"[Hans Hock also points to the genesis of the racial interpretation in the context of the] “scramble of the European powers to divide up the non-European world”, in which “the British take-over of India seemed to provide a perfect parallel to the assumed take-over of prehistoric India by the invading ‘Aryans’”... “such notions as ‘race’, defined in terms of skin color, are an invention of (early) modern European colonialism and imperialism... [the racial interpretation] “must be considered dubious”. ... “early Sanskrit literature offers no conclusive evidence for preoccupation with skin color. More than that, some of the greatest Epic heroes and heroines such as Krshna, Draupadi, Arjuna, Nakula and (...) Damayanti are characterized as dark-skinned. Similarly, the famous cave-paintings of Ajanta depict a vast range of skin colors. But in none of these contexts do we find that darker skin color disqualifies a person from being considered good, beautiful, or heroic.”"

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