Re: Aryan invasion theory and race

Richard,

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Richard Wordingham" <richard.wordingham@...> wrote:
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> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "shivkhokra" <shivkhokra@> wrote:
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> > Unfortunately, for a class of historians who want to show that Mahabharata post dates the arrival of Greeks in India, yavan implies Greeks which is obviously as incorrect as saying yavan mughals were greeks!
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> The relevant issue is the *original* meaning of the word in the Indian world. You seem to be saying that the match between Hebrew _yawan_ 'Greek' and Sanskrit _yavana_ is a coincidence. Do I understand you?
>

Yes. We can conclude that it is a conicidence. Yavan in Sanskrit is related to "yovan" which means "young" (the reason perhaps why the mercenaries were called yavan was because these groups comprised of younger people. This might explain why people from North East of India like Bhagdatta of Assam in Mahabharata and people arriving from West like Greeks, Mughals, British were called yavan at different epochs in time). From it is the latin "juvenis" and the anglo saxon, iong, iung, geong.

Yavioshta is used for the "ever young" Agni in Vedic Hymns. Yavistha is the superlative of Yovan (young) and is used for Agni and means latest born or kindled fire (fire in sanskrit is "havyacya"). From this the Greeks got their Hephaistos, their fire God and God of Volcanoes.

> The re-use of proper names does get rather excessive, as in Kambo:ja: for the land of the Khmers and Tai Yuan (= Greek Tais!) for the chief people of Northern Thailand.
>

Good analogy. Though their is a myth amongst the Cambodians that their race was started by a prince visiting from India and some connect this prince and call him a camboja. Have you heard this myth?

Shivraj
PS: English is not my first language so my debating skills in this language may not be up to the mark. I have noted your point "about toeing the AIT line" and will refrain from using this phrase.