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{{Short description|1=Overview of and topical guide to ancient India}}
{{Short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
{{see also|Outline of South Asian history|History of India}}
{{see also|Outline of South Asian history|History of India}}
The following [[Outline (list)|outline]] is provided as an overview of and topical guide to ancient India:
<!--... Attention: THIS IS AN OUTLINE


'''Ancient India''' is the [[Indian subcontinent]] from prehistoric times to the start of [[Medieval India]], which is typically dated (when the term is still used) to the end of the [[Gupta Empire]].{{sfn|Stein|2010|p=38}}  Ancient India was composed of the modern-day countries of [[Afghanistan]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Bhutan]], [[Myanmar]], [[India]], [[Nepal]] and [[Pakistan]].
        part of the set of 870+ outlines listed at
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[[File:South Asia (orthographic projection) without national boundaries.svg|thumb|South Asia]]
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[[File:Indian Subcontinent (orthographic projection).svg|thumb|The Indian subcontinent]]
The following [[Outline (list)|outline]] is provided as an overview of and topical guide to ancient India:


{{TOC limit|limit=2}}
'''Ancient India''' is the [[Indian subcontinent]] from prehistoric times to the start of [[Medieval India]], which is typically dated (when the term is still used) to the end of the [[Gupta Empire]] around 500 [[Common Era|CE]].{{sfn|Stein|2010|p=38}}


== General history of ancient India ==
== General history of Ancient India ==
{{main|History of India}}
{{main|History of India}}
An elaborate periodisation may be as follows:{{sfn|Michaels|2004}}


=== Periodisation of Indian history ===
=== Pre-history (Neolithic Age) (c. 8000–3500 BCE) ===
* Indian Pre-history Age ({{Circa|10,000}}–3300 BCE)
* [[Bhirrana|Bhirrana culture]] (7570–6200 BCE)
* [[Mehrgarh]] culture ({{Circa|7000|2500 BCE}})


An elaborate periodisation may be as follows:{{sfn|Michaels|2004}}
=== Proto-history (Bronze Age) (c. 3500–1800 BCE) ===
[[File:World in 2000 BC.svg|thumb|270px|Map of the world in 2000 BCE showing the [[Indus Valley Civilisation]]]]
* [[Indus Valley Civilisation]] ({{Circa|3300|1300 BCE}}), including the "first urbanisation"
* [[Ahar–Banas culture]] ({{Circa|3000|1500 BCE}})
* [[Ochre Coloured Pottery culture]] ({{Circa|2600}}–1200 BCE)<ref>Civilsdaily, (August 15, 2017). [https://www.civilsdaily.com/pottery-evolution-and-significance/ "Case study | Pottery – Evolution and significance".]</ref>
* [[Cemetery H culture]] ({{Circa|1900}}–1300 BCE)<ref>M Rafiq Mughal Lahore Museum Bulletin, off Print, vol.III, No.2, Jul-Dec. 1990 [http://www.rafiquemughal.com/MUGHAL_1990_Decline-of-the-Indus_Lahore-Mus-Bulletin.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626135910/http://www.rafiquemughal.com/MUGHAL_1990_Decline-of-the-Indus_Lahore-Mus-Bulletin.pdf|date=26 June 2015}}</ref>


