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Ratha
Ratha (Proto-Indo-Iranian: *Hrátʰas, Vedic Sanskrit: रथ, IAST: rátha; Avestan: raθa) is the Indo-Iranian term for a spoked-wheel chariot. The term has been used since antiquity for both fast chariots and other wheeled vehicles pulled by animals or humans, in particular the large temple cars or processional carts still used in Indian religious processions to carry images of a deity.
The Indus Valley Civilization sites of Daimabad and Harappa in the Indian subcontinent, there is evidence for the use of terracotta model carts as early as 3500 BC during the Ravi Phase. There is evidence of wheeled vehicles (especially miniature models) in the Indus Valley Civilization, but not of chariots. According to Kenoyer,
During the Harappan Period (Harappa Phase, 2600–1900 BC) there was a dramatic increase in the terracotta cart and wheel types at Harappa and other sites throughout the Indus region. The diversity in carts and wheels, including depictions of what may be spoked wheels, during this period of urban expansion and trade may reflect different functional needs, as well as stylistic and cultural preferences. The unique fonts and the early appearance of carts in the Indus valley region suggest that they are the result of indigenous technological development and not diffusion from West Asia or Central Asia as proposed by earlier scholars.
The earliest Copper-Bronze Age carts remains that have been found at Sinauli have been dated to 1900 BCE, which were interpreted by some as horse-pulled "chariots", predating the arrival of the horse-centred Indo-Aryans. Others object, noting that solid wheels belong to carts, not chariots. The late Harappan site of Pirak, Pakistan, has to date offered the earliest evidence of true horses in South Asia, from c. 1700 BC.
Horse-drawn chariots, as well as its cult and associated rituals, were spread by the Indo-Iranians, and horses and horse-drawn chariots were introduced in India by the Indo-Aryans.
The earliest evidence for chariots in southern Central Asia (on the Oxus river) dates to the Achaemenid period (apart from chariots harnessed by oxen, as seen on petroglyphs). No Andronovian chariot burial has been found south of the Oxus.
Chariots figure prominently in the Rigveda, evidencing their presence in India in the 2nd millennium BCE. Notably, the Rigveda differentiates between the Ratha (chariot) and the Anas (often translated as "cart"). Rigvedic chariots are described as made of the wood of salmali (Bombax ceiba; RV 10.85.20), Khadira and Simsapa (RV 3.53.19) trees. While the number of wheels varies, chariot measurements for each configuration are found in the Shulba Sutras.
Chariots also feature prominently in later texts, including the other Vedas, the Puranas and the great epics of the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Indeed, most Hindu deities are portrayed as riding them. Among Rigvedic deities, notably Ushas "Dawn" rides in a chariot, as well as Agni in his function as a messenger between gods and men. In RV 6.61.13, the Sarasvati River is described as being wide and speedy like a chariot.
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Ratha
Ratha (Proto-Indo-Iranian: *Hrátʰas, Vedic Sanskrit: रथ, IAST: rátha; Avestan: raθa) is the Indo-Iranian term for a spoked-wheel chariot. The term has been used since antiquity for both fast chariots and other wheeled vehicles pulled by animals or humans, in particular the large temple cars or processional carts still used in Indian religious processions to carry images of a deity.
The Indus Valley Civilization sites of Daimabad and Harappa in the Indian subcontinent, there is evidence for the use of terracotta model carts as early as 3500 BC during the Ravi Phase. There is evidence of wheeled vehicles (especially miniature models) in the Indus Valley Civilization, but not of chariots. According to Kenoyer,
During the Harappan Period (Harappa Phase, 2600–1900 BC) there was a dramatic increase in the terracotta cart and wheel types at Harappa and other sites throughout the Indus region. The diversity in carts and wheels, including depictions of what may be spoked wheels, during this period of urban expansion and trade may reflect different functional needs, as well as stylistic and cultural preferences. The unique fonts and the early appearance of carts in the Indus valley region suggest that they are the result of indigenous technological development and not diffusion from West Asia or Central Asia as proposed by earlier scholars.
The earliest Copper-Bronze Age carts remains that have been found at Sinauli have been dated to 1900 BCE, which were interpreted by some as horse-pulled "chariots", predating the arrival of the horse-centred Indo-Aryans. Others object, noting that solid wheels belong to carts, not chariots. The late Harappan site of Pirak, Pakistan, has to date offered the earliest evidence of true horses in South Asia, from c. 1700 BC.
Horse-drawn chariots, as well as its cult and associated rituals, were spread by the Indo-Iranians, and horses and horse-drawn chariots were introduced in India by the Indo-Aryans.
The earliest evidence for chariots in southern Central Asia (on the Oxus river) dates to the Achaemenid period (apart from chariots harnessed by oxen, as seen on petroglyphs). No Andronovian chariot burial has been found south of the Oxus.
Chariots figure prominently in the Rigveda, evidencing their presence in India in the 2nd millennium BCE. Notably, the Rigveda differentiates between the Ratha (chariot) and the Anas (often translated as "cart"). Rigvedic chariots are described as made of the wood of salmali (Bombax ceiba; RV 10.85.20), Khadira and Simsapa (RV 3.53.19) trees. While the number of wheels varies, chariot measurements for each configuration are found in the Shulba Sutras.
Chariots also feature prominently in later texts, including the other Vedas, the Puranas and the great epics of the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Indeed, most Hindu deities are portrayed as riding them. Among Rigvedic deities, notably Ushas "Dawn" rides in a chariot, as well as Agni in his function as a messenger between gods and men. In RV 6.61.13, the Sarasvati River is described as being wide and speedy like a chariot.