Brehons and Brahmins

Brehons and Brahmins examines reported connections between Irish and Indian culture through language, mythology, social organisation and law. Manchán Magan considers how similarities between Irish and Sanskrit vocabulary, the status of druids and brahmins, and the treatment of cattle may point towards older shared roots.

The book also places Irish and Indian traditions alongside one another through sacred rivers, folklore narratives and the use of hunger strikes against unjust rulers. Its comparisons include the Irish tale of Nera and an Indian story involving a king, a corpse and a ghost, while recognising that parallels do not make the traditions identical. The result is a cross-cultural study of how inherited ideas may persist across distant societies.