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Vedic period

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Early Vedic period
Geographical rangeIndian subcontinent
PeriodBronze Age India
Dates1500-1100BCE
Preceded by
Followed byLate Vedic period,Kuru Kingdom,Panchala,Videha
Late Vedic period
Geographical rangeIndian subcontinent
PeriodIron Age India
Datesc. 1100– c. 500 BCE
Preceded byEarly Vedic culture
Followed byHaryanka dynasty,Mahajanapadas

TheVedic period,or theVedic age(c. 1500– c. 500 BCE), is the period in the lateBronze Ageand earlyIron Ageof thehistory of Indiawhen the Vedic literature, including theVedas(c. 1500–900 BCE), was composed in thenorthern Indian subcontinent,between the end of the urbanIndus Valley Civilisationand asecond urbanisation,which began in the centralIndo-Gangetic Plainc. 600BCE. The Vedas areliturgicaltexts which formed the basis of the influential Brahmanical ideology, which developed in theKuru Kingdom,a tribal union of severalIndo-Aryan tribes.The Vedas contain details of life during this period that have been interpreted to be historical[1][note 1]and constitute the primary sources for understanding the period. These documents, alongside the corresponding archaeological record, allow for the evolution of the Indo-Aryan andVedic cultureto be traced and inferred.[2]

The Vedas were composed andorally transmittedwith precision[note 2]by speakers of anOld Indo-Aryanlanguage who hadmigratedinto the northwestern regions of the Indian subcontinent early in this period. The Vedic society was patriarchal andpatrilineal.[note 3]EarlyIndo-Aryanswere aLate Bronze Agesociety centred in thePunjab,organised into tribes rather than kingdoms, and primarily sustained by apastoralway of life.

Aroundc. 1200–1000 BCE theAryanculture spread eastward to the fertile westernGangesPlain.Iron toolswere adopted, which allowed for the clearing of forests and the adoption of a more settled, agricultural way of life. The second half of the Vedic period was characterised by the emergence of towns,kingdoms,and a complex social differentiation distinctive to India,[2]and theKuru Kingdom's codification oforthodox sacrificial ritual.[4][5]During this time, the central Ganges Plain was dominated by a related but non-VedicIndo-Aryanculture, ofGreater Magadha.The end of the Vedic period witnessed the rise of true cities and large states (calledmahajanapadas) as well asśramaṇamovements (includingJainismandBuddhism) which challenged the Vedic orthodoxy.[6]

The Vedic period saw the emergence of a hierarchy ofsocial classesthat would remain influential. Vedic religion developed intoBrahmanical orthodoxy,and around the beginning of the Common Era, theVedic traditionformed one of the main constituents of "Hindu synthesis".[7]

Archaeological cultures identified with phases of Indo-Aryanmaterial cultureinclude theOchre Coloured Pottery culture,theGandhara grave culture,theblack and red ware cultureand thePainted Grey Ware culture(PGW).[8]

History[edit]

Origins[edit]

See also:Indo-European migrations,Indo-Aryan peoples,Indo-Aryan migration,andIndigenous Aryans
Bronze Age spread ofYamnayaSteppe pastoralist ancestry into two subcontinents—Europe and South Asia, and arrival in the subcontinent as Indo-Aryans[9]

The early Vedic age is historically dated to the second half of the second millennium BCE.[10]Historically, after the collapse of theIndus Valley Civilisation,which occurred around 1900 BCE,[11][12]groups ofIndo-Aryan peoplesmigrated into north-western Indiaand started to inhabit the northernIndus Valley.[13]TheIndo-Aryansrepresented a sub-group that diverged from otherIndo-Iranian tribesat theAndronovo horizon[14]before the middle of the 2nd millennium BCE.[15][note 4]The Indo-Iranians originated in theSintashta culture,from which arose the subsequent Andronovo horizon.[14]The Indo-Aryans migrated through the adjacentBactria–Margianaarea (present-day northernAfghanistan) to northwest India,[16][note 5]followed by the rise of the IranianYaz cultureatc.1500 BCE, and the Iranian migrations into Iran atc.800 BCE.

Archaeological cultures associated withIndo-Iranian migrations(afterEIEC). TheAndronovo,BMACandYazcultures have often been associated withIndo-Iranianmigrations. TheGGC,Cemetery H,Copper HoardandPGWcultures are candidates for cultures associated withIndo-Aryanmovements.

Some Indian writers and archaeologists have opposed the notion of a migration of Indo-Aryans into India, and argued for anindigenous origin of the Indo-Aryans.[17][18]In this view, "the Indian civilization must be viewed as an unbroken tradition that goes back to the earliest period of the Sindhu-Sarasvati (or Indus) tradition (7000 or 8000 BCE)."[19]Though popular in India, and reflecting Indian views on Indian history and religion,[20]the idea of a purely indigenous origin of the Indo-Aryans is outside the academic mainstream.[note 6]

The knowledge about the Aryans comes mostly from theRigveda-samhita,[21]i.e.the oldest layer of theVedas,which was composedc.1400–1000 BCE.[16][22][23][note 7]They brought with them their distinctive religious traditions and practices.[24]The Vedic beliefs and practices of the pre-classical era were closely related to the hypothesisedProto-Indo-European religion,[25]and the Indo-Iranian religion.[26]Funeral sacrifices from the Sintashta-culture show close parallels to the sacrificial funeral rites of theRigveda,[27]while, according to Anthony, the Old Indic religion probably emerged among Indo-European immigrants in the contact zone between theZeravshan River(present-dayUzbekistan) and (present-day) Tajikistan.[28]It was "a syncretic mixture of old Central Asian and new Indo-European elements",[28]which borrowed "distinctive religious beliefs and practices" from theBactria–Margiana culture,[29]including the godIndraand the ritual drinkSoma.[16][note 5]

Early Vedic period (c. 1500 BCE – c. 1000 BCE)[edit]

See also:Rigvedic tribes
Cremation urn of theGandhara grave culture(c. 1200 BCE), associated with Vedic material culture

TheRigvedacontains accounts of conflicts between the Aryas and theDasasand Dasyus. It describes Dasas and Dasyus as people who do not perform sacrifices (akratu) or obey the commandments of gods (avrata). Their speech is described asmridhrawhich could variously mean soft, uncouth, hostile, scornful or abusive. Other adjectives which describe their physical appearance are subject to many interpretations. However, some modern scholars such asAsko Parpolaconnect the Dasas and Dasyus to Iranian tribesDahaeand Dahyu and believe that Dasas and Dasyus were early Indo-Aryan immigrants who arrived into the subcontinent before the Vedic Aryans.[30][31]Likewise, Bronkhorst has argued that the central Ganges Plain was dominated by a related but non-VedicIndo-Aryanculture,[32]a difference also noted by Samuel.[33]