* Indian Pre-history Age (c. 10,000–3300 BCE)
=== Iron Age (c. 1800–500 BCE) ===
* Indian Civilizations on peak [[Indus Valley Civilisation]] & "First Urbanization " (c.  3300–1750 BCE);
[[File:East-Hem 1300bc.jpg|thumb|270px|The [[Indo-Aryan migrations|Indo-Aryan]] [[Vedic civilization]] and main polities in Eurasia around 1300 BCE]]
* [[Iron Age in India|Iron age]] including [[Vedic period]] (c. 1750–600 BCE);
*[[Iron Age India]] ({{Circa|1800|200 BCE}})
* "Second Urbanisation" (c. 600–200 BCE);
**[[Vedic civilization]] ({{Circa|1700|600 BCE}})
* [[Classical Period]] (c. 200 BCE–1200 CE);{{refn|group=note|Different periods are designated as "classical Hinduism":
***[[Black and red ware culture]] ({{Circa|1500}}–700 BCE) in Western [[Ganges plain]]<ref>Franklin Southworth, [https://books.google.com/books?id=hTwuFUW5aEgC ''Linguistic Archaeology of South Asia''] (Routledge, 2005), p. 177</ref>
***[[Northern Black Polished Ware]] ({{Circa|1200}}–500 BCE)<ref name="Strickland, K. M.">Strickland, K. M., R. A. E. Coningham, et al., (2016). [http://doa.gov.np/downloadfile/190_1496827491.pdf "Ancient Lumminigame: A Preliminary Report on Recent Archaeological Investigations at Lumbini's Village Mound"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123211143/http://doa.gov.np/downloadfile/190_1496827491.pdf |date=2022-01-23 }}, in Ancient Nepal, Number 190, April 2016, p. 10.</ref>
*** [[Painted Grey Ware culture]] ({{Circa|1200}} or 700–300 BCE)<ref name="cambridge.org">Neogi, Sayantani, Charles A. I. French, Julie A. Durcan, Rabindra N. Singh, and Cameron A. Petrie, (2019). [https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/7EEB4F0A6653158B1160DB9B5ED61E90/S003358941900070Xa.pdf/geoarchaeological_insights_into_the_location_of_indus_settlements_on_the_plains_of_northwest_india.pdf "Geoarchaeological insights into the location of Indus settlements on the plains of northwest India"], in Quaternary Research, Volume 94, March 2020, p. 140.</ref>
** [[Brihadratha|Brihadratha dynasty]] ({{Circa|1700|682 BCE}})
** [[Gandhāra (kingdom)|Gandhara Kingdom]] ({{Circa|1500|545 BCE}})
** [[Kuru kingdom]] ({{Circa|1200|345 BCE}})
**[[Mahajanapadas|Indian Iron Age kingdoms]] ({{Circa|600|345 BCE}})<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lal |first1=Deepak |title=The Hindu Equilibrium: India C.1500 B.C. - 2000 A.D. |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-927579-3 |page=xxxviii |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dps-A5gOmA8C&pg=PR38 |language=en}}</ref>
**[[Early Pandyan Kingdom|Pandyan Kingdom]] ({{Circa|600 BCE|650 CE}})<ref name="pandyan_capital">{{cite book|title=Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India|last=Geological Survey of India (1883)|pages=80}}</ref>


* Smart calls the period between 1000 BCE and 100 CE "pre-classical". It is the formative period for the Upanishads and Brahmanism{{refn|group=subnote|Smart distinguishes "Brahmanism" from the Vedic religion, connecting  "Brahmanism" with the Upanishads.{{sfn|Smart|2003|p=52, 83-86}}}} Jainism and Buddhism. For Smart, the "classical period" lasts from 100 to 1000 CE, and coincides with the flowering of "classical Hinduism" and the flowering and deterioration of Mahayana-buddhism in India.{{sfn|Smart|2003|p=52}}  
=== Early Historic (c. 500 BCE–300 CE) ===
[[File:East-Hem 200bc.jpg|thumb|270px|The [[Maurya Empire]] and main polities in Eurasia around 200 BCE]]
[[File:Asia 100bc.jpg|thumb|270px|Map of the world in 100 BCE showing the [[Indo-Greek Kingdom]]s]]
*[[Pradyota dynasty]] ({{Circa|546}}–408 BCE)
*[[Haryanka dynasty]] ({{Circa|544}}–413 BCE)
*[[Shaishunaga dynasty]] ({{Circa|413}}–345 BCE)
*[[Nanda Empire]] ({{Circa|345|322 BCE}})
*[[Maurya Empire]] ({{Circa|322}}–185 BCE)
*[[Sangam period]] ({{Circa|300 BCE|300 CE}})
**[[Pandya dynasty|Pandyan Kingdom]] ({{Circa|600 BCE}}–1650 CE)
**[[Chera dynasty|Chera Kingdom]] ({{Circa|300 BCE}}–1102 CE)
**[[Chola dynasty|Chola Kingdom]] ({{Circa|300 BCE}}–1279 CE)
*[[Kalinga (historical region)|Kalinga Empire]] (until 250 BCE)
*[[Mahameghavahana dynasty|Maha-Megha-Vahana Empire]] ({{Circa|2600}}–300 CE)
*[[Satavahana dynasty|Satavahana Empire]] (230 BCE–220 CE)
*[[Kuninda Kingdom]] ({{Circa|2600}}–350  CE)
*[[Shunga Empire]] ({{Circa|185}}–73 BCE)
*[[Kanva dynasty]] ({{Circa|73}}–26 BCE)
*[[Indo-Greek Kingdom]] (180 BCE–10 CE
*[[Kushan Empire]] (30–375 CE)
*[[Indo-Scythians|Indo-Scythian Kingdom]] ( {{Circa|12 BCE}}–395 CE)


