The “Beast Sharabha” and the Problems of Indo-Aryan Prehistory

Abstract

Taking into account different approaches to the interpretation of most ancient Aryan- (Indo-Aryan-) Finno-Ugric contacts, I discuss Ancient Indian mythonym Śarabha, which is often considered as an Ugrian loan-word. Actually, the Ob-Ugrian word for “elk” and the name Śarabha reveal only the outward and casual resemblance and cannot be connected historically. For Śarabha there are suggested probable etymologies from Caucasian and Western Asian languages, which might reflect Caucasian and Western-Asiatic contacts of the Indo-Aryans’ ancestors on their way to India.