Age of the Veda

[S.Kalyanaraman]

Hi,
Sometime back there was a reference to the work Vedic People by Rajesh
Kochhar. Here is a sample of the 'research' work:

(p.131): "There have already been suggestions that A_rji_ki_ya_ be identified
with Afghanistan. Lakes like S'aryan.a_vant and Anyatahplaks.a_ can easily be
placed in the hilly area of Koh-e Baba from where the Helmand starts. The
place name Girishk in the region is probably an old name connected with Giri,
the mountain. (The R.gveda names a operson Giriks.it). In this picture, the
origina Gan:ga_ and Yamuna_ are the tributaries of the Helmand lying between
the Helmand and Arghandab. It is now easy to understand the association of
Pa_ra_vatas, the mountain people, with Yamuna_ and Sarasvati_."

Isn't it more than a leap of faith to find Gan:ga_ and Yamuna_ in Afghanistan
while we do appreciate the continuing indololgical passion in search of the
indo-europeans and proto-aryans? 

The present day names of rivers and tributaries close to Helmand (according to
Dupree,L., 1980, 'Afghanistan', Princeton) are listed as: Khusk, Rudi-Gaz,
Harut-rud, Khuspas, Khash-rud, Rud Musa Qula, Kai-rud, Garmiah, Kushk-Nashud,
Arghandab, Tamak, Lora, Dori, Arghastah, Kushk-e Rud, Kadanoi, Ghazni, Jiiga.

Try tracing Vedic hydronomy, driven by Marx, in this list...

Regards, Kalyanaraman

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