Accounts of military conflicts in between the various tribes of Vedic Aryans are also described in theRigveda.Most notable of such conflicts was theBattle of the Ten Kings,which took place on the banks of the river Parushni (modern dayRavi).[note 8]The battle was fought between the tribeBharatas,led by their chiefSudas,against a confederation of ten tribes.[36]The Bharatas lived around the upper regions of the riverSaraswati,while the Purus, their western neighbours, lived along the lower regions of Saraswati. The other tribes dwelt north-west of the Bharatas in the region ofPunjab.[37]Division of the waters of Ravi could have been a reason for the war.[38][unreliable source?]The confederation of tribes tried to inundate the Bharatas by opening the embankments of Ravi, yet Sudas emerged victorious in the Battle of Ten Kings.[39]The Bharatas and the Purus merged into a new tribe, theKuru,after the war.[37]

Later Vedic period (c. 1000 – c. 600 BCE)[edit]

Pottery of thePainted Grey Ware culture(c. 1000–600 BCE), associated with Vedic material culture

After the 12th century BCE, as theRigvedahad taken its final form, the Vedic society, which is associated with the Kuru-Panchala region but were not the only Indo-Aryan people in northern India,[40]transitioned from semi-nomadic life to settled agriculture in north-western India.[39]Possession of horses remained an important priority of Vedic leaders and a remnant of the nomadic lifestyle,[41]resulting in trade routes beyond the Hindu Kush to maintain this supply as horses needed for cavalry and sacrifice could not be bred in India.[42]TheGangeticplains had remained out of bounds to the Vedic tribes because of thick forest cover. After 1000 BCE, the use of iron axes and ploughs became widespread and the jungles could be cleared with ease. This enabled the Vedic Aryans to extend their settlements into the western area of the Ganga-Yamuna Doab.[43]Many of the old tribes coalesced to form larger political units.[44]

The Vedic religion was further developed with the emergence of the Kuru kingdom, systematising its religious literature and developing the Śrauta ritual.[45][46][47]It is associated with the Painted Grey Ware culture (c.1200–600 BCE), which did not expand east of the Ganga-Yamuya Doab.[40]It differed from the related, yet markedly different, culture of the Central Ganges region, which was associated with theNorthern Black Polished Wareand the Mahajanapadas ofKosalaandMagadha.[48]

In this period thevarnasystem emerged, state Kulke and Rothermund,[49]which in this stage of Indian history were a "hierarchicalorder of estateswhich reflected a division of labor among various social classes ". The Vedic period estates were four:Brahminpriests and warrior nobility stood on top, free peasants and traders were the third, and slaves, labourers and artisans, many belonging to the indigenous people, were the fourth.[50][51][52]This was a period where agriculture, metal, and commodity production, as well as trade, greatly expanded,[53]and the Vedic era texts including the earlyUpanishadsand many Sutras important to laterHinduculture were completed.[54]

Modern replica of utensils andfalcon shaped altarused forAgnicayana,an elaborateŚrautaritual originating from theKuru Kingdom.[45]

TheKuru Kingdom,the earliest Vedic "state", was formed by a "super-tribe" which joined several tribes in a new unit. To govern this state, Vedic hymns were collected and transcribed, and new rituals were developed, which formed the now orthodoxŚrautarituals.[55]Two key figures in this process of the development of the Kuru state were the kingParikshitand his successorJanamejaya,transforming this realm into the dominant political and cultural power of northernIron Age India.[45]

The most well-known of the new religious sacrifices that arose in this period were theAshvamedha(horse sacrifice).[56]This sacrifice involved setting a consecrated horse free to roam the kingdoms for a year. The horse was followed by a chosen band of warriors. The kingdoms and chiefdoms in which the horse wandered had to pay homage or prepare to battle the king to whom the horse belonged. This sacrifice put considerable pressure on inter-state relations in this era.[56]This period saw also the beginning of the social stratification by the use ofvarna,the division of Vedic society inBrahmins,Kshatriya,VaishyaandShudra.[55]

The Kuru kingdom declined after its defeat by the non-VedicSalva tribe,and the political center of Vedic culture shifted east, into thePanchalakingdom on the Ganges, under KingKeśin Dālbhya(approximately between 900 and 750 BCE).[45]Later, in the 8th or 7th century BCE, the kingdom ofVidehaemerged as a political center farther to the East, in what is today northernBiharof India and southeasternNepal,reaching its prominence under the kingJanaka,whose court provided patronage forBrahminsages andphilosopherssuch asYajnavalkya,Uddalaka Aruni,andGargi Vachaknavi;[8]Panchala also remained prominent during this period, under its kingPravahana Jaivali.[57]

Towards urbanization[edit]

By the 6th century BCE, the political units consolidated into large kingdoms calledMahajanapadas.The process of urbanisation had begun in these kingdoms, commerce and travel flourished, even regions separated by large distances became easy to access.[58]Anga,a small kingdom to the east ofMagadha(on the door step of modern-dayWest Bengal), formed the eastern boundary of the Vedic culture.[59]Yadavasexpanded towards the south and settled inMathura.To the south of their kingdom wasVatsawhich was governed from its capitalKausambi.TheNarmada Riverand parts of North WesternDeccanformed the southern limits.[60][61]The newly formed states struggled for supremacy and started displaying imperial ambitions.[62]

The end of the Vedic period is marked by linguistic, cultural and political changes. The grammar ofPāṇinimarks a final apex in the codification ofSutratexts, and at the same time the beginning ofClassical Sanskrit.[63]Meanwhile, in the Kosala-Magadha region, theshramanamovements (includingJainismandBuddhism) objected the self-imposed authority and orthodoxy of the intruding Brahmins and their Vedic scriptures and ritual.[6][64]According to Bronkhorst, the sramana culture arose in "Greater Magadha,"which was Indo-European, but not Vedic. In this culture, kshatriyas were placed higher than Brahmins, and it rejected Vedic authority and rituals.[32][65]Greater Magadha reached its zenith under theMaurya Empire.Meanwhile, the Achaemenid invasion ofCyrusandDarius Iof the Indus valley in the early 6th century BCE marks the beginning of outside influence, which continued in the Kingdoms of theIndo-Greeks,Indo-Scythians,andIndo-Parthians.[66]This period culminated with theKushanandGupta Empire,which resulted in the "Hindu Synthesis".[67]

Culture[edit]

