Q: mAyA

[N. Ganesan]

Dear Dr. Thompson,

Two queries on the word, mAyA:

1) From 10-jun-98 post,  RV mentions "all the ungodly magical
practices"  of those hostile to the vedic aryans (vi'zvA a'devIH ...
mAyA'H) and, a'deva seems to refer to humans. Is it true that mAyA is
usually associated with adevas in the RV?

2) Given the fact that "mAiiA" is attested only once in the entire
Avestan gathas, and that the association between Old Persian and
RV is pervasive and deep, could the Iranians have borrowed the term
"mAiiA" from Indo-Aryans? Does the numerical strength of evidence for
mAyA, mayakku, mAyai, etc., being more than 99% in both Indo-Aryan
and Dravidian show India to be the birthplace of the culturally loaded
concept, mAyA? (Or else, mAyA should be IIr heritage???)

Regards,
N. Ganesan


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