HINDUISM / EASTERN THOUGHT The Celestial Key to the Vedas succeeds in shattering the time frame through which all Indo-European literature has been previously measured. With astonishing new evidence, author B. G. Sidharth proves that the earliest portions of the R. g Veda, the world's oldest sacred teachings, can be dated back as far as 10,000 B.C. For more than a century scholars have debated the antiquity of Indian culture and the Vedas; relying upon a host of Eurocentric assumptions, they regard 1500 B.C. as the earliest possible date for the writing of the R. g Veda. Sidharth stands this belief on its head, revealing why the Vedas are, in fact, nearly eight-and-a-half millennia older. Sidharth provides incontrovertible evidence that such advanced "European" astronomical concepts as precession, heliocentrism, and the eclipse cycle were first discovered and encoded in these ancient Indian texts, passages of which make perfect sense only if their astronomical keys are [...] by deciphering the astronomical events and alignments contained in mythical and symbolic form in these ancient texts, he uncovers the key and calls into question many--if not all--of the assumptions governing Indo-European prehistory. He explores such subjects as the astronomical significance of Hindu deities and myths, the system of lunar asterisms used to mark time, the identity of the Asvins, and the sophisticated calendar of the ancients that harmonized solar and lunar cycles. Using internal evidence from the Maha-bha-rata and Ra-ma-yan. a, he also becomes the first to establish likely dates--and even places--for the events described in these famous epics. The Celestial Key to the Vedas is a groundbreaking book, one that is sure to astonish anyone interested in astronomy, spirituality, India, or the origins of science and civilization. DR. B. G. SIDHARTH is director of India's B. M. Birla Science [...] has over thirty years of experience in astronomy and science education and is a frequent consultant to astronomy journals and science centers around the [...] lives in Hyderabad, India.