=== Classical Period (c. 300–550 CE) ===
[[File:East-Hem 500ad.jpg|thumb|270px|The [[Gupta Empire]] and main polities in Eurasia around 500 CE]] 
There are varying definitions of this period.{{refn|group=note|Different periods are designated as "classical Hinduism":
* Smart calls the period between 1000 BCE and 100 CE "pre-classical". It is the formative period for the Upanishads and Brahmanism{{refn|group=subnote|Smart distinguishes "Brahmanism" from the Vedic religion, connecting  "Brahmanism" with the Upanishads.{{sfn|Smart|2003|p=52, 83-86}}}} Jainism and Buddhism. For Smart, the "classical period" lasts from 100 to 1000 CE, and coincides with the flowering of "classical Hinduism" and the flowering and deterioration of Mahayana-buddhism in India.{{sfn|Smart|2003|p=52}}
* For Michaels, the period between 500 BCE and 200 BCE is a time of "Ascetic reformism",{{sfn|Michaels|2004|p=36}} whereas the period between 200 BCE and 1100 CE is the time of "classical Hinduism", since there is "a turning point between the Vedic religion and Hindu religions".{{sfn|Michaels|2004|p=38}}
* For Michaels, the period between 500 BCE and 200 BCE is a time of "Ascetic reformism",{{sfn|Michaels|2004|p=36}} whereas the period between 200 BCE and 1100 CE is the time of "classical Hinduism", since there is "a turning point between the Vedic religion and Hindu religions".{{sfn|Michaels|2004|p=38}}
* Muesse discerns a longer period of change, namely between 800 BCE and 200 BCE, which he calls the "Classical Period". According to Muesse, some of the fundamental concepts of Hinduism, namely karma, reincarnation and "personal enlightenment and transformation", which did not exist in the Vedic religion, developed in this time.{{sfn|Muesse|2003|p=14}}}}
* Muesse discerns a longer period of change, namely between 800 BCE and 200 BCE, which he calls the "Classical Period". According to Muesse, some of the fundamental concepts of Hinduism, namely karma, reincarnation and "personal enlightenment and transformation", which did not exist in the Vedic religion, developed in this time.{{sfn|Muesse|2003|p=14}}}}
 
{{main|Middle kingdoms of India}}
:* Pre-Classical period (c. 200 BCE–320 CE);
*[[Gupta Empire]] ({{Circa|320}}–650 CE)
:* "Golden Age" ([[Gupta Empire]]) (c. 320–550 CE);
*[[Later Gupta dynasty]] ({{Circa|490–750 CE}})
:* Late-Classical period (c. 550–1200 CE);
*[[Vakataka dynasty|Vakataka Empire]] ({{Circa|250|500 CE}})
* [[Medieval Period]] (c. 1200–1500 CE);
*[[Pallava dynasty|Pallava Empire]] ({{Circa|275}}–901 CE)
* Early Modern Period (c. 1500–1850 CE);
*[[Kadamba dynasty]] ({{Circa|345}}–1347 CE)
* Modern Period ([[British Raj]] and [[Indian independence movement]]) (c. 1850–1947 CE).
*[[Western Ganga dynasty]] ({{Circa|350}}–1024 CE)
 
