Chronology of Indus Valley Civilization

Chronology of Indus Valley Civilization
The chronology y of the rips e and fall of the Harappa civilization has been
an is s use of debate
And controversy y. Substantive work was done by Marshall who dated this
civilization between

The 325 0-2700 BC. The modern res each bas end upon the C!" dating or
radiocarbon dating has placed it between the #$%% &C to #%%% &C.
However' recent e(cavations by the Harappa Archaeological )es each *ro+ect
have beenable to build on these earlier s studies to define at least t five
ma+or periods of development.This latest t pro+ect was s started by the
,niversity of California and it was named ,niversity of California&erkeley
*ro+ect which s started in !$-. under the leadership/f 0r. 1eorg e 2. 0ales
at Harappa in *akis tan. 0r. 0ales died in !$$# and the1overnment of *akis
tan named it as Harappa Archaeological )es each *ro+ect.

These five periods represent a continuous process s of cultural development
where new aspects of culture are balanced with long term continuities and
linkages in many crafts and

Artifact styles.
*eriod !3 *reHarappa or )avi aspect3 44%% &C c. #-%% &C
*eriod #3 5it0i+i or 6arly Harappa3 c. #-%% &C c. #.%% &C
*eriod 4A3 Harappa *hase a c. #.%% &C c. #"7% &C
*eriod 4&3 Harappa *hase & c. #"7% &C c. ##%% &C
*eriod 4C3 Harappa *hase C ##%% &C c. !$%% &C
*eriod "3 Harappa89ate Harappa Transitional c. !$%% &C c. !-%% &C :;<
*eriod 73 9ate Harappa *hase c. !-%% &C :;< = !4%% &C

*lease don>t cram thesee dates. The only thing s should be kept in mind is
that the civilizationdates back to around 44%% &C to !4%% &C.The researches
have made it clear that the Harappa Civilization was definitely in Contact
with the Mesopotamian civilization in #.%% &C.The most accepted timeline
for development from the ?eolithic period to early historic*eriod through
Harappa Civilization is as follows3 :all dates are appro(imates<

6arly 2ood *roducing 6ra3 .7%% 7%%% &.C.
)egionalization 6ra3 7%%% #.%% &.C.
@ndus Civilization Harappa Culture @ntegration 6ra3 #.%% !$%% &.C.
9ate Harappa *eriod3 !$%% !4%% or !%%% &.C.
*os t@ndus Tradition' *ainted 1rey Aare B!#%% -%% &.C.
?orthern &lack *olished Aare3 B C%% 4%% &.C.6arly Historic *eriod .%%
&.C.

Origin & alient !eatures of Indus Valley Civilization
T he Duest ion about t he origin of t he @ndus valley civilization is largely
,nanswered. Earious researches have linked significantly t he origin of @ndus
Ealley civilization to the ?eolithic site of Merger. Mehrgarh which lies on
theF5anchi *lainF of &aluchistan in *akistan is a ?eolithic site.

Merger was a Centre of t transformation from t he hunter go thirer to
farming :wheat and &arley are found< and herding :cattle' sheep and goat s
were reared<.Apart from t his' a ?eolithic set element has been f found in
South h @ndia which is Cont temporary wit h t he 6arly @ndus valley
Civilization ion. T these sites wereCharacterized as ?eolith hic sites by &ruce
2oot at sin 5arnataka such as *iccalilli' Tuner' 2ugal' 5odiak' palaver. Ash
mounds have been found and They have given t he evidence t hat cat t le
were herded t here.

This along with Eiews of some to her scholars indicate that this was
aF0ravidian Civilization ionF.However' Merger dates back t o C%%% &C and as
early as 7%%% &C' trade9inks with Arabian Sea coast and wit h central Asia
has been abolished. So@n the light of t these evidences it has been made
clear t hat 2ound at ion of @ndus Ealley civilization ion was laid in t he
?eolithic period.

&efore we move t o t he each sit e and set t element s of t he civilization ion
letGs have a look at some basic common f eat uses of t he urban centers of
the Civilization. These eat uses vary little room place t o place.
The first common feature is @ndus script on seals. This script has not
&een deciphered yet' so not much informant ion is available about the
Social life customs etc.

The second most import ant feature is own planning. The main features
/f own planning were use of baked as well as sundried bricks' well
*lanned at right roads and a system of drainage.A fortified citadel at most of
the cities. The number of the citadels Earies.Houses with kitchens and wells'
or water reservoirs.,se of standard weight s and measurement throughout t
he civilizationion.*resence of wheel made pottery.
The *ractice of burying the dead.

alient !eatures of "ara##a and $ohen%o-&aro
Harappa and Mohen+o0aro are 7%% kames apart from each other. These'
alongwith 0holavira' are called the nucleus cities of the civilization. Harappa'
the 2irst discovered sit e of t his civilization ion was on&ank of river )avi'
while Mohen+o0aro was on&anks of @ndus )iver. 6ach of them has two
*rominent mounds where e(cavations took *lace. ?otable findings at
Harappa are rows of 1ranaries' Citadels' 2urnaces and a crucible to Melt the
bronze. ?otable findings at Moreno0aro are the magnum opus 'reat Bath'
uniform &uildings and weights' hidden drains and other Hallmarks of the
civilization. This is the site where most ,nicorn seals have been found.
Mohen+o 0aro is also sometimes known as largest urban Centre of the
civilization.

