Know Your Roots Through "An Aryan Journey"

In "An Aryan Journey," Harsh Mahaan Caire offers a careful, evidence-based analysis of the Indo-Aryan legacy, drawing on scripture to trace its roots. According to the book, the Aryans arrived in India by trade ship and gradually became part of the Indus Valley community, eventually helping it settle and grow. This account is drawn from the Vedas and the Avesta. Caire works through the foundational concepts behind the origins of our own culture, making this a valuable read for anyone curious about the history of the Aryan migration into India.

Readers will need to follow several different approaches the author takes to piece the full picture together. The Vedic and Zoroastrian traditions, two of the oldest Aryan religions, have left behind a rich body of scripture. At first glance, these texts read like tales of war between gods and demons. But a closer, more careful reading reveals something different: both religions appear to describe the same people, who once shared common religious practices before gradually drifting apart and eventually turning against one another.

The book is written in accessible language, with every conclusion backed by references drawn directly from the scriptures. One challenge is that these texts rarely mention specific dates. Since scripture serves as the primary source for understanding Aryan religious history, establishing and interpreting whatever chronological clues exist becomes essential, and much of the book is built around doing exactly that.

The first chapter opens with the idea that the Aryans originally believed in a single God. From there, the analysis moves toward understanding how the concept of God itself, arguably the most significant idea humanity, or perhaps the universe, has ever produced, came into being. The author suggests that when people find themselves unable to make sense of the world's uncertainties and unexplainable phenomena, they tend to condense that confusion into one simple answer: God, or God's will.

This makes sense given the kinds of uncertainty early communities faced, such as a good harvest coming from minimal effort one year, and a poor one despite ideal conditions and hard work the next. Out of that uncertainty grew a widespread belief in God as the ultimate authority. The chapter then explores something like a theory of relativity applied to divinity: just as people tend to favour those who are kind, humble, and generous toward them, and dislike those who aren't, the same logic came to shape how people related to God. The author suggests that people's understanding of natural uncertainty grew in direct proportion to their faith in God. Because the Aryans struggled to explain agricultural uncertainty in particular, the "Ribhus" came to be worshipped as four gods instead of one, an idea laid out clearly in the Vedas, with the Avesta offering supporting evidence.

The Ribhus were divided into four, the work of the divine Tvashtar (Rig Veda, Mandala 1, Sukta 20, Rik 6). This division forms the central theme of the hymn, with Riks ten, eleven, and twelve describing this divine act in detail.

Agni, as he is known in the Vedas, was regarded as the messenger of the gods, referred to as "Atar" in the Avesta. The book notes that the gods first created the words of the hymns, then Agni, and only after that, the ritual offering. As the text puts it, Agni is "the object of the sacrifice of these deities, the protector of the body; him the earth and the waters know" (Rig Veda, Mandala 10, Sukta 88, Rik 8).

The Vedic hymns also describe how the Ribhus brought change to religious practice. Alongside the Rudras and Vasus, the Ribhus form one of several classes of divinity in Vedic thought. At one point, they were worshipped individually as Vaja, Vibhavan, and Ribhu, as described in the fourteenth Rik. The eighteenth Rik outlines the purpose behind the creation of these gods: water, fire, and what the text calls "Vardhayanti Bahubhya," literally "multiplier of many," referring to a seed's capacity to yield a strong harvest, all essential elements of agricultural life.

Even the modern corporate notion of "productivity" has an ancient counterpart here, appearing as "Pushan" in the Vedas and "Peshan" in the Avesta, with several hymns dedicated to the concept.

Varuna and Agni, seen as natural forces beyond human control, were honoured through offerings meant to keep them appeased. The 34th Rik of the relevant Sukta sheds light on how these practices evolved over time. At a certain point, people began to feel a direct connection to the divine, and priests, regarded as the most learned among them, told the community that God was present before them and laid down rules to follow, one of which involved symbolically restoring youth to the parents of the gods. With this foundation established in the first chapter, the author moves on to the next.

The second chapter turns to the original homeland of the Aryans, called "Arjika" in the Vedas and "Airyana" in the Avesta. Their time in Central Asia was long and eventful. In the Avesta, the Aryans are referred to as "Devs," and later as "Dev worshippers."

One hymn describes the Ashwins raising up Rebha, who had lain bound and wounded in a well for nine days and ten nights, suffering in the water (Rig Veda, Mandala 1, Sukta 116, Riks 20–24), a passage the author connects to the Devs.

Another hymn recounts how the Ashwins relieved Atri from scorching heat and gave him nourishing food, and restored sight to Kanva, who had been blinded by darkness (Rig Veda, Mandala 1, Sukta 118, Rik 7).

The 37 hymns that open this chapter point to the Ashwins as the deities most often invoked for protection at this stage, since Lord Indra had not yet emerged as a central figure. The Vedas repeatedly use the word "Kavi," which later came to mean "poet" in Sanskrit and "king" in the Avesta; these Kavis were regarded as the intellectual leaders of their time. The author also discusses the changes introduced by the Angiras Rishis. Both the Vedas and the Avesta emphasise fire as central to sacrificial ritual, and both describe seven priests required to carry out these sacrifices. The Avesta's roster and the second Rik of the Rig Veda list all seven by name: Adhvaryu, Brahman, Udgatri, Hotri, Pratiprasthatri, Neshtri, and Potri, all covered in Sukta 107.

The third chapter turns to the first war between the Devs and the Asuras, a conflict that shook their shared homeland, despite both groups descending from the same father, Prajapati. One hymn describes them as siblings who "understand severance, not association," urging their steeds forward "as against a constant foe," bearing strong bows into battle (Rig Veda, Mandala 3, Sukta 53, Rik 24).

In the fourth Rik, the term "Pitra," meaning ancestors, is applied to the Asuras. This chapter also recounts the first great war, said in the Vedas to have been fought between Indra and Vritra, though different versions of the story exist. Indra is remembered here as "Vritrahan," the slayer of Vritra, and the third Rik describes him cleaving the clouds to release water.

From there, the narrative turns to Dadhichi, also known as Dadhyanga or Dadhichanga, and touches on the idea that Yima rose to sovereignty after the rule of the Devs came to an end, becoming ruler over all lands.

The fifth chapter describes "Sharyanavat," a vast lake in Arjika, and the river Parushni, where Vritra was said to have been cast. Airyana Vaego is home to a major mountain called Hukairya, from which the river Vouru Kasha flows. Elsewhere, the river Daitya appears under the name "Ardvi Sura Anahita." The chapter offers a vivid description of this landscape.

Chapter six opens with the Devs being forced out of Arjika, following their defeat by Divodasa and Sudas at the hands of the Asuras. By the tenth chapter, readers learn that the Indo-Aryans were living alongside the Harappan community.

"An Aryan Journey" sets out to answer key questions about the origin, authenticity, legacy, and spread of the Indo-Aryans, and stands as a thoughtful literary work that carries readers back to the very beginnings of religious belief, then brings them forward again to reflect on how those beginnings still shape the present. In essence, the book moves readers through different eras of Aryan history, helping history enthusiasts understand the reasoning and process behind beliefs and practices that continue to this day. There is much more within its chapters still to explore, each concept rooted in careful, in-depth historical research.