steps Beyond Kautsa Pragmatics, Speech Acts and Bird Song The Gāyatrī Mantra

Twelve: Ritual

Mantra and Kalpa The Exclusion of Śrauta from Anthropology in English Self-Embedding and Other Animals How the Priests Work Together Human Sacrifice

Thirteen: Secrets of the Sadas

Soma Sequences Moving South and East Never Seeing Eye to Eye Facing All Directions Epilogue

PART IV: WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE VEDAS?

Analysis and Discovery Fourteen: Sūtra: Vedic Sciences

The Concept of Science and its Ancient History The Traditional List and the Concept of Sūtra The Science of Ritual Geometry Numbers and Infinity ‘Vedic Mathematics’ The Prātiśākhyas and the Padapāha The Sound Pattern of Language Notations and Artificial Languages Astronomy and Astrology

Fifteen: Vedic Insights

Towards Universality The Powers of Language The Limitations of Language Conclusions

PART V: BUDDHISM AND THE VEDAS

After the Vedas Sixteen: Buddhism

Why Buddhism? History, Geography and an Inkling of Nirvṇa About the Vedas and Buddhism Entering the Order, Women and Sexualities Ahiṃsā and the Public Domain Eschatology and Karmic Arithmetic Conceptual Problems Dharma and Cakra The First University and Buddhist Logic Final Conclusions

Illustrations Footnotes

List of Illustrations Fourteen: Sūtra: Vedic Sciences

Appendix I. Liu Hui’s Proof of Baudhāyana’s Theorem Appendix II. Euclid’s Proof of Baudhāyana’s Theorem Readings Source Notes Bibliography Copyright Page