Cycle of births and deaths

Question

Where is the first historical reference of the cycle of existence, according to the scriptures ?

Does this answer your question: What is the life cycle of a soul (atma) in Hinduism? — Pandya, Jul 10 '20 at 08:37
@Pandya , not really, It takes some sources, but it doesn’t specify where for the first time this topic is discussed. Vedas? Upanishads? B.Gita? i am asking where is found historically (chronologically) in any text. — Lucky Pashu, Jul 10 '20 at 11:08
https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/a/14176/661 Clear mentioning in Yajurveda, Samaveda — hanugm, Jul 12 '20 at 15:49
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Hindu_texts Timeline — hanugm, Jul 12 '20 at 15:49
@LuckyPashu Yeah, although there may be an implicit mention in Rigveda, the clear mentioning can be found in Samaveda, which is believed to be the second oldest Hindu Scripture. — hanugm, Jul 12 '20 at 16:33
@hanugm if you can post a complete answer, for reference , we’ll avoid a duplicate and will be also useful (other than for the boon) — Lucky Pashu, Jul 13 '20 at 06:13

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 13 '20 at 07:25

According to the timeline of Hindu texts, based on (historical) dating:

The oldest scripture still extant is Rig Veda Samhita, whose composition is usually dated to roughly between 1800 – 1100 BCE. There is a debate on whether there is a mention of multiple rebirths in Rig Veda Samhita. If we consider the implicit mentioning, then Rig Veda is the first scripture that talks about multiple rebirths.

The next older scripture is Sama Veda, whose composition is usually dated (roughly) between 1200 - 800 BCE. It has clear mentioning about multiple rebirths.

So, it is clear that the first reference of multiple rebirths is up to the interpretation.But the first clear and direct reference of multiple rebirths is as early as 1200 - 800 BCE.

It is also important to note that there is no absolute dating for Vedas.

Cycle of births and deaths

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