*[[Vishnukundina dynasty|Vishnukundina Empire]] ({{Circa|420}}–624 CE)
===Indian pre-history===
*[[Maitraka dynasty]] ({{Circa|475|776 CE}})
 
*[[Rai dynasty]] ({{Circa|489}}–632 CE)
*Neolithic Age India
 
** [[Bhirrana|Bhirrana Culture]] &nbsp; (7570 – 6200 BCE)
** [[Mehrgarh]] culture (c. 7000 – 2500 BCE)
*Bronze Age India
**[[Indus valley civilization]] (c. 3300 – 1300 BCE)
**[[Ahar-Banas culture]] (c. 3000 – 1500 BCE)
 
===Iron Age (c. 1200 – 272 BCE)===
 
*[[Iron Age India]] (c. 1200 – 272 BCE)
**[[Vedic civilization]] (c. 1500 – 500 BCE)
***[[Black and red ware culture]] (c. 1300 – 1000 BCE) (c. 1200 – 600 BCE)
***[[Northern Black Polished Ware]] (c. 700 – 200 BCE)
**[[Mahajanapadas|Indian Iron Age kingdoms]] (c. 700 – 300 BCE)
**[[Early Pandyan Kingdom|Pandyan Kingdom]] (600 BCE - 1650 CE)
 
===Second Urbanisation===
 
*[[Nanda Empire]] (425–321 BCE)
*[[Maurya Empire]] (321–184 BCE)
*[[Sangam Period]] (c. 300 BCE – 300 CE)
**[[Pandyan dynasty|Pandyan Kingdom]] (c. 600 BCE – 1650 CE)
**[[Chera dynasty|Chera Kingdom]] (c. 300 BCE – 1102 CE)
**[[Chola Kingdom]] (c. 300 BCE – 1279 CE)
*[[Pallava Kingdom]] (250 BCE – 800 CE)
*[[Maha-Meghavahana Dynasty|Maha-Megha-Vahana Empire]] (250s BCE – 5th century CE)
*[[Satavahana dynasty|Satavahana Empire]] (230 BCE – 220 CE)
*[[Indo-Scythians|Indo-Scythian Kingdom]] (200 BCE – 400 CE)
*[[Kuninda Kingdom]] (3rd century BCE – 4th century CE)
*[[Shunga Empire]] (185–73 BCE)
*[[Indo-Greek Kingdom]] (180 BCE – 10 CE)
*[[Kanva dynasty|Kanva empire]] (75–26 BCE)
*[[Kushan Empire]] (30–375 CE)
 
===Classical Age===
 
* ([[Middle kingdoms of India]])
*[[Gurjara-Pratihara|Gurjara-Pratihara Empire]]                                         
*[[Vakataka dynasty|Vakataka Empire]]
*[[Chola Empire]]
*[[Pala Empire]]
*[[Gupta Empire]] (240–590 CE)
*[[Kadamba dynasty]] (345–1000 CE)
**[[Banavasi]]
**[[Halasi]]
**[[Hangal]]
*[[Western Ganga dynasty]](350-1000 CE)
**[[Kolar]]
**[[Talakadu]]
 
===Middle Ages (c. 500 – 1500)===
 
*[[Badami Chalukyas]] (547–742)
**[[Badami Chalukya architecture]]
**[[Aihole]]
**[[Badami]]
**[[Pattadakal]]
**[[Mahakuta]]
*[[Rashtrakuta Empire]] (742–982)
**[[Ellora]]
**[[Ellora Kailasanathar Temple|Kailash Temple]]
*[[Eastern Chalukyas]]
*[[Western Chalukyas]] (983–1185)
**[[Western Chalukya architecture]]
**[[Mahadeva Temple, Itagi|Mahadeva Temple at Itagi]]
**[[Lakkundi]]
**[[Chaudayyadanapura]]
**[[Annigeri]]
*[[Chaulukya dynasty|Chaulukya]] (c. 944 - 1244)
*[[Kakatiya dynasty|Kakatiyas]]
*[[Kalachuris of Kalyani]]
*[[Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri]]
*[[Hoysala Empire]] (1114–1342)
**[[Belur, Karnataka|Belur]]
**[[Halebidu]]
**Somanathapura
*[[Vijayanagara Empire]] (1336–1565)
**[[Hampi]]