Ancient history
Preceded byprehistory
Near East
Europe
Horn of Africa
North Africa
Eurasian Steppe
Central Asia
East Asia
South Asia
Northern America
Mesoamerica
Andes
Caribbean
West AfricaandCentral Africa
Southeast AsiaandOceania
See also

Society[edit]

While Vedic society was relatively egalitarian in the sense that a distinct hierarchy of socio-economic classes orcasteswas absent,[68][69]the Vedic period saw the emergence of a hierarchy ofsocial classes.[4][5]Political hierarchy was determined by rank, whererājan(tribal king or chieftain) andrājanya(tribal nobility) stood at the top, theviś(the common people) in the middle, and thedāsaanddasyu(non-Indo-Aryan servants) at the bottom.[69][70]The wordsBrahamanaandKshatriyaoccur in various family books of theRigveda,but they are not associated with the termvarna.The wordsVaishyaandShudraare absent. Verses of theRigveda,such as 3.44–45, indicate the absence of strict social hierarchy and the existence of social mobility:[30]

O, Indra, fond ofsoma,would you make me the protector of people, or would you make me a king, would you make me a sage who has drunksoma,would you impart to me endless wealth.

The institution of marriage was important and different types of marriages— monogamy, polygyny and polyandry are mentioned in theRigveda.Both women sages and female gods were known to Vedic Aryans. Women could choose their husbands and could remarry if their husbands died or disappeared.[69]The wife enjoyed a respectable position.[71]People consumed milk, milk products, grains, fruits and vegetables. Meat eating is mentioned; however, cows are labeledaghnya(not to be killed). Clothes of cotton, wool and animal skin were worn.[69]Somaandsurawere popular drinks in the Vedic society, of whichsomawas sanctified by religion. Flute (vana), lute (vina), harp, cymbals and drums were the musical instruments played and aheptatonic scalewas used.[71]Dancing, dramas, chariot racing and gambling were other popular pastimes.[69]

The emergence of monarchical states in the later Vedic age led to a distancing of therajanfrom the people and the emergence of avarnahierarchy. The society was divided into four social groups—Brahmanas,Kshatriyas,VaishyasandShudras.The later Vedic texts fixed social boundaries, roles, status and ritual purity for each of the groups. TheShatapatha Brahmanaassociates the Brahmana with purity of parentage, good conduct, glory, teaching or protecting people; Kshatriya with strength, fame, ruling, and warfare; Vaishya with material prosperity and production-related activities such as cattle rearing and agriculture; Shudras with the service of the highervarnas.The effects ofRajasuyasacrifice depended on thevarnaof the sacrificer.Rajasuyaendowed Brahmana with lustre, Kshatriya with valour, Vaishya with procreative power and Shudra with stability. The hierarchy of the top threevarnasis ambiguous in the later Vedic texts.Panchavamsha Brahmanaand verse 13.8.3.11 of theShatapatha Brahmanaplace Kshatriya over Brahmana and Vaishya, whereas, verse 1.1.4.12 places Brahmana and Vaishya over the Kshatriya and Shudra. ThePurusha Suktavisualised the fourvarnasas hierarchical, but inter-related parts of an organic whole.[72]Despite the increasing social stratification in the later Vedic times, hymns likeRigvedaIX.112 suggest some amount of social mobility: "I am a reciter of hymns, my father a physician, and my mother grinds (corn) with stones. We desire to obtain wealth in various actions."[73][74]

Household became an important unit in the later Vedic age. The variety of households of the Vedic era gave way to an idealised household which was headed by agrihapati.The relations between husband and wife, father and son were hierarchically organised and the women were relegated to subordinate and docile roles. Polygyny was more common than polyandry and texts likeTattiriya Samhitaindicate taboos around menstruating women. Various professions women took to are mentioned in the later Vedic texts. Women tended to cattle, milked cows, carded wool; were weavers, dyers, and corn grinders. Women warriors such asVishpala,who lost a leg in battle, are mentioned. Two female philosophers are mentioned in the Upanishads.[75]Patrick Olivelle,in his translation of the Upanishads, writes that "the fact that these women are introduced without any attempt to justify or to explain how women could be engaged in theological matters suggests the relatively high social and religious position of at least women of some social strata during this period."[76]

Political organisation[edit]

Vedic weaponry
Ancient Indian antennae sword; metalwork, 1500–500 BCE
Ancient Indian axe blade, 1500–1000 BCE

Early Vedic Aryans were organised into tribes rather than kingdoms. The chief of a tribe was called arajan.The autonomy of therajanwas restricted by the tribal councils calledsabhaandsamiti.The two bodies were, in part, responsible for the governance of the tribe. Therajancould not accede to the throne without their approval. The distinction between the two bodies is not clear.Arthur Llewellyn Basham,a noted historian andindologist,theorises thatsabhawas a meeting of great men in the tribe, whereas,samitiwas a meeting of all free tribesmen. Some tribes had no hereditary chiefs and were directly governed by the tribal councils.Rajanhad a rudimentary court which was attended by courtiers (sabhasad) and chiefs of sects (gramani). The main responsibility of therajanwas to protect the tribe. He was aided by several functionaries, including thepurohita(chaplain), thesenani(army chief),dutas(envoys) andspash(spies).[77]Purohitaperformed ceremonies and spells for success in war and prosperity in peace.[78]

In the later Vedic period, the tribes had consolidated into small kingdoms, which had a capital and a rudimentary administrative system.[60]To aid in governing these new states, the kings and their Brahmin priests arranged Vedic hymns into collections and developed a new set of rituals (the now orthodoxŚrautarituals) to strengthen the emergingsocial hierarchy.[45]Therajanwas seen as the custodian of social order and the protector ofrashtra(polity). Hereditary kingship started emerging and competitions like chariot races, cattle raids, and games of dice, which previously decided who was worthy of becoming a king, became nominal. Rituals in this era exalted the status of the king over his people. He was occasionally referred to assamrat(supreme ruler). Therajan'sincreasing political power enabled him to gain greater control over the productive resources. The voluntary gift offering (bali) became compulsory tribute; however, there was no organised system of taxation.Sabhaandsamitiare still mentioned in later Vedic texts, though, with the increasing power of the king, their influence declined.[79]By the end of the later Vedic age, different kinds of political systems such as monarchical states (rajya), oligarchical states (ganaorsangha), and tribal principalities had emerged in India.[79]

According toMichael Witzel's analysis of theKuru Kingdom,it can be characterized as the earliest Vedic "state", during the Middle Vedic Period.[45][note 9]However,Robert Bellahobserves that it is difficult to "pin down" whether the Kurus were a true "state" or acomplex chiefdom,as the Kuru kings notably never adopted royal titles higher than "rājan," which means "chief" rather than "king" in the Vedic context.[80]The Middle Vedic Period is also characterized by a lack of cities; Bellah compares this to earlystate formationin ancientHawaiiand "very early Egypt," which were "territorial states" rather than "city-states," and thus "it was the court, not the city, that provided the center, and the court was often peripatetic."[81][82]Romila Thaparcharacterizes Vedic-era state formation as being in a condition of "arrested development," because local chiefs were relatively autonomous, and because surplus wealth that could have been directed towards state-building was instead used for the increasingly grandiose rituals that also served to structure social relations.[83]The period of theUpanishads,the final phase of the Vedic era, was approximately contemporaneous with a new wave of state formations, linked to the beginning of urbanization in the Ganges Valley: along with the growth of population and trade networks, these social and economic changes put pressure on older ways of life, setting the stage for the Upanishads and the subsequentśramaṇamovements,[84][85]and the end of the Vedic Period, which was followed by theMahajanapadaperiod.

