The Age of INDIA'S OLDEST BOOK: What They Won't Tell You

The oldest composition of South Asia is generally believed to be the Rigveda, one of the four sacred Vedas of Hinduism. In this video, Dr. M considers the evidence for the age of this amazing ancient book and explains how it fits into the history of Indo European languages.

CORRECTION: In the video, I said that it is believed that the Vedas were passed from the gods to the Brahmins, but it is more accurate to say that the Vedas were composed by the rishis (sages) in deep meditation and then passed to the Brahmins.

NOTE: I used an old translation of the Rigveda, and near the end I recite a verse that reads "fort of iron." This is a mistranslation that I should not have used. The word translated "iron" is ayas, which does not actually mean iron, but is a generic word for metal.

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[brucearthur]

I once described the Rig Veda as "a sacred text for Hindus, but an even more sacred text for historical linguists"

[travelsome]

I've been doing self study of Vedic scriptures for a year (translated into English) it feels amazing
Currently I'm on the 5th Mandala of Rigveda

[Ayush-vykq]

This is my first "Thanks" in my life to any creator. Appreciate your work!

[TenGreats]

Rigveda never got the it's credit that it deserves in world stage because of indian govts hate towards Hinduism.

[floridaman]

Takes a lot of time to put this kind of content together from one Floridian to another. Hopefully get to meet you one day, maybe see you in Egypt! - Brian

[Tony]

Studying ancient indian cultures is not easy, which is why this is yet another brilliant video from this channel.

[J_Z]

I'm always amazed at how detailed and well researched your videos are. I hope that you don't get too much hate for this video. I know that this topic is very political for some. The real question is this: When are we getting an audiobook of Dr. Miano reading the Rig Veda for us?

[ronzac]

in Indonesian, Griha means Griya (House). Kula means Keluarga (Family). Quite similar. Pretty cool to know.

[Anon-qkue]

Awesome video. It's so hard to find ppl just talking neutrally about Indian history nowadays. Everyone is either propagating a narrative, or a counter-narrative. But at the same time, it probably just reflects the mindset of viewers who just look for confirmation bias. But your approach was interesting, and I have an appreciation for how to ask questions on history, so thank you!

[spancha]

Thanks!
This is the first time I've felt that I had to contribute and comment after one of your videos, or any YouTube video for that matter - because I hadn't heard or read this explanation - about the river Saraswati - done so well anywhere else. It's obvious that a great deal of work has gone into this - Thanks!

[arthurfleck]

At least 90% of the hindus never learned to read Vedic Sanskrit and never will. And chances are they have never read a word for word translation and probably never will.
So, at least 90% of all the hindus do not know what is written in the 4 vedas!

[sebgur]

Thanks again, I love your videos, the details, the explanations about how we know these things, great tools against internet disinformation!

[bipolarminddroppings]

I had someone claim the hindu texts were 50, 000 years old. I asked if they meant that the stories were that old, passed down orally for 50, 000 years, they said "no, they were written down 50, 000 years ago" I didn't even know where to begin to explain how that simply isn't possible. Perhaps I will point them to this video...

[theniravpanchal]

One Big Mistake in this Video.
Saraswati river was named after Goddess Saraswati. Saraswati is Goddess of Knowledge, Wisdom and intelligence.
So not every Mention of Saraswati is a Mention of River. Some verses are mentioning Goddess Saraswati that was worshipped way before river was named Saraswati.

[monitor-mindtheover-void]

Unfortunately at different stages of my archeological journey, I was a believer of both the extreme dates, one that makes vedic culture seem like a child born yesterday and the other that makes dinosaurs look like little babies. And let me tell you, you wouldn't have liked to argue with me at either of those stages, I was just blind to reason.
I think I've matured in that sense and do try take a long, critical, third-person look at subjects like these.

[embracelucky]

Thanks you, I love your content, thanks from Japan🙏🌸

[harishthethird]

It is really interesting and beautiful to see the understanding you have of the ethno-linguistically motivated culture wars inside the Indian political scene. Tamils (like my own family) love to brag about how old Tamil is compared to the invader's language of Sanskrit ad nauseam, just like how the Sanskrit supremacists love to brag about how Sanskrit is 10000 years old. Both are equally grueling to listen to. Amazing video and an amazing set of insights as always :). Have been a follower since your early days. Lots of love

[IndoAryan]

Some verses of the Rigveda may be more than 5000 years old, such as those on Indra and Agni.

[whym]

Coming from my own secular Jewish perspective, this video is an interesting reflection of something that goes on in Judaism, too. Generally, the older a Jewish religious text is, the more accurate it's considered to be, and thus the more weight it is given within the Jewish tradition. This is why Moses de Leon, the probable author of the Zohar, pretended that he'd discovered a 1, 000-year-old text in a cave, rather than admitting he'd written it himself.

[topicsandopinions]

I'm an Indian! Senior citizen! I never read or even thought of Vedas! But seeing you discussing the ancient history of Vedic period, I got interested ! Thanks a lot ! For unknown reasons, I have always been a student of ancient Egypt !! Subscribed!!