== Culture in ancient India ==
== Culture in ancient India ==
=== Art in ancient India ===
=== Art in ancient India ===
* [[Music in ancient India]]
* [[Music in ancient India]]
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** [[Hindustani classical music|Hindustani music]]
** [[Hindustani classical music|Hindustani music]]


=== Language in ancient India ===
=== Languages in ancient India ===
* [[Vedic Sanskrit]]
* [[Vedic Sanskrit]]
* [[Proto-Dravidian language|Proto-Dravidian]]  
* [[Old Tamil language|Old Tamil]]  
* (Scripts)
* [[Ancient scripts of the Indian subcontinent]]
** [[Tamil Brahmi]]
** [[Brahmi script|Brahmi]]
** [[Pallava Script]]
** [[Tamil-Brahmi]]
** [[Pallava script]]
** [[Gupta script]]
** [[Gupta script]]
** [[Kadamba script]]
** [[Kadamba script]]
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* [[History of Jainism]]
* [[History of Jainism]]
* [[History of Hinduism]]
* [[History of Hinduism]]
** [[Exotic tribes of ancient India]]
** [[Historical Vedic religion]]
** [[Historical Vedic religion]]
*** [[Vedas]]
*** [[Vedas]]
Line 148: Line 118:
**[[Indian mathematics]]
**[[Indian mathematics]]
**[[Indian astronomy]]
**[[Indian astronomy]]
**[[List of Indian inventions]]
**[[List of Indian inventions and discoveries]]
*[[Indian martial arts]]
*[[Indian martial arts]]
**[[Malla-yuddha]]
**[[Malla-yuddha]]
Line 155: Line 125:
** [[Siddha medicine]]
** [[Siddha medicine]]
** [[Ayurveda]]
** [[Ayurveda]]
*[[Sthapatya Veda|Architecture]]
*[[Vastu shastra|Architecture]]
**[[Dravidian architecture]]
**[[Dravidian architecture]]
*[[Epic India|Indian in Sanskrit epics]]
== Organizations concerned with ancient India ==


== Organisations concerned with ancient India ==
=== Museums with ancient Indian exhibits ===
=== Museums with ancient Indian exhibits ===
* India (clockwise)
* India (clockwise)
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** [[Goa State Museum]]
** [[Goa State Museum]]
** [[Kutch Museum]], [[Bhuj]], [[Gujarat]]
** [[Kutch Museum]], [[Bhuj]], [[Gujarat]]
* United Kingdom
* United Kingdom
** [[British Museum]], London
** [[British Museum]], London
== See also ==
*{{commonscatinline|Ancient India}}


==Notes==
==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note|2}}
{{reflist|group=note|2}}