According to George Erdosy, archaeological data for the period from 1000 to 600 BCE shows a two-tiered settlement pattern in the Ganges Valley, with some "modest central places," suggestive of the existence of simplechiefdoms,with theKurukshetra districtitself displaying a more complex (albeit not yet urbanized) three-tiered hierarchy.[86]Subsequently, (after 600 BCE) there are four tiers of site sizes, including large towns and fortified cities, consistent with an urbanized state-level society.[87]

Economy[edit]

Economy in the Vedic period was sustained by a combination ofpastoralismand agriculture.[71]There are references, in theRigveda,to the leveling of fields, seed processing, and storage of grains in large jars. War bounty was also a major source of wealth.[69]Economic exchanges were conducted by gift giving, particularly to kings (bali) and priests (dana), and barter using cattle as a unit of currency. While gold is mentioned in some hymns, there is no indication of the use of coins. Metallurgy is not mentioned in theRigveda,but the wordayasand instruments made from it such as razors, bangles, axes are mentioned. One verse mentions purification ofayas.Some scholars believe thatayasrefers to iron and the wordsdhamandkarmararefer to iron-welders.[88]However, philological evidence indicates thatayasin theRigvedarefers only to copper and bronze, while iron orśyāma ayas,literally "black metal", first is mentioned in the post-RigvedicAtharvaveda,[8][45]and therefore the Early Vedic Period was aBronze Ageculture whereas the Late Vedic Period was anIron Ageculture.[citation needed]

The transition of Vedic society from semi-nomadic life to settled agriculture in the later Vedic age led to an increase in trade and competition for resources.[89]Agriculture dominated the economic activity along theGangesvalley during this period.[90]Agricultural operations grew in complexity and usage of iron implements (krishna–ayasorshyama–ayas,literally black metal or dark metal) increased. Crops of wheat, rice, and barley were cultivated. Surplus production helped to support the centralised kingdoms that were emerging at this time.[45]New crafts and occupations such as carpentry, leather work, tanning, pottery, astrology, jewellery, dying, and winemaking arose.[91]Apart from copper, bronze, and gold, later Vedic texts also mention tin, lead, and silver.[92]

Panisin some hymns refers to merchants, in others to stingy people who hid their wealth and did not perform Vedic sacrifices. Some scholars suggest that Panis weresemitictraders, but the evidence for this is slim.[37]Professions of warriors, priests, cattle-rearers, farmers, hunters, barbers, vintners and crafts of chariot-making, cart-making, carpentry, metal working, tanning, making of bows, sewing, weaving, making mats of grass and reed are mentioned in the hymns of theRigveda.Some of these might have needed full-time specialists.[88]There are references to boats and oceans. Book X of theRigvedarefers to both eastern and western oceans. Individual property ownership did not exist and clans as a whole enjoyed rights over lands and herds. Enslavement (dasa,dasi) in the course of war or as a result of non-payment of debt is mentioned. However, slaves worked in households rather than production-related activities.[69]

Religion[edit]

Main article:Historical Vedic religion
A steel engraving from the 1850s, which depicts the creative activities ofPrajapati,a Vedic deity who presides over procreation and protection of life

Vedic religion[edit]

Texts considered to date to the Vedic period are mainly the fourVedas,but theBrahmanas,Aranyakasand the olderUpanishadsas well as the oldestŚrautasutrasare also considered to be Vedic. TheVedasrecord theliturgyconnected with the rituals and sacrifices performed by the 16 or 17Śrautapriests and thepurohitas.[citation needed]

Therishis,the composers of the hymns of theRigveda,were considered inspired poets and seers (in post-Vedic times understood as "hearers" of an eternally existingVeda,Śrutimeans "what is heard" ).

The mode of worship was the performance of sacrifices (Yajna) which included thechantingof Rigvedic verses (seeVedic chant), singing ofSamansand 'mumbling' of sacrificial mantras (Yajus). Yajna involved sacrifice and sublimation of the havana sámagri (herbal preparations) in the fire accompanied by the chanting of the Vedic mantras. The sublime meaning of the word yajna is derived from the Sanskrit verb yaj, which has a three-fold meaning of worship of deities (devapujana), unity (saògatikaraña) and charity (dána).[93]An essential element was the sacrificial fire—the divineAgni—into which oblations were poured, as everything offered into the fire was believed to reach God. People prayed for abundance of rain, cattle, sons, long life and gaining 'heaven'.

Vedic people believed in thetransmigration of the soul,and thepeepultree and cow were sanctified by the time of theAtharvaveda.[94]Many of the concepts of Indian philosophy espoused later likeDharma,Karmaetc. trace their root to theVedas.[95]

The main deities of the Vedic pantheon wereIndra,Agni(thesacrificial fire), andSomaand some deities of social order such asMitra–Varuna,Aryaman,Bhagaand Amsa, further nature deities such asSurya(the Sun),Vayu(the wind) andPrithivi(the earth). Goddesses includedUshas(the dawn), Prithvi andAditi(the mother of theAdityagods or sometimes the cow). Rivers, especiallySaraswati,were also considered goddesses. Deities were not viewed as all-powerful. The relationship between humans and the deity was one of transaction, with Agni (the sacrificial fire) taking the role of messenger between the two. Strong traces of a commonIndo-Iranianreligion remain visible, especially in theSomacult and the fire worship, both of which are preserved inZoroastrianism.

Ethics in theVedasare based on the concepts ofSatyaandRta.Satya is the principle of integration rooted in the Absolute.[96]Whereas, Ṛta is the expression of Satya, which regulates and coordinates the operation of the universe and everything within it.[97][note 10]Conformity with Ṛta would enable progress whereas its violation would lead to punishment.

