Age of the Upanishads - e.g.Aitareya

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Arun Gupta wrote:

>E.g., in a discussion on the Indian Civilization group, it was said

>that the Rig Veda may be coeval with the Mitanni documents( around

>1400 BC). It was also said that Mary Boyce speculates that the

>date of Zoroaster may be as far back as 1400 BC.

 

>This would lead the unwary to think that there is a claim that

>Zoroaster is as old as the RV. But looked at more carefully,

>it seems to me that Boyce puts the RV at 1700 BC, and Zoroaster

>to 300-600 years after that. i.e., Boyce's arguments are for a

>relative chronology, and if the RV is from 1200 BC, Zoroaster

>would be 900-600 BC.

 

The date of Zoroaster is tied to the date of the Rgveda.

Mary Boyce, Zoroastrians: Their religious beliefs and practices,

London:Routledge, 2001 has a "Foreword to this edition"

written by Boyce in May 2000. It begins as:

 

"There have been notable advances in the study of Zoroastrianism

since this book was published in 1979, and although a number of

corrections were made in the text in the second reprint of 1983, it

now seems desirable to indicate certain large developments which

need to be borne in mind during a reading of the early chapters.

 

The approximate date first proposed for Zoroaster, of 1700 BC,

has already been modified, partly because the earliest compilation

of Rgvedic hymns is now assigned to about 1500 BC, and the 'Old

Avestan' language spoken by the Prophet is very close to Vedic.

...."

 

Some later portions in the Rgveda do mention Iron, and considering

all the evidence, Prof. Witzel commented earlier Indology list

that the RV first collection was made around 1000-900 BCE.

 

See

http://listserv.liv.ac.uk/cgi-shl/WA.EXE?A2=ind0011&L=indology&P=R5692

Prof. Witzel wrote:

<<<

N. Ganesan correctly concluded:

 

>If the RV's final redaction in Panjab is around 1000 - 900 BCE,

>does the Mitanni text (c. 1380 bCE) represent a pre-OIA stage

> where Aryans have not entered India?

 

(just substitute 'first collection' for "redaction", which is later:

in the

late Brahmana period, and in N.Bihar, by Sakalya)

 

==================

>>>

 

Now, in the latest EJVS, 7-3: Autochtonous Aryans?, MW mentions

the Mitanni document earlier than the RV.

 

I think M. Boyce book quoted was an earlier version, and not

even taking into account of her words made in May 2000. Susequently,

the RV dates have dropped further, this has parallels to the

updating of Buddha date downwards by Bechert and scholars from

Japan.

 

Regards,

N. Ganesan