Aryan Books

VARANASI: Myths and Scientific Studies

Edited By :- Vidula Jayaswal

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Pages: xxii+170

Format: HB

ISBN-13: 978-81-7305-450-1

Place: New Delhi

Edition: 1st

Publisher: ARYAN BOOKS INTERNATIONAL

Size: 19cm x 25cm

Product Year: 2013

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Varanasi enjoys reputation of being one of the oldest living cities of the world. Recent archaeological findings, for instance, take the antiquity of this city contemporary to the Later Vedic period (about 1800 bce). The cultural history of this city is woven with multi-layered composition of myths and folklores. Each important locality of the city has some mythology in its background, which seems to convey significant happening of the past. Myths have deep roots in our society, and sprout over the fertile cultural canvas of the past. The study of beliefs and socio-cultural messages inherent in these, thus is a promising line, capable of revealing roots of our civilization. Such a venture can be well tested on an old culturally-rich city like Varanasi. A critical scrutiny of myths with a view to separating these from the other narratives, may be possible when questions like?what is a myth? How is it different from a historical event? Through which process actual events get converted into myths??are addressed. Also, whether there had been some scientific reason behind the prevalence of a belief, which has come to us since time immemorial? Is possible to dwell upon the utility of this mine of cultural information by the aid of scientific methods? Results of the inter-disciplinary studies carried out recently, in Varanasi region, by application of archaeology, geology and remote-sensing methods, were supplemented by the views of renowned Indologists?Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan and Prof. K.D. Tripathi, and scientists?Profs. T.R.V Murty, B.D. Singh, P. Krishan and S.C. Lakhotia, in a seminar held at the Banaras Hindu University, in the year 2010. The present volume brings into print the proceedings of this seminar. The volume will be useful to historians, archaeologists, scientists and all who are interested in Indian culture and roots of civilization of South Asia.

Editor?s Note?Vidula Jayaswal v Keynote Address?Kapila Vatsyayan xi Presidential Remarks?Brahma Deo Singh xvii List of Contributors xxi Views of Indologists and Scientists 1. Vedic Myths and Mythology 3 ? K.D. Tripathi 2. Ecology and Indian Myth 8 ? Kapila Vatsyayan 3. Do Indian Myths Have a Scientific Basis? 33 ? P. Krishna 4. Myths and Scientific Method 39 ? T.V. Ramakrishnan 5. Spiritual and Scientific Perspectives in Jain Mythology 43 ? Viney Jain Case Studies 6. Jataka Stories and Archaeology: A Case Study of Varanasi 71 ? Vidula Jayaswal 7. Myths Related to Avimuktakshetra 90 ? Prachi Virag Sontakke 8. Varanasi and the Ganga River: A Geological Perspective 100 ? U.K. Shukla 9. Ganga and Kashi : Myths and Scientific Enquiries 114 ? Meera Sharma 10. Varanasi: Origin and Growth from a Geomorphic Perspective 134 ? K.N. Prudhvi Raju and Manish Kumar Pandey Observations 11. Myths, Consciousness and Science of Signs 151 ? Gautam Chatterjee 12. Myths and Science 155 ? S.C. Lakhotia Index 159

An archaeologist and a teacher of repute, Professor Vidula Jayaswal, after superannuation from the Banaras Hindu University, where she served for more than four decades, is presently occupying the prestigious Prof. R.C. Sharma Chair of Archaeology and Art History, at J??na-Prav?ha, Centre for Cultural Studies & Research, Varanasi. She has also served Archaeological Survey of India as Deputy Superintending Archaeologist for a short period. Recipient of various scholarships and fellowships, she received specialized training in Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Berkeley. Professor Jayaswal has not only carried out a number of archaeological and ethnological field studies, but has also been prompt in publishing the results. Author of over a dozen and a half books and research monographs, and about 70 research articles, Professor Jayaswal is known for her original contribution in Indian prehistory, ethnoarchaeology and interpretation of archaeological remains of the Historical period of the Middle Ganga Plain. Besides, she could also infuse scientific temper to the study of archaeology, through some major projects financed by the Ford Foundation (USA), and the Department of Science & Technology (Government of India), of which she has been the Principal Investigator and Coordinator. Her important publications include?The Palaeohistory of India; Paisra: The Stone Age Settlement of Bihar; The Kushan Clay Art; An Ethno-archaeological View of Indian Terracottas; Royal Temples of Gupta Period and Ancient Varanasi: An Archaeological Perspective. She has also edited the volumes?Glory of the Kushans: Recent Discoveries & Interpretations; Ancient Ceramic: Historical Inquiries and Scientific Approaches and Status of Prehistoric Studies in the Twenty-first Century in India.

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