Influence on Hinduism[edit]

Around the beginning of the Common Era, theVedic traditionformed one of the main constituents of the "Hindu synthesis".[7][98][note 11]Vedic religion survived in the srayta ritual, whereas ascetic and devotional traditions likeYogaandVedantaacknowledge the authority of theVedas,but interpret the Vedic pantheon as a unitary view of the universe with 'God' (Brahman) seen as immanent and transcendent in the forms ofIshvaraandBrahman.Later texts such as theUpanishadsand epics, namely theGitaofMahabharata,are essential parts of these later developments.

Literature[edit]

Main article:Vedas
An early-19th-century manuscript ofRigveda(padapatha) inDevanagari.TheVedic accentis marked by underscores and vertical overscores in red.

The reconstruction of the history of Vedic India is based on text-internal details, but can be correlated to relevant archaeological details. Linguistically, the Vedic texts could be classified in five chronological strata:[8]

  1. Rigvedic text:TheRigvedais by far the most archaic of the Vedic texts preserved, and it retains many commonIndo-Iranianelements, both in language and in content, that are not present in any other Vedic text. Its time span likely corresponds to theLate Harappan culture,Gandhara grave cultureandOchre Coloured Pottery culture.
  2. Mantra language texts:This period includes both themantraand prose language of theAtharvaveda(PaippaladaandShaunmkiya), theRigvedaKhilani,theSamavedaSamhita(containing some 75 mantras not in theRigveda), and the mantras of theYajurveda.Many of these texts are largely derived from theRigveda,but have undergone certain changes, both by linguistic change and by reinterpretation. Conspicuous changes include change ofvishva"all" bysarva,and the spread of thekuru-verbal stem (for Rigvedickrno-). This is the time of the earlyIron Agein north-western India, corresponding to theBlack and Red Ware(BRW) andPainted Grey Ware(PGW) cultures, and the earlyKuru Kingdom,dating from c. the 12th to 11th centuries BCE.
  3. Samhita prose texts:This period marks the beginning of the collection and codification of a Vedic canon. An important linguistic change is the complete loss of theinjunctive.The Brahmana part ('commentary' on mantras and ritual) of theBlackYajurveda(MS, KS, TS) belongs to this period. Archaeologically, the Painted Grey Ware culture from c. 1000 or 900 BCE corresponds to theKuru Kingdomand the subsequent eastward shift of the political centre from the Kurus to thePanchalason theGanges.
  4. Brahmana prose texts:TheBrahmanasproper of the fourVedasbelong to this period, as well as theAranyakas,the oldest of theUpanishads(BAU,ChU,JUB) and the oldestŚrautasutras(BSS,VadhSS). In the east,Videha(N. Bihar and Nepal) is established as the third main political centre of the Vedic period.
  5. Sutra language texts:This is the last stratum of Vedic Sanskrit leading up to c. 500 BCE, comprising the bulk of theŚrautaandGrhyaSutras, and someUpanishads(e.g.KathU,MaitrU).

Visual arts[edit]

See also:Art of Mathura

In northern India, some very early depictions of deities appear in the art of theIndus Valley Civilisation,but the following millennium, coinciding with theIndo–Aryan migrationduring the Vedic period, is devoid of such remains.[99]It has been suggested that theearly Vedic religionfocused exclusively on the worship of purely "elementary forces of nature by means of elaborate sacrifices", which did not lend themselves easily to anthropomorphological representations.[100][101]Various artefacts may belong to theCopper Hoard culture(2nd millennium CE), some of them suggesting anthropomorphological characteristics.[102]Interpretations vary as to the exact signification of these artifacts, or even the culture and the periodization to which they belonged.[102]Some examples of artistic expression also appear in abstract pottery designs during theBlack and red ware culture(1450–1200 BCE) or the Painted Grey Ware culture (1200–600 BCE), with finds in a wide area, including the area of Mathura.[102]

Archaeology[edit]

Archaeological cultures identified with phases of Vedicmaterial cultureinclude theOchre Coloured Pottery culture,theGandhara grave culture,theBlack and red ware cultureand the Painted Grey Ware culture.[8]

Ochre coloured pottery culture was first found approximately between 1950 and 1951, in western Uttar Pradesh, in the Badaun and Bisjuar district.[103]It is thought that this culture was prominent during the latter half of the 2nd millennium, within the transition between the Indus Valley civilization and the end of Harrapan culture.[104]This pottery is typically created with wheel ware, and is ill-fired, to a fine to medium fabric, decorated with a red slip, and occasional black bands1. When this pottery was worked with, it often left an ochre color on the hands, most likely because of water-logging, bad firing, wind action, or a mixture of these factors.[103]This pottery was found all throughout the doab, most of it found in the Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, and Bulandshahr districts, but also existing outside these districts, extending north and south of Bahadrabad.[103]This pottery does, however, seem to exist within different time frames of popularity, ochre colored pottery seeming to occur in areas such as Rajasthan earlier than we see it in the doab, despite the doab being heavily associated with the culture.[103]

Gandhara grave culture refers to the protohistoric cemeteries found in the Gandhara region, stretching all the way from Bajuar to the Indus.[105]These cemeteries seem to follow a set grave structure and "mortuary practice", such as inflexed inhumation and cremation.[106]This culture is thought to occur in 3 stages: the lower, in which burials take place in masonry lined pits, the upper, in which urn burials and cremations are added, and the "surface" level, in which graves are covered with huge stone slabs.[106] In the lower stage, excavators found that these graves are typically 2–3 feet deep, and covered with stones on top.[105]After digging out the stones, skeletons were found facing southwest to northeast, with the head facing one direction, and the hands laying on top of one another.[105]Female skeletons were often found wearing hair pins and jewelry.[105]Pottery is greatly important to this culture, as pottery was often used as a "grave good", being buried with the bodies of the dead.[106]Buried alongside the skeletons, we typically see various pots on top of the body, averaging at about 5 or less pieces of pottery per grave.[106]Within this culture we typically see two kinds of pottery: gray ware, or red ware.[105]

Black and red ware culture was coined as a term in 1946 by Sir Mortimer Wheeler.[107]The pottery, as the name suggests, typically has a black rim/inside surface, and a red lower half on the outside of the piece.[107]Red-ware pottery tends to fall into two categories: offering stands, or cooking vessels.[105]Most of these pieces of pottery were open-mouthed bowls that were burnished, painted, or slipped on one side; however, jars, pots and dishes-on-stands have also been found in small quantities.[107] Black and red ware, and the surrounding culture, began its spread during the neolithic period and continues until the early medieval period in India, as well as being found in parts of West Asia and Egypt.[107]There are many theories about the process of its creation, the most popular being the use of an inverted firing technique, or a simultaneous oxidation and reduction firing.[107]

