The roots of Hinduism: the early Aryans and the Indus civilization

Abstract

Preface Introduction 1. Defining 'Hindu' and 'Hinduism' 2. The early Aryans 3. Indo-European linguistics 4. The Indus civilization 5. The Indus religion and the Indus script Part I: The Early Aryans 6. Proto-Indo-European homelands 7. Early Indo-Iranians on the Eurasian steppes 8. The BMAC of Central Asia and the Mitanni of Syria 9. The Rigvedic Indo-Aryans and the D?sas 10. The Asvins and Mitra-Varuna 11. The Asvins as funerary gods 12. The Atharvaveda and the Vratyas 13. The Kuru kingdom and the great epics Part II: The Indus Civilization 14. The language of the Indus civilization 15. Fertility cults in folk religion 16. Astronomy, time-reckoning and cosmology 17. Dilmun, Magan and Meluhha 18. Royal symbols from West Asia 19. The Goddess and the buffalo 20. Early Iranians and 'left-hand' Tantrism 21. Religion in the Indus script Conclusion 22. The prehistory of Indo-Aryan speech and Aryan contributions to Hinduism 23. Harappan religion in relation to West Asia and later South Asia 24. Retrospect and prospect Bibliographical notes References Index