SV: Date of the Buddha and RV

[Lars Martin Fosse]

Vishal Agarwal [SMTP:vishalagarwal at HOTMAIL.COM] skrev 04. september 1999 01:21:
> VA: Even ancient non-IE cultures like the Chinese have the Purusha Myth.
> When the texts of Scandinavians are hardly more than a millenium old, what
> is the proof that these Norse legends are several millenia old? Plus, why
> not assume the third alternative--independent origin and development. This
> is common even in science (Eg. Laws of Electrochemistry discovered
> independently by two persons.)

This is a very real problem which is worth discussing to a larger extent than
is often the case. When we encounter similarities in different cultures, we
basically have three options: common point of origin (the similarities are
"genetic"), loan (the motive has been taken over by one culture from the other
culture), and independent origin (e.g. the idea of the world egg is found not
only in India and Greece, but also in West Africa where it probably arose
independently). I think your question has been answered by Bruce Lincoln in his
book "Myth, Cosmos and Society. Indo-European Themes of Creation and
Destruction". Basically, the answer to your question lies in the specificities
involved. You have to look at the details. I recommend Lincoln's book, which
will explain this much better than I can do in a short email.


> Dr. Fosse:......although the astronomical data are not quite as clear and
> straightforward as they sometimes seem in the debates on
> this list. Jacobi's views...
> VA: Jacobi is an old author.

I mentioned Jacobi as an example because his name has been brought up in the
discussion, and because it shows how much some astronomical data depend upon
text interpretation. However, I am aware that others have worked on
astronomical data.

The introduction to a recent edition of the
> Vedanga Jyotisha (Yajurvediya)  are written by a Vaidik proficient in
> Astronomy and he has demonstrated that the text belongs to the 14th Cent.
> B.C.E. Decades back, the astronmical evidence was analyzed minutely in
> several articles in ABORI and thereby, the TB and the SB were dated as early
> as 28th Cent. .B.C.E. (and this accords well with the Indian  tradition)
> Dr. Fosse:  If we are dating the Vedas as they appear today, in the
> linguistic garb that we find in our editions, then they are not necessarily
> much older than 1000 BCE.

I do not claim any proficiency in the astronomical arguments, but I have
noticed that western academics with knowledge of the astronomical data are not
inclined to regard this evidence as compelling as you do. To the extent that
the texts are understood correctly, the astronomical data can be explained in
several ways. As for the age of the Veda, the terminus ad quem is really
anybody's guess. For all we know, the Rig - or parts of it - may be younger
than 1000 BCE. A t.a.q. around the year 1000 BCE seems sensible from what we
know.  But it *is* an hypothesis, and I am quite willing to reconsider it if
good arguments/data are brought forward.

Best regards,

Lars Martin Fosse

Dr. art. Lars Martin Fosse
Haugerudvn. 76, Leil. 114,
0674 Oslo
Norway
Phone/Fax: +47 22 32 12 19
Email: lmfosse at online.no