Painted grey ware cultureis a significant pottery style that has been linked to a group of people who settled in Sutlej, Ghagger, and the Upper Ganga/Yamuna Valleys, loosely classified with the early Aryans who migrated to India in the beginning of the Vedic period.[108]It's also thought that the groups that introduced the painted grey ware culture also brought iron technology to the Indo-gangetic plains, making this pottery a momentous mark of the Northern Indian Iron Age.[108]The style of grey-ware often includes clay wheel-thrown into a smooth texture, ash-grey in color, and often decorated with black ink, creating small circular patterns, sometimes spirals, swastikas, or sigmas.[108] Grey-ware pottery is almost exclusively drinking ware, and tends to have three different forms: narrow-waisted, tall drinking glasses, middle-sized drinking goblets, and drinking vases with outturned lips.[105]There was a distinct grey ware culture surrounding the establishment of the pottery, but while the culture is significant, grey ware has only made up 10–15% of found Vedic pottery, a majority of the pottery red ware, as grey ware pottery was seen as a "highly valued luxury".[109]

Puranic chronology of the Vedic period[edit]

ThePuranic chronology,the timeline of events in ancient Indian history and mythology as narrated in post-Vedic Hindu texts such as theMahabharata,theRamayanaand thePuranas,envisions a much older chronology for the Vedic culture.[19]In this view, the Vedas were received by theseven rishisthousands of years ago. The start of the reign ofVaivasvata Manu,theManuof the currentkalpa(aeon) and the progenitor of humanity, is dated by some as far back 7350 BCE.[110]TheKurukshetra War,the background-scene of theBhagavad Gita,which may relate historical events taking place ca. 1000 BCE at the heartland ofĀryāvarta,[45][111]is dated in this chronology atc. 3100 BCE.

See also[edit]

History of South Asia
South Asia (orthographic projection)
Outline
Palaeolithic(2,500,000–250,000 BC)
Madrasian culture
Soanian culture
Neolithic(10,800–3300 BC)
Bhirrana culture(7570–6200 BC)
Mehrgarh culture(7000–3300 BC)
Edakkal culture(5000–3000 BC)
Chalcolithic(3500–1500 BC)
Anarta tradition(c. 3950–1900 BC)
Ahar-Banas culture(3000–1500 BC)
Pandu culture(1600–1500 BC)
Malwa culture(1600–1300 BC)
Jorwe culture(1400–700 BC)
Bronze Age(3300–1300 BC)
Indus Valley Civilisation(3300–1300 BC)
–Early Harappan culture(3300–2600 BC)
–Mature Harappan culture(2600–1900 BC)
–Late Harappan culture(1900–1300 BC)
Vedic Civilisation(2000–500 BC)
–Ochre Coloured Pottery culture(2000–1600 BC)
–Swat culture(1600–500 BC)
Iron Age(1500–200 BC)
Vedic Civilisation(1500–500 BC)
–Janapadas(1500–600 BC)
–Black and Red ware culture(1300–1000 BC)
–Painted Grey Ware culture(1200–600 BC)
–Northern Black Polished Ware(700–200 BC)
Pradyota dynasty(799–684 BC)
Haryanka dynasty(684–424 BC)
Three Crowned Kingdoms(c. 600 BC– AD 1600)
Maha Janapadas(c. 600–300 BC)
Achaemenid Empire(550–330 BC)
Ror Dynasty(450 BC – AD 489)
Shaishunaga dynasty(424–345 BC)
Nanda Empire(380–321 BC)
Macedonian Empire(330–323 BC)
Maurya Empire(321–184 BC)
Seleucid India(312–303 BC)
Sangam period(c. 300 BC– c. 300 AD)
Pandya Empire(c. 300 BC– AD 1345)
Chera Kingdom(c. 300 BC– AD 1102)
Chola Empire(c. 300 BC– AD 1279)
Pallava Empire(c. 250 AD– AD 800)
Maha-Megha-Vahana Empire(c. 250 BC– c. AD 500)
Parthian Empire(247 BC – AD 224)
Middle Kingdoms(230 BC – AD 1206)
Satavahana Empire(230 BC – AD 220)
Kuninda Kingdom(200 BC – AD 300)
Mitra Dynasty(c. 150– c. 50 BC)
Shunga Empire(185–73 BC)
Indo-Greek Kingdom(180 BC – AD 10)
Kanva Empire(75–26 BC)
Indo-Scythian Kingdom(50 BC – AD 400)
Indo-Parthian Kingdom(AD 21 –c. 130)
Western Satrap Empire(AD 35–405 )
Kushan Empire(AD 60–240)
Bharshiva Dynasty(170–350)
Nagas of Padmavati(210–340)
Sasanian Empire(224–651)
Indo-Sassanid Kingdom(230–360)
Vakataka Empire(c. 250– c. 500)
Kalabhras Empire(c. 250– c. 600)
Gupta Empire(280–550)
Kadamba Empire(345–525)
Western Ganga Kingdom(350–1000)
Kamarupa Kingdom(350–1100)
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Huna Kingdom(475–576)
Rai Kingdom(489–632)
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Chalukya Empire(543–753)
Maukhari Empire(c. 550– c. 700)
Harsha Empire(606–647)
Tibetan Empire(618–841)
Eastern Chalukya Kingdom(624–1075)
Rashidun Caliphate(632–661)
Gurjara-Pratihara Empire(650–1036)
Umayyad Caliphate(661–750)
Mallabhum kingdom(694-1947)
Bhauma-Kara Kingdom(736-916)
Pala Empire(750–1174)
Rashtrakuta Empire(753–982)
Paramara Kingdom(800–1327)
Yadava Empire(850–1334)
Somavamshi Kingdom(882–1110)
Chaulukya Kingdom(942–1244)
Western Chalukya Empire(973–1189)
Lohara Kingdom(1003–1320)
Hoysala Empire(1040–1347)
Sena Empire(1070–1230)
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Zamorin Kingdom(1102–1766)
Kalachuris of Tripuri(675-1210)
Kalachuris of Kalyani(1156–1184)
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Ahom Kingdom(1228–1826)
Chitradurga Kingdom(1300–1779)
Reddy Kingdom(1325–1448)
Vijayanagara Empire(1336–1646)
Bengal Sultanate(1352–1576)
Garhwal Kingdom(1358–1803)
Mysore Kingdom(1399–1947)
Gajapati Empire(1434–1541)
Ladakh Kingdom(1470–1842)
Deccan Sultanates(1490–1596)
–Ahmadnagar Sultanate(1490–1636)
–Berar Sultanate(1490–1574)
–Bidar Sultanate(1492–1619)
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–Golkonda Sultanate(1518–1687)
Keladi Kingdom(1499–1763)
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Notes[edit]