'reat Bath
The most famous building found at Mohen+o 0aro is a great bath. @t is a
.(!# meter Specimen of beautiful brick work. The water for the bath was
provided from a well in an ad+acent room. The floor was made up of bricks.
2loor and outer walls were bituminized So that there is no leakage of water.
There are open porches on four sides of the bath.

There is use of &urnt bricks' Mortar and 1ypsum in the 1reat bath but (O
use of stoneis there.The largest building found at Mohen+o 0aro is a
granary. Then' there was also a pillared hall for social gatherings. The other
notable findings at Mohen+o 0aro are instruments of Cotton weaving'
&ronze figurine of dancing girl' evidence of violence and killing' seal of the
mother goddess' the figurine of beard man' the seal of *roto Shiva' a seal in
which a man is sacrificing a woman with his knife.

O)servations a)out other sites
third important centre of the civilization is 0holavira in the )ann of
5utch area. The sit e is relatively newly discovered and here the Historians
found at analyzing signboard with @ndus script.0holavira is different from
Harappa and Mohen+o0aro on the account that its drainage system is much
more6laborated then these two cities.

Ahile the two cities had two mounds each' leading to conclusion that there
were two citadels' 0holavira had three citadels. 6ach of these three citadels
of 0holavira was improved than Harappa and Mohen+o0aro and had an
inner enclosure as well.The 0holavira is the largest @ndus Ealley Site in
@ndependent @ndia. The second largest is )akhigarhi near Hisser in Haryana.
?ear Hussar' there is no site called &anawali where &arley was a common
crop in @ndus valley Times.The westernmost site Suktagendor is located near
present borders of @ran and it was an import ant coast al 8 port t own.
Another important port town was 9othal. /ne more coastal city was &amako'
which is located near 5arachi in *akistan. The presence of horse has been
doubtful in @ndus Ealley Civilization.The site where t he historians were able
to collect some bones of Horse is ur*otada in &hu+ area of 1u+arat .

The 5alibangan site in the Hanumangarh district of )a+asthan has given
evidence of both *re harappan and harappan civilization. Here the
historians have
found a #loughed field and )ones of +a,el. The peculiar type of +ir+ular
and -e+t angular graves are another feature of 5alibangan. @n terms of
town planning'5alibangan was not as develo#ed as "ara##a. $ohen%o-
&aro and &holavira &ecause here we neither find use of )a*ed )ri+*s
nor a drainage syste,.A different kind of town planning we found at
9ethalH this city was divided into . Sections and each section had a wide
platform of earthen bricks. 9ethal and )angpur are two sites where
historians found rice husk. The magnum opus of 9othal is an artificial dock.
9othal>s dockIthe world>s earliest known' connected the city to an ancient
course of the Sabarmati river on the trade route between Harappan cities
in Sindh and the peninsula of Saurashtra when the surrounding 5utch desert
of today was a part of the Arabian Sea.

@t was a vital and thriving trade centre in ancient times' with its trade of
beads' gems and valuable ornaments reaching the far corners of Aest Asia
and Africa.A bead making factory has also been found in 9othal. A seal from
@ran has been found which indicates its link with overseas countries.Then'
9othal is different from other sites of @ndus Ealley Civiliz ation in terms of
townplanning that it has entry to the houses on the main street while in
other sites have shown lateral entry.The only city in the @ndus Ealley
civilization which does not have a citadel was Chin+u 0are' located some !4%
kilometers south of Mohen+o 0aro.Alamagirpur was the eastern boundary of
the Indus Valley Civilization. The evidences say that this site developed in
mature Harappan phase. 5ot0i+i and Amri were pre harappan sites.

The above information has been summarized below3
0holavira 3 Signboard' 4 citadels with improved inner enclosure
Suit agenda' 9othal and &alakot 3 Coastal Cities and *ort Towns
Surkotda 3 Horse &ones
5alimantan3 *loughed 2ield' &ones of Camel' Circular and )ectangular
1raves' ?eit her &aked &ricks nor a 0rainage syst em.
9ot hal3 . sect ions in cit y' Art if icial dockyard' 6nt ry f rom t he main st
reetinst ead of lat eral ent ry t hat was common' The vase depicting a thirsty
crow as been f ound at 9ot hal.
9ot hal and )angpur3 )ice Husk

o+ial /ife at Indus Valley Civilization
/anguage
)egarding t he language of t he @ndus Ealley Civilizat ion' we don>t have a
great deal of knowledge because t he Harappa script has not been
deciphered. T he script was writ t en f rom right t o lef t :< and t his is
somet hing on which almost all scholars agree. Here are some more guess
works done3 The language might be prot oSanskrit or prot o0ravidian'
nobody knows.
T he harappan inscript ions are on Seals' copper t ablet s' bone' ivory but
(O0 on Bri+*s.

-eligion
Most prominent religious f igures of t he @ndus Ealley Civilizat ion are
,nicorn'*ashupat inat h' Seven mot hers :sapta matrika< and compound
creat ures. The later three are now inculcated in Hindu religion. The mother
goddess was dominant shows that t he so+iety 1as #redo,inantly
,atriar+hal. There was a division of labour and society was diversified and
stratified. The people were scholars' artisans' traders' warriors and
businessmen.2rotoshiva or 2ashu#ati The *ashupat i is t he only possibly
male deity of @ndus Ealley Civilization' as depicted on various seals. This
deity is surrounded by " wild animals and this gives an indication that it is
*ashupat inathoraproto type of 9ord Shiva. The deity is surrounded by "
animals viz. an elephant ' a tiger' a buffalo and a rhinoceros. Apart from this
there # deer>s beneath t he seat of t he deit y. The headdress of
the deity has two horns. @t wears as number of bangles and has a pect oral
round t he neck' and an inscript ion of seven let t ers appears at t he t op.
This represent at ion has at least t hree concept which are usually associated
with Shiva viz.' that is Trimukha :t hreef aced< *ashupat i :9ord of animals<
Jogisvara or Mahayogi.The f irst t wo aspect s are apparent f rom t he seal it
self . The deity is sitting crosslegged in a *admasana posture with eyes
turned towards the tip of those which evidence t he Jogisvara aspect of t he
deity. The deity is always nude save for a cincture round the waist .

