Natural and Cultural Borders in Vedic Culture

Abstract

Starting from Diodorus Siculus’ statements on the borders of India, this paper aims to explore the notion of border, both geographical and cultural, expressed in some Vedic passages, focusing on the semantic valences that, depending on the contexts of use, some nouns denoting the border or frontier have acquired. This will better clarify the semantic and cultural connotations that Vedic culture has given to the representation of borders or boundaries, bringing out those aspects that lead from geographical connotations to culturally constructed ones. The multiple references to the ‘borders’ that separated Rgvedic Indo-Āryans communities from other peoples, and to those established to separate roles and functions between the male and female genders and between humans and deities, will thus be brought to light.