  1. ^McClish & Olivelle 2012,p. xxiv: "Although the Vedas are essentially liturgical documents and increasingly mystical reflections on Vedic ritual, they are sufficiently rich and extensive to give us some understanding of what life was like at the time. The earliest of the Vedas, theṚgveda Saṃhitā,contains 1,028 hymns, some of which may be as old as 1500 BCE. Because the Vedic texts are the primary way in which we can understand the period between the fall of the IVC (ca 1700) and the second wave of urbanization (600 BCE), we call the intervening era of South Asian history the 'Vedic Period.' "
  2. ^"The Vedic texts were orally composed and transmitted, without the use of script, in an unbroken line of transmission from teacher to student that was formalized early on. This ensured an impeccable textual transmission superior to the classical texts of other cultures; it is, in fact, something like atape-recordingof ca. 1500–500 BCE. Not just the actual words, but even the long-lost musical (tonal) accent (as in old Greek or in Japanese) has been preserved up to the present "[3]
  3. ^See:
    • Rita Banerji (2008),Sex and Power,Penguin UK: "The Vedic patriarchal culture was defined by an extremely aggressive need to establish a social order that catered to male sexuality, both on earth and in the heavens—among humans and also among the gods."
    • Alphonso Lingis (2018),The Alphonso Lingis Reader,University of Minnesota Press: "Patriarchal culture entered Siam late, through the royal family, which, though to this day Buddhist, in the late Sukhothai period—as Angkor long before it—imported brahminical priests and, with them, Vedic patriarchal culture."
    • Chitrabhanu Sen (1978),A Dictionary of the Vedic Rituals: Based on the Śrauta and Gṛhya Sūtras,Concept Publishing Company: "But the most important transformation that occurred in the patriarchal Vedic society is the exclusion of women from the sacrifices."
  4. ^See:
    • Anthony 2007,p. 408 states that around 1800–1600 BCE, the Indo-Aryans are believed to have split off from the Iranians.
    • Anthony 2007,p. 454 states that one of these Indo-Aryan groups would found theMitannikingdom in northern Syria (c. 1500–1300 BCE).
    • Beckwith 2009,pp. 33, 35 states that they were defeated and split into two groups by the Iranians, who dominated the Central Eurasian steppe zone and "chased them to the extremities of Central Eurasia."
    • Beckwith 2009,p. 34 states that the other group were theVedic people,who were pursued by the Iranians "across Iran into India."
    For an overview of the current relevant research, see:
  5. ^abAccording toAnthony 2007,pp. 454–455, at least 383 non-Indo-European words were borrowed from this culture, including the godIndraand the ritual drinkSoma,which according to Anthony was "probably borrowed from the BMAC religion."Anthony 2007,p. 454: "Many of the qualities of Indo-Iranian god of might/victory,Verethraghna,were transferred to the adopted god Indra, who became the central deity of the developing Old Indic culture. Indra was the subject of 250 hymns, a quarter of theRigveda.He was associated more than any other deity withSoma,a stimulant drug (perhaps derived fromEphedra) probably borrowed from the BMAC religion. His rise to prominence was a peculiar trait of the Old Indic speakers. "
    Narasimhan et al. state that there was no genetic impact from Bactria-Margiana populations on the ancestry of South Asians.[9]
  6. ^See:
    • Singh 2008,p. 186: "The original homeland of the Indo-Europeans and Indo-Aryans is the subject of continuing debate among philologists, linguists, historians, archaeologists and others. The dominant view is that the Indo-Aryans came to the subcontinent as immigrants. Another view, advocated mainly by some Indian scholars, is that they were indigenous to the subcontinent."
    • As of 2006,Mallory & Adams 2006,pp. 460–461 note that two types of models "enjoy significant international currency" as to theIndo-European homeland,namely theAnatolian hypothesis,and amigration out of the Eurasian steppes.
    • Bryant 2001,p. 7: "This does not mean that the Indigenous Aryan position is historically probable. The available evidence by no means denies thenormative view—that of external Aryan origins and, if anything,favorsit. "Bryant & Patton 2005,p. 342 used the term "Indo-Aryan Controversy" for an oversight of the Indo-Aryan Migration theory, and some of its opponents.
    • Witzel 2001:"The 'revisionist project' certainly is not guided by the principles of critical theory but takes, time and again, recourse to pre-enlightenment beliefs in the authority of traditional religious texts such as the Purånas. In the end, it belongs, as has been pointed out earlier, to a different 'discourse' than that of historical and critical scholarship. In other words, it continues the writing of religious literature, under a contemporary, outwardly 'scientific' guise. Though the ones pursuing this project use dialectic methods quite effectively, they frequently also turn traditional Indian discussion methods and scholastic tricks to their advantage [...] The revisionist and autochthonous project, then, should not be regarded as scholarly in the usual post-enlightenment sense of the word, but as an apologetic, ultimately religious undertaking aiming at proving the 'truth' of traditional texts and beliefs. Worse, it is, in many cases, not even scholastic scholarship at all but a political undertaking aiming at 'rewriting' history out of national pride or for the purpose of 'nation building'."
    • In her review of Bryant's "The Indo-Aryan Controversy,"Jamison 2006comments: "...the parallels between the Intelligent Design issue and the Indo-Aryan" controversy "are distressingly close. The Indo-Aryan controversy is a manufactured one with a non-scholarly agenda, and the tactics of its manufacturers are very close to those of the ID proponents mentioned above. However unwittingly and however high their aims, the two editors have sought to put a gloss of intellectual legitimacy, with a sense that real scientific questions are being debated, on what is essentially a religion-nationalistic attack on a scholarly consensus."
  7. ^Witzel 2019,p.11:"Incidentally, the Indo-Aryan loanwords in Mitanni confirm the date of theRig Vedafor ca. 1200–1000 BCE. TheRig Vedais a late Bronze age text, thus from before 1000 BCE. However, the Mitanni words have a form of Indo-Aryan that is slightly older than that... Clearly theRig Vedacannot be older than ca. 1400, and taking into account a period needed for linguistic change, it may not be much older than ca. 1200 BCE. "
  8. ^According to Erdosy, this battle provided a prototype for the epicMahabharata,[34]Hiltebeitel calls this idea a "particularly baffling fancy."[35]
  9. ^Witzel's study is furthermore cited by:
  10. ^Panikkar 2001,pp. 350–351 remarks: "Ṛtais the ultimate foundation of everything; it is "the supreme", although this is not to be understood in a static sense. [...] It is the expression of the primordial dynamism that is inherent in everything.... "
  11. ^Jamison & Witzel 2003,p. 65: "... to call this period Vedic Hinduism is a contradiction in terms since Vedic religion is very different from what we generally call Hindu religion – at least as much as Old Hebrew religion is from mediaeval and modern Christian religion. However, Vedic religion is treatable as a predecessor of Hinduism."

