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19,000 Years of World History: The Story of Religion

Prithviraj R
Lulu (2009)
ISBN 9780557175451
Reviewed by Ron Standerfer for Reader Views (02/10)

“19,000 Years of World History: The Story of Religion” by Prithviraj R is not a quick read to be
accomplished on a Sunday afternoon while curled up in an easy chair. It is a book of epic
proportions that sets out to do nothing less than describe the history of our ancestors for the last
nineteen-thousand years. Of course, 19,000 years is a very long time, and the size of the book
reflects that obvious fact. But never mind that, for the author quickly draws you into the book on the
very first page with a few intriguing teasers like:

 “The concept of Satan in Christianity has its origins in Ahriman, the evil spirit of
Zoroastrians, and Ahriman is none other than Brahman, the Supreme God of Indians,” and;
 “The covenant with God of Abrahamic religions is nothing but an agreement among Yadavas
of India that they are not going to worship any God other than Krishna.”

As the titles implies, there is a duality about this book that causes the reader to wonder if he or she is
about to read a history book, a book about religion, or all of the above. The answer is all of the
above. As Prithviraj R explains it, there has never been a dearth of archaeologists and linguists to
pore over the dusty relics of man’s history, drawing whatever conclusions they can from the
accumulated evidence. In a first of its kind attempt, he sets out to construct human history from
various religions including Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Buddhism; then compare his
conclusions to various archaeological findings, linguistics, worldwide conflicts, beliefs, cultural
practices including festival celebrations, local legends, etc. The result is, in the author’s words, “a
complete rewrite of current history books.” An awesome undertaking indeed!

The title of the book raises another question. Namely, what is so special about the year 19,000 BP
(Before Present)? Prithviraj R gets to that issue early on with a detailed timeline of events for that
period, placed helpfully in the preface along with a world map, so the reader can get oriented before
proceeding. In a nutshell, in 19,000 BP Ice Age peak ended and deglaciation started across the
planet. Rising oceanic water levels began to displace our ancestors living in the Arctic region and
they started moving southward toward Central Asia. In 17,000 BP our ancestors reached Central
Asia, where they split. One section went westwards toward Egypt and settled there on the Nile
Delta. The other section went eastwards and settled in the Indian Subcontinent. Both sections were
joined by people migrating from Africa.

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Other events in the timeline worthy of note are a worldwide flood in 14,000 BP; a worldwide
catastrophe in 11,500 BP during which two thirds of the mammals including humans perished; and
the formation of a complete integrated religious system in India in 11,000 BP with their god as
Purusha,/ Narayan/ Vishnu.

“19,000 Years of World History: The Story of Religion” by Prithviraj R is carefully researched and
meticulously written in a style that is easy to read by anyone who is reasonably educated. Whether
you are a religious scholar or simply someone who has often wondered how the major religions were
born, this book will take you on a long but fruitful journey that you will be glad you took. At the
same time, it may very well draw you closer to your roots than you have ever been before.