''Subnotes''
;Subnotes
{{reflist|group=subnote}}
{{reflist|group=subnote}}


Line 192: Line 156:
* {{Citation | last =Michaels | first =Axel | year =2004 | title =Hinduism. Past and present | place =Princeton, New Jersey | publisher =Princeton University Press}}
* {{Citation | last =Michaels | first =Axel | year =2004 | title =Hinduism. Past and present | place =Princeton, New Jersey | publisher =Princeton University Press}}
* {{Citation | last =Misra | first =Amalendu | year =2004 | title =Identity and Religion: Foundations of Anti-Islamism in India | publisher =SAGE}}
* {{Citation | last =Misra | first =Amalendu | year =2004 | title =Identity and Religion: Foundations of Anti-Islamism in India | publisher =SAGE}}
* {{Citation | last =Muesse | first =Mark William | year =2003 | title =Great World Religions: Hinduism | url =http://www.docshut.com/rquv/lectures-on-great-world-religions-hinduism.html}}
* {{Citation | last =Muesse | first =Mark William | year =2003 | title =Great World Religions: Hinduism | url =http://www.docshut.com/rquv/lectures-on-great-world-religions-hinduism.html | access-date =2013-12-26 | archive-date =2013-12-27 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20131227040433/http://www.docshut.com/rquv/lectures-on-great-world-religions-hinduism.html | url-status =dead }}
* {{Citation | last =Muesse | first =Mark W. | year =2011 | title =The Hindu Traditions: A Concise Introduction | publisher =Fortress Press}}
* {{Citation | last =Muesse | first =Mark W. | year =2011 | title =The Hindu Traditions: A Concise Introduction | publisher =Fortress Press}}
* {{Citation | last =Smart | first =Ninian | year =2003 | title =Godsdiensten van de wereld (The World's religions) | place =Kampen | publisher =Uitgeverij Kok}}
* {{Citation | last =Smart | first =Ninian | year =2003 | title =Godsdiensten van de wereld (The World's religions) | place =Kampen | publisher =Uitgeverij Kok}}
* {{Citation | last =Stein | first =Burton | year =2010 | title =A History of India | publisher =John Wiley & Sons | isbn =9781444323511 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=QY4zdTDwMAQC&dq=history+of+india}}
* {{Citation | last =Stein | first =Burton | year =2010 | title =A History of India | publisher =John Wiley & Sons | isbn =9781444323511 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=QY4zdTDwMAQC&q=history+of+india }}
* {{Citation | last =Thapar | first =Romila | year =1978 | title =Ancient Indian Social History: Some Interpretations | publisher =Orient Blackswan | url =http://www.philoshistorydepartment.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/8/7/12870319/ancient_indian_social_history_some_interpretation_by_romila_thapar.pdf}}
* {{Citation | last =Thapar | first =Romila | year =1978 | title =Ancient Indian Social History: Some Interpretations | publisher =Orient Blackswan | url =http://www.philoshistorydepartment.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/8/7/12870319/ancient_indian_social_history_some_interpretation_by_romila_thapar.pdf }}
{{refend}}
{{refend}}


== External links ==
== External links ==
{{sisterlinks|Ancient India}}
{{commons category-inline|Ancient India}}
{{sister project links|Ancient India}}


* [http://www.ancientindia.co.uk/ Ancient India - The British Museum]
* [http://www.ancientindia.co.uk/ Ancient India - The British Museum]
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{{Outline footer}}
{{Outline footer}}
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Ancient India| ]]
[[Category:Ancient India| ]]
[[Category:Outlines of geography and places|India]]
[[Category:Outlines of geography and places|India]]
[[Category:Bharatpedia outlines|India]]

Latest revision as of 16:26, 8 March 2026


See also: Outline of South Asian history and History of India
The Indian subcontinent

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to ancient India:

Ancient India is the Indian subcontinent from prehistoric times to the start of Medieval India, which is typically dated (when the term is still used) to the end of the Gupta Empire around 500 CE.[1]

General history of Ancient India[edit | edit source]

Main article: History of India

An elaborate periodisation may be as follows:[2]

Pre-history (Neolithic Age) (c. 8000–3500 BCE)[edit | edit source]

  • Indian Pre-history Age (c. 10,000–3300 BCE)
  • Bhirrana culture (7570–6200 BCE)
  • Mehrgarh culture (c. 7000 – c. 2500 BCE)

Proto-history (Bronze Age) (c. 3500–1800 BCE)[edit | edit source]

Map of the world in 2000 BCE showing the Indus Valley Civilisation

Iron Age (c. 1800–500 BCE)[edit | edit source]

The Indo-Aryan Vedic civilization and main polities in Eurasia around 1300 BCE

Early Historic (c. 500 BCE–300 CE)[edit | edit source]

The Maurya Empire and main polities in Eurasia around 200 BCE
Map of the world in 100 BCE showing the Indo-Greek Kingdoms

Classical Period (c. 300–550 CE)[edit | edit source]

The Gupta Empire and main polities in Eurasia around 500 CE

There are varying definitions of this period.[note 1]

Main article: Middle kingdoms of India

Culture in ancient India[edit | edit source]

