Book Title: Most Ancient Aryan Society
Author(s): Ram Chandra Jain
Publisher: Institute of Bharatalogical Research Sriganganagar Rajasthan
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( 171 ) struck in the back by the Gaņa archer. No show of proficiency in archery at the Samana is intended here. We do not find any evidence of horse-races in Rgveda. The Samana festivities took place only in nights where horses had nothing to display. In the reference Rgveda 9. 5. 11. 9., the speed of vigorous and thousand-streamed Indu is compared with that of the horse. Samana was a sort of modern Bombay night club where all the partaking members join Āryan felicity and happiness for the whole of the night in glamorous lights. I agree with Pischel that Āryans in their Samana festivity enjoyed till morning in the company of lights caused by fires which kept burning all night. The Samana festival has parallel festival in Greece where young girls mixed freely with the strangers. It appears that Greekāryans and Brahmāryans took this Gaņa festival of Samana with them which they had inherited from their common forefathers, to their new regions. · A. C. Das concedes that Samana was a popular institution. Men and women gathered there who had their own axes to grind. They afforded recreation, relaxation and amusement. The Samana fair was organised at intervals for social merriments!?.
This state of sexual relationship is very correctly reflected in the epithet Jāra. Jāra means a male human
being who is the lover of any woman in the of Jāra society. This word does not carry the sinister meaning of a voluptuous unsocial element. The sinister meaning appears to have been attached to this word after the Aryans took to settled life and were influenced by the superior cultures of their adversaries. Jāra means a lover of maidens, a youthful gallant, Devas Vāyu, Soma, Savitri, Varuņa, Mitra, Agni and Āświns are all Jāras.
Concept
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