References[edit]

  1. ^McClish & Olivelle 2012,p. xxiv.
  2. ^abStein 2010,p. 50.
  3. ^Witzel 2005.
  4. ^abWitzel 1995,pp. 3–5.
  5. ^abSamuel 2010,pp. 49–52.
  6. ^abFlood 1996,p. 82.
  7. ^abHiltebeitel 2002,p.[page needed].
  8. ^abcdeWitzel 1989.
  9. ^abNarasimhan et al. 2019.
  10. ^Pletcher 2010,p. 60.
  11. ^Witzel 1995,p. 3.
  12. ^Samuel 2010,p. 41.
  13. ^Flood 1996,pp. 30, 33–35.
  14. ^abAnthony 2007,pp. 410–411.
  15. ^Kuzmina 2007,p. 322.
  16. ^abcAnthony 2007,p. 454.
  17. ^Bryant 2001.
  18. ^Singh 2008,p. 186.
  19. ^abKak 2001b.
  20. ^Witzel 2001,p. 95.
  21. ^Flood 1996,p. 31.
  22. ^Flood 1996,p. 37.
  23. ^Witzel 2019,p.11.
  24. ^Flood 1996,p. 30.
  25. ^Woodard 2006,p. 242.
  26. ^Beckwith 2009,p.[page needed].
  27. ^Anthony 2007,p. 375, 408–411.
  28. ^abAnthony 2007,p. 462.
  29. ^Beckwith 2009,p. 32.
  30. ^abSingh 2008,p. 192.
  31. ^Kulke & Rothermund 1998,p. 38.
  32. ^abBronkhorst 2007.
  33. ^Samuel 2010.
  34. ^Erdosy 1995,p. 335.
  35. ^Hiltebeitel 2001,p. 2, note 12.
  36. ^Singh 2008,p. 187.
  37. ^abcBasham 2008,p. 32.
  38. ^Reddy 2011,p. 103.
  39. ^abKulke & Rothermund 1998,pp. 37–38.
  40. ^abSamuel 2010,p. 49.
  41. ^Tignor 2014.
  42. ^Kaushik 2013,p.[page needed].
  43. ^Kulke & Rothermund 1998,pp. 37–39.
  44. ^Singh 2008,p. 200.
  45. ^abcdefghiWitzel 1995.
  46. ^Samuel 2010,pp. 48–51, 61–93.
  47. ^Hiltebeitel 2007,pp. 8–10.
  48. ^Samuel 2010,pp. 49–50.
  49. ^Kulke & Rothermund 1998,pp. 39–40.
  50. ^Avari 2016,p. 89.
  51. ^Kulke & Rothermund 1998,pp. 39–41.
  52. ^Sharma 1990,p. 33.
  53. ^Kulke & Rothermund 1998,pp. 41–43.
  54. ^Witzel 1995,pp. 2–8.
  55. ^abSamuel 2010,pp. 48–56.
  56. ^abBasham 2008,p. 42.
  57. ^Raychaudhuri 1972,pp. 67–68.
  58. ^Olivelle 1998,pp. xxviii–xxix.
  59. ^Basham 2008,p. 40.
  60. ^abBasham 2008,p. 41.
  61. ^Majumdar 1998,p. 65.
  62. ^Majumdar 1998,p. 66.
  63. ^Fortson 2011,p. 208.
  64. ^Samuel 2010,pp. 48–51, ch. 3.
  65. ^Long 2013,p. chapter II.
  66. ^Sen 1999,pp. 117–120.
  67. ^Wan, Peter P.; Reins, Thomas D. (17 February 2021).Asia Past and Present: A Brief History.John Wiley & Sons.ISBN978-1-118-95520-8.
  68. ^Staal 2008,p. 54.
  69. ^abcdefgSingh 2008,p. 191.
  70. ^Witzel 1995,p. 5.
  71. ^abcBasham 2008,p. 35.
  72. ^Singh 2008,pp. 201–203.
  73. ^Singh 2008,p. 204.
  74. ^Olivelle 1998,p. xxvi.
  75. ^Singh 2008,pp. 204–206.
  76. ^Olivelle 1998,p. xxxvi.
  77. ^Majumdar 1977,p. 45.
  78. ^Basham 2008,pp. 33–34.
  79. ^abSingh 2008,pp. 200–201.
  80. ^Bellah 2011,p.491 f..
  81. ^Bellah 2011,pp. 697–698,citing Trigger (2003).
  82. ^Trigger 2003,pp.108–109.
  83. ^Bellah 2011,p.698 f..
  84. ^Bellah 2011,p. 509,citing Olivelle (1998), pp. xii–x.
  85. ^Olivelle 1998,"Notes on the translation": pp. xii–x.
  86. ^Erdosy 1995a.
  87. ^Erdosy 1995b.
  88. ^abSingh 2008,p. 190.
  89. ^Kulke & Rothermund 1998,p. 40.
  90. ^Olivelle 1998,p. xxvii.
  91. ^Singh 2008,pp. 198–199.
  92. ^Basham 2008,pp. 42–43.
  93. ^Nigal 1986,p. 81.
  94. ^Singhal & Gupta,pp. 150–151.
  95. ^Day 1982,pp. 42–45.
  96. ^Krishnananda 1994,p.11.
  97. ^Holdrege 2004,p. 215.
  98. ^Jamison & Witzel 2003,p. 65.
  99. ^Paul & Paul 1989,pp. 112–115, 125.
  100. ^Paul & Paul 1989.
  101. ^Krishan & Tadikonda 1996,pp.ix-x.
  102. ^abcShaw & Jameson 2008,p. 248.
  103. ^abcdSingh 2008,p. 218.
  104. ^Darvill 2009,"ochre‐coloured pottery".
  105. ^abcdefgDani 1966,p. 99.
  106. ^abcdZahir 2016,pp. 274–293.
  107. ^abcdeMishra 2007.
  108. ^abcHedge 2015.
  109. ^Lal 1996,pp. 412–419.
  110. ^Rocher 1986,p. 122.
  111. ^Singh 2009,p. 19.

Sources[edit]

Further reading[edit]

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