Art in ancient India[edit | edit source]

Languages in ancient India[edit | edit source]

Religion in ancient India[edit | edit source]

Science and technology in ancient India[edit | edit source]

Organisations concerned with ancient India[edit | edit source]

Museums with ancient Indian exhibits[edit | edit source]

Notes[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Different periods are designated as "classical Hinduism":
    • Smart calls the period between 1000 BCE and 100 CE "pre-classical". It is the formative period for the Upanishads and Brahmanism[subnote 1] Jainism and Buddhism. For Smart, the "classical period" lasts from 100 to 1000 CE, and coincides with the flowering of "classical Hinduism" and the flowering and deterioration of Mahayana-buddhism in India.[11]
    • For Michaels, the period between 500 BCE and 200 BCE is a time of "Ascetic reformism",[12] whereas the period between 200 BCE and 1100 CE is the time of "classical Hinduism", since there is "a turning point between the Vedic religion and Hindu religions".[13]
    • Muesse discerns a longer period of change, namely between 800 BCE and 200 BCE, which he calls the "Classical Period". According to Muesse, some of the fundamental concepts of Hinduism, namely karma, reincarnation and "personal enlightenment and transformation", which did not exist in the Vedic religion, developed in this time.[14]
Subnotes
  1. ↑ Smart distinguishes "Brahmanism" from the Vedic religion, connecting "Brahmanism" with the Upanishads.[10]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Stein 2010, p. 38.
  2. ↑ Michaels 2004.
  3. ↑ Civilsdaily, (August 15, 2017). "Case study | Pottery – Evolution and significance".
  4. ↑ M Rafiq Mughal Lahore Museum Bulletin, off Print, vol.III, No.2, Jul-Dec. 1990 [1] Archived 26 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ Franklin Southworth, Linguistic Archaeology of South Asia (Routledge, 2005), p. 177
  6. ↑ Strickland, K. M., R. A. E. Coningham, et al., (2016). "Ancient Lumminigame: A Preliminary Report on Recent Archaeological Investigations at Lumbini's Village Mound" Archived 2022-01-23 at the Wayback Machine, in Ancient Nepal, Number 190, April 2016, p. 10.
  7. ↑ Neogi, Sayantani, Charles A. I. French, Julie A. Durcan, Rabindra N. Singh, and Cameron A. Petrie, (2019). "Geoarchaeological insights into the location of Indus settlements on the plains of northwest India", in Quaternary Research, Volume 94, March 2020, p. 140.
  8. ↑ Lal, Deepak (2005). The Hindu Equilibrium: India C.1500 B.C. - 2000 A.D. Oxford University Press. p. xxxviii. ISBN 978-0-19-927579-3.
  9. ↑ Geological Survey of India (1883). Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India. p. 80.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ↑ Smart 2003, p. 52, 83-86.
  11. ↑ Smart 2003, p. 52.
  12. ↑ Michaels 2004, p. 36.
  13. ↑ Michaels 2004, p. 38.
  14. ↑ Muesse 2003, p. 14.

Sources[edit | edit source]

  • Flood, Gavin D. (1996), An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge University Press
  • Khanna, Meenakshi (2007), Cultural History Of Medieval India, Berghahn Books
  • Kulke, Hermann; Rothermund, Dietmar (2004), A History of India, Routledge
  • Michaels, Axel (2004), Hinduism. Past and present, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press
  • Misra, Amalendu (2004), Identity and Religion: Foundations of Anti-Islamism in India, SAGE
  • Muesse, Mark William (2003), Great World Religions: Hinduism, archived from the original on 2013-12-27, retrieved 2013-12-26
  • Muesse, Mark W. (2011), The Hindu Traditions: A Concise Introduction, Fortress Press
  • Smart, Ninian (2003), Godsdiensten van de wereld (The World's religions), Kampen: Uitgeverij Kok
  • Stein, Burton (2010), A History of India, John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 9781444323511
  • Thapar, Romila (1978), Ancient Indian Social History: Some Interpretations (PDF), Orient Blackswan

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