The Vedic period 1500 - 500 BC

Around 2000 BC a nomadic, Indo-European people who began to disperse from their Capsian and Black Sea homelands in what is now southern Russia. Their reasons for doing so are lost in the mist of time.The Hittites were the first to settle a an new homeland in what is now Turkey. Some tribes pushed east, across what is now Iran, later on, around 1500 BC, these tribes advanced across the Hindu Kush into India.

The Vedic period (or Vedic Age) is the period in the history of India when the sacred Hindu texts such as the four Vedas, Brahmans, Aranyakas and Upanishads were composed in Vedic Sanskrit language. The rig Veda was not written down till 600 BC.The origin of the Vedic civilization and its relation to the Indus Valley civilization, Indo-Aryan migration and Gandhara Grave culture related cultures remains controversial and politically charged in Indian society, often leading to disputes on the history of Vedic culture. The Rigveda is primarily a collection of religious hymns, and allusions to, but not explanation of, various myths and stories. These 'Books of Knowledge' consist of 1017 Sanskrit poems, most of which are addressed to the various Aryan gods.. Unlike the people of the Indus Valley civilization, they lived in tribal villages with their migrant herds and built no elaborate cities of brick.They had bronze axes,chariots and bows and arrows.The Rig Veda mentions victories against fortified cities of the 'dark-skinned people. The Aryans brought a new language, Sanskrit and their pantheon of Gods, the most important of which were Indra ( the war god , assisted by a storm god,later known as Shiva) ,Varuna (king of universal order )the lord of divine justice ),Mitra and Naksatrars. Indra was responsible for releasing the dawn, which is why Hindu prayers are chanted in the premorning hours, to help Indra defeat the night, represented by the demon Vritra.

The area inhabited by the Aryans during the period in which the Rig Veda was composed was known as the "Land of the Seven Rivers'(The primary one being the Punjab).Based on the Rig Veda, it took about 500 years for the Aryans to expand from the Khyber to the Delhi area. The four great classes emerged from the original cosmic man's body according to the Rig Veda. The Brahmans or priestly class from the mouth, the kshatriyas or warrior class from the arms, the vaishays from the thighs and the shudras or common people from the feet. The Aryans gradually made a transition from a pastoral nomadic economy to a mixed agricultural one and had a variety of grain, probably barley or wheat.Rice does not seem to appear until later. Knowledge of iron came to India via Iran from where it had been discovered by the Hittites. According to the Rig Veda, the Aryans were fond of wine,music,gambling and chariot racing. A possible narcotic drink, soma, may have been made from hashish or peyote.

The original Aryan nature worshipping religion grew more complex as delved into understanding of cosmic forces .

The Aryan invasion or migration

Many scholars today postulate an Indo-Aryan migration into India, proposing that early Indo-Aryan speaking tribes migrated into the north-west regions of the Indian subcontinent in the early 2nd millennium BC. Many scholars postulate these Indo-Aryan tribes as originating in Iran, Kurdistan or Anatolia from where they migrated east into India .

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