->Kwékwlos at 11:17, 20 March 2019

2019-03-20T11:17:23Z

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The '''Pancha-janah''' ([[Vedic Sanskrit]]: {{lang|sa|पञ्च जनाः}} / ''{{IAST|páñca jánāḥ}}'', "five tribes") is a [[Sanskrit]]-language term mentioned in the [[Vedas|Vedic literature]] of ancient India. The exact meaning of the term is uncertain, as various commentators and modern scholars explain it in different ways.<ref name="VedicIndex">{{cite book |author1=Arthur Anthony Macdonell |author2=Arthur Berriedale Keith |title=Vedic Index of Names and Subjects |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t6TVLlPvuMAC&pg=PA466 |year=1995 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1332-8 |pages=466–467 }}</ref>

== Pre-modern commentaries ==

* According to the ''[[Aitareya Brahmana]]'', the pancha-janah include: the gods; the humans; the [[Gandharva]]s and the [[Apsara]]s; the [[Nāga|snakes]]; and the Fathers. <ref name="VedicIndex"/>

* According to [[Yaska]]'s ''[[Nirukta]]'', [[Aupamanyava]] explains the [[Rigveda|Rigvedic]] term pancha-janah as the four [[varna in Hinduism|varnas]] of the Indo-Aryan society and the [[Nishadas]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Vivekanand Jha |chapter=From tribe to untouchable: the case of Niṣādas |editor=R. S. Sharma |title=Indian Society: Historical Probings in memory of D. D. Kosambi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZI5hGgAACAAJ |year=1974 |orig-year=1958 |publisher=Indian Council of Historical Research / People's Publishing House|isbn=978-81-7007-176-1 |page=68 }}</ref> The 14th century commentator [[Sayana]] also supports this explanation.<ref name="VedicIndex"/>

* According to Yaska, the pancha-janah include the Gandharvas, the Fathers, the gods, the [[Asura]]s, and the [[Rakshasa]]s.<ref name="VedicIndex"/>

According to the 20th century Sanskrit scholars [[Arthur Anthony Macdonell]] and [[Arthur Berriedale Keith]], none of these explanations can be regarded as adequate.<ref name="VedicIndex"/>

== Modern scholars ==

* 19th century German Indologists [[Karl Friedrich Geldner]] and [[Rudolf von Roth]], the term denotes "all the peoples of the earth", with [[Vedic period|Vedic Aryans]] in the middle, and other people in the four directions. [[Heinrich Zimmer]], another German Indologist, has criticized this theory, arguing that inclusion of all of the earth's peoples in this expression is not in harmony with the frequent distinction made between the Aryans and the [[Dasa]]s in the Vedic texts; that the term ''-janah'' is not used for the non-Aryans; that the deities [[Soma (deity)|Soma]] and [[Indra]] are mentioned as belonging among the pancha-janah; and that the pancha-janah are mentioned as located on the [[Sarasvati River]].<ref name="VedicIndex"/>

* According to Heinrich Zimmer, the term pancha-janah denotes the five Vedic tribes: [[Anu (tribe)|Anus]], [[Druhyus]], [[Yadus]], [[Turvashas]], and [[Puru (Vedic tribe)|Purus]]. Zimmer adds that the term may have become more generic in the later period.<ref name="VedicIndex"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Rigvedic tribes]]
[[Category:Hindu mythology]]

Pancha-janah - Revision history

->Kwékwlos at 11:17, 20 March 2019