/inga 3orshi#
St one symbols of bot h male and f emale se( organs f ound at @ndus Ealley
Civilizat ion gives in indicat ion t hat *hallus or 9inga worship was in
practice.

0ree 3orshi# and other rituals
T he peepal t ree has been depicted on many seals which gives a sense that
it might be a sacred tree. Humped bull was a venerat ed animal and there
are eviden+es of sna*e 1orshi# and sna*e +har,ers. No temples, No
special places of worship, no castes. T he people had a sense of art s and
crafts and it is proved by t he t oys' f igurines' bangles' st one st at ues'
metal statues' et c.The people were e(pert in making seals.

0 alis,an /n a seal is depict ed a si(rayed mot if which may signif y t he
sun. Swastiks and cross signs were harbingers of good luck. A shell inlay'
shaped like a heart 'was probably used as a T alisman in t he @ndus Ealley.

!ood4
T he evidences of bot h veg and nonveg lif e have been f ound at @ndus
Ealley Civilization. There are evidences of cultivation of Aheat ' &arley' )ice'
0ate'melon' lemon et c. people were cat t le herders and used milk and milk
product s.There are evidences t hat people made sweet s. Half burnt bones
give evidence of nonveg life.

&ress4
A figure of a bearded man has been f ound in Mohen+o0aro which indicated
that t hey used sewn clot hing>s. T he clot h used t o cover t he t orso in t he
upper part of t he body in such as way that it kept right hand 2ree. There
areevidences that t hey people took interest in cosmetics and had greatest
hetic sense. Men kept long hair and kept bread or also shaven beard. The
people of @ndus valley civilization were aware of &ronze mirrors' @vory
Combs'ant imony rods but (O0 hair dyes.

#orts and 5ntertain,ents4
T he large number of t erracot t a f igurines and t oys such as cart ' bull'
elephant 'monkeys' chario sH whistles etc. indicate that the children
entertained themselves. There are no clear evidences of Music in t he
civilizationH however'the finding of a dance girl bronze f igurine gives some
insight about t he social entertainment .

0ools. ar,s and 1ea#ons4
They are made up of Copper and &ronze. They were unaware of the use of
@ron.

+ien+e & 0 e+hnology
T he Harappan civilizat ion was t he womb of mat hemat ics f rom where
both the concept of numbers and the numerical system originated. T he
numerical system developed by the Harappan included symbols f or most
numbers and several innovations f or mat hemat ical manipulat ions such as
addition and multiplication. T he Harappan numerical syst em is decimal and
addit ive mult iplicat ive in usage. T here are symbols f or numerical f or " t
o !%%' !%%% and t heir derivat ives. T he numerical syst em which was f irst
used by t he Harappan lat er f ound it s way int o ot her ancient civilizat ion.
T hese people are known t o have const ruct ed t he world>s f irst t idal port
at 9ot hal at t he head of t he gulf company. T hey possessed a high degree
of *no1ledge relating to the e)) and f lo1 of tides and carried on brisk
overseas t rade wit h ot her civilizat ions.T hey were also conversant wit h t
he medical sciences and used various herbs
and drugs t o t reat diseases. T he people of @ndus valley Civilizat ion
practiced 0 re#hination which is kind of medical int ervent ion making a
burr hole in t he skull t o t reat migraines and ment al disorders. T he
evidences of T rephinat ion have been f ound at 9ot hal' 5alibangan and
&urzahom but not at Harappa or most ot her sit es.

Burial 2ra+ti+e
Surkot da and 0holavira are t wo sit es of @ndus Ealley Civilizat ion where t
he burial pract ice resembled t he megalit hic burial pract ice. &urzhahom is
?eolit hic sit e and here pract ice of burying dogs wit h t he mast ers was
common.

3hy Indus Valley Civilization is *no1n as 60 erra+otta Civilization78
&ecause most of t he it ems f ound t here are of t erra cot t a such as ut
ensils't oys et c. @ndus Ealley Civilizat ion is also known as T erracot t a
civilizat ion.T hese people are known t o have used t he ornament al terracot
t a ut ensils'decorat ed wit h human f igures' birds and animals and geomet
rical pat t ern.Some ut ensils have been decorat ed wit h lines' angles' and
circlesH some have been decorat ed wit h birds' animals' leaves and f lowers.
T hese t erra cot t aut ensils are smoot h and shining and it has amazed
what kind of base or varnish was used by t hose art ist s t hat even af t er t
housands of years t he shine is st ill t here. T he base is generally red wit h
decorat ive lines in black.

9d,inistration & 5+ono,y of Indus Valley Civilization
9d,inistration in Indus Valley Civilization
Cit ies are t he symbols of t he @ndus Ealley civilizat ion charact erized by t
he densit y of populat ion' close int egrat ion bet ween economic and
social processes' t echeconomic development s' caref ul planning f or
e(pansion and promot ion of t rade and commerce' providing opport unit
ies and scope of work t o art isans and craf t smen et c. T his was a sort of
urban revolut ion' which could not have been possible wit hout t he st
rong cent ral aut horit y' specialized economic organizat ion and sociocult
ural unit y. T he size and archit ect ural comple(it y of all large
Harappancit ies mean somet hing in t erms of a sociocult ural
development . T he layout of t he st reet s' t he presence of a
largescaledrainage syst em wit h it s reDuirement f or const ant t ending' t
hemonument al cit adels' all can be t aken as an indication of tendencies
toward a strong central government.Anot her f eat ure of Harappan
urbanizat ion was t he elaborat e craf t specializat ion and t he cont act s
wit h ot her reasonably dist ant part s of asia.&ut t he great est challenge
t o t he archaeologist s is t heir f ailure t o get any idea of t he Harappan
urban inst it ut ions. 2or e(ample' we almost know not hing about t he f
orm of t he st at e and t he economic inst it ut ions. Marit ime commerce
wit h Mesopot amia was a part t o t heir lif e' but t he knowledge of inner
working of t hese comple( Harappan urban economic inst it ut ions
complet ely eludes us.
5+ono,y in Indus Valley Civilization T he economy of @ndus Ealley
Civilizat ion was based upon agricult ure as well as t rade. Commerce was
import ant and t here were links f rom overseas places.
9gri+ulture in Indus Valley Civilization T he agricult ure was in f
lourishing condit ion which was due t o t imely and good rains. T hey
sowed many crops including t he rice' wheat ' cot t on' barley et c./t her
crops were dat es' melon' pea et c. 2redo,inantly -ainf ed Cro#s as
@rrigat ion was based upon t he rainwat er but also t he sources of irrigat
ions were available. Wheat and barley were the most important Harappan
Crops. @n Harappa' 4 principle variet ies of Aheat were sownH t hree variet
ies of barleys were also sown. T he cult ivat ion of lent ils' must ard'
linseed' Sesamum has been f ound. T he 2inger millet ' )agi' &a+ra' Kawar
were cult ivat ed and it seems t hat t hey dif f used f rom Af rica.
9ni,al "us)andry in Indus Valley Civilization
T he humped bull was domest icat ed animal' ot her were buf f alo'
pigs'elephant s' donkeys' goat s and sheep>s. /nly Surkot ada has given
an evidence of domest icat ion of Horse. 1enerally Horse is absent in t he
civilizat ion.T he goat s' cows and Sheep were commonly domest icat ed
in t he mat ureharappan phase but t he evidences of &uf f alo have not
been f ound in t hatmuch Duant it y.
0 rans#ortation in Indus Valley CivilizationT he cart s and chariot s
were means of t ransport . 2or sea t rade big boat swere t here t o serve t
he purpose.
!oreign 9f f airs in Indus Valley Civilization@t has been est ablished t
hat t his civilizat ion had relat ionships wit hMesopot amia civilizat ion. @n
various cit ies of Mesopot amia' t he harappan seals have been f ound
which prove t hese relat ionships. T he descript ion of
Meluha in t he Mesopot amian lit erat ure ref ers t o India. T he
esopotamian records mention the word eluha for Indus region. T he
ancient name of t he river @ndus was Meluha. Sindhu is Sanskrit name'
given by Hindus :Aryans<' who invaded @ndia.
Consu,er 9f f airs in Indus Valley Civilization
T he weight s and measurement s were calibrat ed t o a considerable
e(tent .T he measures were st andardized and perhaps t here is binary
syst em in use.A scale made up of 6lephant t usk has been f ound at
Mohen+o0aro and 9ot hal.
!inan+e. Business and Industry in Indus Valley Civilization
T here was use of many kinds of met als including 1old' Silver' Copper'
9apis 9azuli ' T urDuoise' Amet hyst ' Alabast er' +ade et c. @t has been
guessed t hat among t he precious st ones in t he Harappan civilizat ionH
Kade came f rom Cent ral Asia' T urDuoise came f rom @ran ' Amet hyst
came f rom Maharasht ra and 9apis lazuli came f rom Af ghanist an.A
Kewellery hoard has been f ound at Allahdino' an @ndus valley Sit e near
congregat ion of @ndus river and Arabian sea. @t has a necklace of 4.
carnelian beads' &ronze spacer beads and a coper bead covered wit h
1old f oil and #% 1old lumps.T he t rade was mult if acet ed. @t was operat
ed on int raregional as well as int erregional basis and had a guild syst em
coupled wit h nomadic t rade. T here are no evidences of monet ary
e(change.Aell developed st oneware indust ry. T he manuf act uring of t
he st one bangles was most prevalent in Harappa and Mohen+o0aro.
Harappan civilizat ion had an 6conomic Lone. T his economic zone was
along t he bank of t he Sirhind river.
$etallurgy in Indus Valley Civilization
T hese people were aware of 1old' Silver' Copper' &rass' &ronze and T in
but did not know much about @ron.Copper was t he most widely used
metal.1aneshwar in Sikar 0ist rict of )a+ast han is supposed t o be t he
supplier of Copper t o t he cit ies of @ndus EalleyH however' t he largest
hoard of Copper came f rom 1ungeria.
2ottery A large variet y of pot t ery' bot h plain and decorat ed' has been
f ound.Harappanwares were shaped on a pot t er>s wheel. T he pot t ers
wheels' being made of wood' have not survived.The kilns in which the pot
were baked have been uneart hed. T he heat ing was skilf ully cont rolled
as most of the pottery was carefully fired. /nce the vessel was shaped on
the wheels' the ochre was painted over it Then the designs were paint ed
on t his red surf ace wit h a brush in black.T he black colour was derived f
rom magnif erous haemat it e.T he designs include a series of int ersect
ing circles :a pat t ern e(clusively found in @ndus cult ure<' t ree placed in
met opes' mot if resembling a large comb' chessboard pat t ern' t
riangles' solar device' et c. f igures of animals'birds' snake or f ish occur
rarely. Animals are shown wit h grass and birds on trees. ?o human figure
is depict ed on t he pot t ery f rom Mohen+odaro but a f ew pot t ery
pieces discovered f rom Harappa port ray a man and a child.At lot hal a
vase a paint ing probably depict ing t he f olk t ale t he t hirst y crow and
on anot her +ar f rom t he same sit e he has ident if ied t he depict ion of
the olk tale t he cunning f o(.
eals in Indus Valley Civilization T he seals were used t hroughout t
he lengt h and breadt h of t his civilizat ion.Made of st eat it e' t hese
seals range in size f rom !cm t o 7cm. t wo main t ypes are seen 2irst '
sDuare wit h a carved animal and inscript ion Second' rect angular wit h
an inscript ion only.T he sDuare seals have a small perf orat ed boss at t
he back while t he rect angular ones have a hole on t he back of t he seal
it self .T he seals were very popularH more t han !#%% seals have been f
ound at Mohen+odaro alone. T he most remarkable one is t he *ashupat i
seal depict ing shiva seat ed on a st ool f lanked by an elephant ' t iger'
)hinoceros and buf f alo.&elow t he st ool are t wo ant elopes or goat s./n
one seal a goddess st ands nude bet ween t he branches of a pipal t
ree'bef ore which kneels a worshipper. &ehind t he worshipper st ands a
human faced goat and below are seven devot ees engaged in a dance.A
scene very of t en repeated on seals shows a man holding back t wo
roaring t igers wit h his out st ret ched arms. T his is similar t o t he
Sumerian 1ilgamesh and his lions. T he animal most f reDuent ly encount
ered on @ndus seals is a humpless bull' shown in prof ile wit h it s horns
superimposed on each ot her and point ing forward. 2or t his f eat ure it
has generally been called a unicorn.
&e+line of Indus Valley Civilization There are various theories of collaps
e of the Harappan civiliz ation. The main theories are3
6nvironmental Chang es 3@t declined becaus e of the chang e in the cours e
of the rivers and becaus e the rivers dried up.The decline theory of
environment deg radation was g iven by K ohn Mars hall. The dog ma s ays
that cutting of fores ts for ag ricultural and timber for fuel may have res
ulted in the barren land and s ilting of rivers . Another vers ion of the s ame
s tory s ays that it declined and decayed becaus e of the 2 loods in the
rivers . @t has been pos tulated that in Saras wati reg ion'the civiliz ation
declined mainly becaus e of the s hifting of the river channels . However'
the decline was not s udden and took s everal hundred years .
Aryan @nvas ion4 There is a theory that is bas ed upon a Shloka in )ig Eeda
:E@.#C.7<. This Shloka s ays 3@n aid of Abhyavartin Cayamana' @ndra des
troyed the s eed of Earas ikha.At "ariyu#iyah he s mote the vang uard of
the Vr+ivans . and the rear fled freig hted.This s loka mentions Hariyupiah
which has been linked to Harappa. 2 urther it has been arg ued by the s
cholars that s ettlements in &aluchis tan reg ion were put under fire by the
barbaric Aryans and invaders . There are found around . g roups of human
s keletons in Mohen+o0aro which g ives an indication that the civiliz ation
was s ub+ect to the foreig n invas ions . However' Aheeler s ays 3 @t is not s
us ceptible to proof and no s erious value.The harappan civiliz ation g ot dis
appeared in !4%% &C and the vacuum created was filled by numerous civiliz
ations .
Co,#arison of the "ara##a and Vedi+ CivilizationsT he sources of inf
ormat ion of t he Harappan civilizat ion are mainly archaeological' while t
he Eedic cult ure is most ly known f rom t he lit erary sources.Harappans
are said t o have been t he original inhabit ant s of @ndia while t he Aryans
are believed t o have come t o @ndia f rom cent ral Asia.T he Harappan
civilizat ion was urban in nat ure' Eedic cult ure was ruraland past oral. At
best t he )ig Eedic Aryans lived in f ort if ied placesprot ect ed by mud
wallsH and t hese cannot be regarded as t owns in t he Harappan sense.@n t
he @ndus civilizat ion t rade' int ernal and e(t ernal' craf t s as well as
indust ries were t he main sources of economy' Eedic 6conomy wasinit ially
post oral and lat er became based upon agricult ure and cat t le rearing.
T he agricult ural operat ions' including t he ploughing of f ields' were bet t
erknown t o t he lat erEedic people.@ndus people did not know t he use of
iron. @t was purely a copperbronze cult ure' while t he Eedic cult ure in it s
lat er phase is replet e wit h ref erences t o iron.T he horse' which played a
decisive role in t he Aryan syst em of warf are'was not known t o t he @ndus
people. A f ew bones of horse and t erracot t a f igure of a horselike
animal have been uneart hed f rom surkot ada.@ndus people were basically
peace loving. T heir arms :swords' daggers' arrowheads' spears< were
primit ive in nat ure. Aryans were warlike people and were conversant wit h
all kinds of t radit ional arms and armour and had devised a f ullf ledged
science of war.Aryans worshiped Earuna' @ndra' adit i and a large number
of ot her deit ies which st ood f or t he principal phenomena of nat ure. T
hey perf ormed sacrif ices and of f ered milk' ghee' et c. t o t heir gods.
The Harappans worshipped *ashupat i' mot her goddess' animals ' snake
and nat ure. T he f irealt ars were discovered f rom only one Harappan sit
e at 5alibangan.T he Harappans pract iced eart h burials whereas t he
Aryans pract iced cremat ion.
Harappan pot t ery called black or red pot t ery was wheel made and
verydist inct ive in nat ure. T he dist inct ive Aryan pot t ery is known as
*1A:paint ed grey ware<.T he Harappans were short st at ured' black in
comple(ion' Aryans were t all' wellbuilt and handsome.T he Harappans at
e all birds and animals including cow and calf . T hey ate wheat ' barley and
bread. T he Aryans pref erred &arley' milk and it s product s' specially ghee
or but t er and en+oyed Soma drink.Cot t on was t he basic f abric of t he
Harappans while t he Aryans put on woollen garment s t oo.Eedic Sanskrit
is t he mot her of all non0ravidian languages ' @ndus script st ill remains
undeciphered.@t was Duit e clear t hat @ndus people were lit erat e whereas
t he Eedic people were illit erat e :@n t erms of writ ing< because t here is
not a singleword f or writ ing in any of t he Eedic t e(t s.
Basi+s of Vedi+ /iteratureT he Eedas are said t o have been passed on f
rom one generat ion t o t he ne(t through ver)al trans,ission and are'
t heref ore' also known as Shrut i :t o hear< or revelat ion. T he t erm Eedic
lit erat ure means t he f our Eedas in t heir Samhit a and t he allied lit erat
ure based on or derived f rom t he Eedas. Ae classif y t he Eedic lit erat
ure int o t he f ollowing cat egories3T he f our Eedas i.e. t he )ig' Sama'
Ja+ur and At harva and t heir Samhit as.T he &rahmanas at t ached t o
each Samhit a.
T he Aranyakas.
T he ,panishads.
T he )asi+ ,aterial or ,antra te:t of ea+h of the Vedas is
calledFSamhit aF. Some post Eedic t e(t s are also known as FSamhit asF
such as Asht avakra 1it a' &hrigu Samhit a' &rahma Samhit a' 0eva
Samhit a' 1arga Samhit a' 5ashyap Samhit a' Shiva Samhit a and
Jogaya+navalkya Samhit a.
hruti and ,riti T he Eedic lit erat ure is broadly divided int o t wo cat
egories viz. Shrut i and Smrit i.Shrut i is Ft hat which has been heardF and
is canonical' consist ing of revelat ion and unDuest ionable t rut h' and is
considered et ernal. Shrut i describes t he sacred t e(t s comprising t he
cent ral canon of Hinduism viz. Vedas.
Brah,anas. 9ranya*as. & ;#anishads.
Smirit i lit erally means Fthat which is remembered, supplementary and
may change
over timeF. @t is aut horit at ive only t o t he e(t ent t hat it conf orms t o t
he bedrock
of Shrut i and it is entire )ody of the #ost Vedi+ Classi+al ans*rit
literature. @t comprises Vedanga. had darsana. 2uranas. Itihasa.
;#veda.
0 antras. 9ga,as. ;#angas.
T here is anot her post Eedic class of Sanskrit lit erat ure called 6pics
which
includes )amayana and Mahabhart a.
@t >s wort h not e t hat ' there is not a distinct divide between !hruti and
!mriti. "oth
!hruti and !mriti can be represented as a continuum, with some te#ts
more
canonical than others.
Click $ere to %ead about !hruti &iterature
Click $ere to %ead about !mriti &iterature
9rti+les fro, 'eneral <no1ledge 0oday
Veda
#%!! %7 %7 %43%734" 15Today
T he f our Eedas come under t he Shrut i cat egory and are considered
sacred
script ures. 9at er t e(t s like t he various shast ras and t he it ihaasas f
orm Smrut i.
-ig-Veda
)igEeda is known as t he oldest religious t e(t in t he world. @t is also
known as
F2irst t est ament F of mankind. @t was composed around !C%% &C. 9ast
hymns
were composed bet ween !7%%!#%% &C. @t >s a collect ion of hymns by a
number
of priest f amilies. @t is organized in !% books which are called Mandalas. T
he
f irst and !%th Mandalas are t he youngest and t he longest books. Second
t o
Sevent h Mandalas are oldest part s of )igEeda but t he short est books.
-th
and $th books are of mi(ed ages.
)igEeda is neit her a hist orical nor a heroic poem but is mainly a collect
ion of
hymns by a number of priest ly f amilies. T hese were recit ed at t he t
ime of
sacrif icial rit es and ot her rit uals wit h ut most devot ion. T he )igEeda
cont ains
!%!C :!%#-' including !! hymns of t he Ealakhilya recession< hymns
:Sukt a< and
is divided int o t en mandalas. T he f irst and t he t ent h Mandalas are
said t o
have been added lat er as t heir language dif f ers slight ly f rom t he ot
her eight
Mandalas.
=a%urveda
'(a)us' means Fsacrif icial f ormulaF and Ja+urveda is t he book of sacrif
icial
prayers. @t cont ains t he rituals of the =a%nas. @t is est imat ed t o have
been
composed bet ween !'"%% and !%%% &C.
@t prescribes t he rit uals f or perf orming dif f erent sacrif ices. @t was t he
manual
of t he 9dhvaryus. *dhvarus wre the people prepared the ground and the
altar,
offered the sacrificial victims and poured out the libations.
T here are t wo dist ant f orms of t his Eeda. @n t he oldest ' t he inst ruct
ions about
rit uals are mingled wit h t he verses f rom t he )igEeda. T he chief
recession of
t his is t hat t aught by a school of t eachers called t he T ait t t iriyans. T
his was
called &lack Ja+urveda.
At a lat er dat e ot her scholars called t he Ea+asaneyins separat ed t he
e(planat ory mat t er f rom t he verses t o be recit ed and hence were
called whit e
:Shukla< Ja+urEeda' t he ot her being called t he black :5rishna< Ja+ur
Eeda.
T his implies t hat t he 5rishna Ja+urveda includes t he &rahmana prose
discussions wit hin t he Samhit a :no &rahman< while t he Shukla
Ja+urveda has
separat ely a &rahmana t e(t ' t he Shat apat ha &rahmana.
Aorld>s oldest prose lit erat ure of t he @ndo6uropeans is cont ained in
Ja+urveda.
a, Veda4
FSamanF means melody and it cont ains t he )yt hmic compilat ion of
Hymns f or
)igveda. @t ranks ne(t in sanct it y and lit urgical import ance t o t he
)igveda. @t
cont ains !7"$ hymns which are meant t o be sung at t he soma sacrif ice
by a
special class of &rahmans called F,dgat risF. @t has t hree shakhas or
recensions3
5aut huma 3 *anchvish &rahmana
t he Kaiminiya 3 +aiminiya &rahmana
)MvMyanNya 3 Shadvish &rahmana
T here are t wo Aranyakas 3 Chadogya Aranyaka and +aiminiya Aranyaka.
Chadogya Aranyaka has Chadogya ,pnishad and Kaiminiya Aranyaka has
Kaiminiya ,pnishad. 1andharveveda is Samveda>s ,pveda is is a t echnical
t reat ise on Music' 0ance and 0rama. @t is also called ?at ya Shasht ra.
9tharva Veda4
At harvaEeda is ent irely dif f erent f rom t he ot her t hree Eedas and is
chronologt ically t he last of t he f our. @t is import ant and int erest ing as
it
describes t he popular beliefs and superstitions of the humble folk.
*tharvaveda
contains the magic spells, incorporates much of early traditions of healing
and
magic that are paralleled in other Indo+,uropean literatures.
2or a very long t ime it was not included in t he cat egory of t he
Eedas.>At harvan> was a legendary )ishi and is considered t o have sung t
he
At harvaveda. He is also said t o have f irst inst it ut ed t he f iresacrif ice
or yagna.
At harvaveda was mainly composed by t wo groups of rishis known as t he
At harvanas and t he Angirasa' hence it s oldest name is Ot harvMgirasa.
T here are t wo surviving recensions or Shakhas known as PaunakNya
:AES< and
*aippalMda :AE*<.
1opat h &rahmana is t he &rahmana of Ja+urveda.
T here are t hree ,nishads viz. *rasna' Mundaka and Mandukya.
Sat yamev Kayat e' @ndia>s Mot t o comes f rom Mundaka ,panishad.
9ranya*as
#%!4 %7 ## !$3%73%7 15Today
T he Aranyakas were writ t en in 2orest s and are concluding part s of t he
&rahmans. *ranyakas don-t lay much emphasis on rites, ritual and
sacrifices but
have philosophy and mysticism. So t hey have moral science and
philosophy. @t
also provides t he det ails of t he rishis who lived in +ungles.
Aranyakas were writ t en mainly f or t he hermit s and st udent s living in
t he
+ungles. *lease not e t hat Aranyakas are t he concluding port ion of t he
&rahmanas or t heir appendices. T hey lay emphasis not on sacrif ices but
on
medit at ion. T hey are in f act ' opposed t o sacrif ices and many of t he
early
rit uals. T heir st ress is on moral values. T hey f orm a bridge bet ween
way of
work :karma marga< which was t he sole concern of t he &rahmanas and t
he
way of knowledge :gyan marga< which t he ,panishads advocat ed.
T he 9itareya 9ranya*a is appended t o t he Ait areya &rahmana of t he
)igEeda. T he Sankhyayana or 5aushit aki Aranyaka is t he concluding
port ion of t he 5aushit aki &rahmana of t he )igEeda.
@n t he black Ja+urEeda' t he T ait t riya Aranyaka is only a cont inuat ion
of
t he T ait t t riya &rahamana. @n t he whit e Ja+urEeda' t he !"t h book of
t he
Sat apat ha &rahmana is in name only an Aranyaka t he &rihdarnayaka.
2or t he SamaEeda' t he only Aranyakas are t he f irst Aranyakalike
sect ions of t he Chhandogya ,panishad' which belongs t o t he
T andyamaha &rahmana' and t he Kaimniya ,panishad &rahmana' which
is not hing but an Aranyaka of t he Kaiminiya or T alavakara school of t he
SamaEeda and comprises t he well 5nown 5ena :or T alvakra< ,panishad.
0 here are no 9ranya*as of 9tharvaveda
;#anishad
#%!! %7 %7 %"3%737C 15Today
T he word ,panishad means to sit down near someone and denot es a st
udent
sit t ing near his guru t o learn. 6vent ually t he word began t o be used f or
t he
secret knowledge impart ed by t he guru t o his select ed pupils. A number
of
t reat ises were prepared' f irst orally and t hen in writ ing' and were called
by t he
same name of ,panishad. T oday ,panishads specif y philosophical
knowledge
and spirit ual learning.
0 he ,ain ,otto of the ;#anishads is ><no1ledge 91ards alvation>
,panishads are called Eedant a :t he end of t he Eeda< f irst ly' because t
hey
denot e t he last phase of t he Eedic period and secondly' because t hey
reveal
t he f inal aim of t he Eeda.
T he /ldest ,panishads are &rhadaranyaka and Chandogya ,panishads
which
dat e as back as t he f irst millennium &C. 9at est were composed in t he
medieval and early modern period. T he lat est ,pnishad is Mukt ikM
,pnishad
and was recorded by 0ara Shikoh.@t dat es t o !.7.. 0ara Shikoh was son of
Mughal emperor Shah Kahan and is known t o have t ranslat ed f if t y
,panishads
int o *ersian. T here are !%- ,panishads and t hey are also called Eedanga.
F,paF means nearby and FsadaF means sit . So ,panishads cont ain t he
knowledge impart ed by t he gurus t o t heir disciples.
T here are !%- ,panishad. .. are predominant and they are called 'ukhya
/panishadsF. T hey are as f ollows3
Qt able idR"! 8S
9itareya ;#anishad
Ait areya ,panishad should be not ed f or one of t he " Mahavakyas viz.
F0ra)anam "rahamaF or FConsciousness is &rahmanF. T he 2our Mahavakyas
of
Eedas are as f ollows3
0ra)nanam "rahma FConsciousness is &rahmanF :Ait areya ,panishad of
t he )ig Eeda<
*yam *tma "rahma FT his Self :At man< is &rahmanF :Mandukya
,panishad of t he At harva Eeda<
1at 1vam *si FT hou art T hat F :Chandogya ,panishad of t he Sama
Eeda<
*ham "rahmasmi F@ am &rahmanF :&rhadaranyaka ,panishad of t he
Ja+urveda<
Bhad?raya*a ;#anishad
@t is cont ained in t he Shat pat h &rahman. @t cont ains t he f ollowing
2amous
Shloka3

