Re-examining the Aryan Invasion Theory Through the Internal Evidence of the Ṛgveda
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20179523 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Parimala V Rao (0000-0001-8813-8773, Jawaharlal Nehru University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 52 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 100-115 |
| Publication date | 2025-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Indian Historical Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0376-9836 • E-ISSN: 0975-5977 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/03769836251334005 |
| OpenAlex | W4410701300 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 11 |
‘The theories propounded by the Aryanists and Dravidianists are utterly groundless and mere dreams of very learned men, and perhaps even more imaginative than learned’. —John Crawford 1861 1 ‘The theory is a perversion of scientific investigation. It is not allowed to evolve out of facts. On the contrary, the theory is preconceived, and facts are selected to prove it. The theory of the Aryan race is just an assumption and no more’. —B. R. Ambedkar 2 The Ṛgveda eulogises Divodāsa and Sudās as the great Ārya kings and recounts several times the heroic battle fought by the chief deity Indra against Vr.tra to protect Dāsadya. The hymns describe Vr.tra not only as an Ārya but also as a Dāsa and a Dasyu. The Ṛgveda equally demonises certain Āryas and Dāsas as the enemies of yagña . Several sages identify the opponents of the yagña form of worship as their own brothers— sajātā ́n and jāmim , and friend— sákhā . This article attempts to explore these contradictions and the validity of the argument that the fair-skinned Aryans subjugated the dark-skinned Dāsas and Dasyus. It also analyses the representation of colour and its importance in the Ṛgveda and factors in the writings of Herodotus. It looks at the complex relationship among Āryas, Asuras, Dāsas and Dasyus before and after Dāśarājña—the Battle of Ten Kings. It traces the reason for their migration to the Gangetic plains. It examines the interpretations of British Sanskrit scholars like William Jones and R. T. H. Griffith and Orientalists like H. T. Colebrooke, James Prinsep, H. T. Prinsep, H. H. Wilson, Max Mueller and others. It also brings B. G. Tilak and B. R. Ambedkar’s perspectives into the debate
Aryan race · Political science · Theology · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Eurasian Exchange Networks · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies · Philosophy
Caste, Conflict and Ideology
Languages and Nations
F. Max Muller and a. B. Keith
On the Aryan or Indo-Germanic Theory
On the Formation and Institution of the Caste System-the Aryan Polity
British applications of the Aryan theory of race to India, 1850-1870
Early Vaiṣṇava Bhakti and Its Autochthonous Heritage
Ahura Mazda and Armaiti, Heaven and Earth, in the Old Avesta
Old and New Aspects of the Aryan Question
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |