Ravindra Singh Bisht

"Bisht is well aware of the plethora of opinions proffered in interpretations of the Vedic landscape: "Diametrically opposite views have been expressed and rejected due to intrinsic contradictions, lack of coherence or consistency inherent in the approaches, or due to the appearance of fresh evidence" (392). Like Singh, he believes previous interpretations were predisposed to anticipating the Indo-Aryans to be "batbarian equestrians who, before entering India, roamed about in Central Asia and the Iranian Plateau . . . [and] thrived on stock-breeding and primitive farming" (392). He, too, finds that "the information gleaned from the Rgveda projects a pictute of considerably civi- lized Aryans." They had "a variety of petmanent settlements and fortified towns as well as monumental structures. They were advanced in agriculture, stock-breeding, manufacture of goods and long distance trade and commerce via roads, rivers, and seas" (393)."