The Arctic Home in the Vedas Paperback – May 25, 2011

I'm a little over 100 pages in, and the author's already got me pretty much convinced. He presents a pretty tireless array of verses supporting his thesis, most of which are rendered with little to no meaning above an almost pointless poetic esotericism without his arctic interpretation in mind. I'm very impressed at just the sheer quantity of evidence he is able to point to in order to support his case. I would have given it 5 stars just for the amount of valuable information I'm getting, but there are minor issues with the printing: (I got the Arktos 2011 Edition) There are frequent typos, spaces or periods that don't belong, etc (neither of which impede the understandability of the text; not a big deal, but noticeable), AND, more frustratingly, the author makes references in the first couple chapters to different graphs and figures he drew out to illustrate his explanation of certain phenomenon related to precession which are not replicated in the text. Fortunately, I had read about these phenomenon before, and so was able to follow, with a bit of difficulty, and pick up the gist. Also fortunately, only a few pages each were devoted to talking about these non-replicated figures; it wasn't too big of a deal either. I'm glad I bought it, but, all the same, think the book's overall published quality could have benefited from a better editing process.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak is the Benjamin Franklin of India. He was an early advocate of Indian independence from Great Britain as well as a journalist, teacher, and scholar. In this work, Talak takes the Vedic Hymns and seeks to determine where the Indo-Europeans originated.His determination-somewhere north of the Arctic Circle.He makes his case by examining the hymns and applying what they say to known astrological data, historical climates, and past geologic conditions. It's a compelling case, especially when he compares Hindu myths to how the sky and stars appear in the far north.The book is dense with facts. In addition to the above, Tilak compares the mythologies of other Indo-European people to make his case along with some references to the Hebrew Old-Testament.A mind expanding book at a minimum.

A great book but poorly and lazily formatted, a more competent publisher would have been wonderful. As it is, its poorly formatted, footnotes appear in the middle of the page, symbols randomly appear. Tilak is a good writer and thinker and deserved better than this.

Mind blowing that history experience has been so narrowly awakened until I read Tilak's possibility (probability) that our cultures have evolved in a completely different scenario than usually portrayed

Undoubtedly, this book is very innovative. Written well beyond its perceived time - portions of the book seem futuristic. Bal Gangadhar Tilak's approach is innovative and quite non-traditional. Tilak definitely was thinking differently from his kinsmen when he wrote the book. Though his theory is not exactly accepted, but it definitely leaves room for thought. The text in the Vedas is not easily understood - pre-dated Sanskrit was Dev-Bhasa – spoken differently with fewer complexities than its morph in latter periods like the Axial times and the rest of CE. There is much that needs to be explored around the Vedas – beyond the dogmas into what may have prevailed at the time they were written. This book is perfect for those looking to seek answers without being bogged down by ritualism, dogmas and blind faith.

Too dense to read

Interesting view.