!.4.#-.
T he meaning of t he above Shloka is 3 9ead ,s 2ro m the ,nreal To the
)eal' 9ead ,s
2ro m 0arkness To 9ight' 9ead ,s 2ro m 0eath To @mmo rtality' /M ' 9et
There &e *eace *eace
*eace
0 aittir@ya ;#anaishad
T his ,panishada is associat ed wit h t he T ait t iriya school of t he
Ja+urveda. T he
T ait t iriya ,panishad describes t he various degrees of happiness en+oyed
by
t he dif f erent beings in creat ion
Ch?ndogya ;#anishad
T his ,panishad is associat ed wit h t he 5aut huma Shakha of t he
Samaveda.
Along wit h &rhadaranyaka ,panishad' t he Chandogyopanishad is an
ancient
source of principal f undament als of Eedant a philosophy.
<ena ;#anisahda
F5enF lit erally means >by whom>. @t belongs t o t he T alavakara &rahmana
of
Sama Eeda and is t heref ore also ref erred t o as T alavakara ,panishad.
Asa ;#anishad
@t is one of t he lat est Mukhya ,panishads' dat ing appro(imat ely t o
Mauryan
t imes.
Bvet?Cvatara ;#anishad
,panishads are sources of serious philosophical t hought H however' t his
,panishad dif f ers f rom ot her ,panishads by e(plaining t he same
principles in
a very simple' easygoing and #oeti+ 1ay.
<atho#nishad
@t was translated by Ma( MTller in !-C$. @t was rendered in verse by 6dwin
Arnold as
FThe Secret of 0eathF. The central story is immortality and covers the story
of
encounter of ?achiketa' son of sage Ea+asravasa' with Jama' 1od of death.
$u*ti*a ;#nishad
T his ,panishad deals wit h t he *ara Eidya and Apara Eidya. T he *ara
Eidya is
knowledge t hat leads t o Self )ealizat ion ' Apara Eidya deals wit h everyt
hing
else or t he mat erial knowledge. Mundaka ,panishad is not able as t he
source
of t he phrase Sat yameva +ayat e :4.!..<
$?andD*ya
Mandukya is t he Short est ,pnishad. @t cont ains t welve verses e(pounding
t he
myst ic syllable Aum' t he t hree psychological st at es of waking' dreaming
and
sleeping' and t he t ranscendent f ourt h st at e of illuminat ion.
2raCna
Si( pupils int erest ed in knowing divinit y or &rahman come t o sage
2i##alada
and reDuest s him t o clarif y t heir spirit ual doubt s. T heref ore' t his
,pnishad is in
Uuest ion Answer f ormat . 9rti+les fro, 'eneral <no1ledge 0oday
;#anishad
#%!! %7 %7 %"3%737C 15Today
T he word ,panishad means to sit down near someone and denot es a st
udent
sit t ing near his guru t o learn. 6vent ually t he word began t o be used f
or t he
secret knowledge impart ed by t he guru t o his select ed pupils. A number
of
t reat ises were prepared' f irst orally and t hen in writ ing' and were
called by t he
same name of ,panishad. T oday ,panishads specif y philosophical
knowledge
and spirit ual learning.
0 he ,ain ,otto of the ;#anishads is ><no1ledge 91ards
alvation>
,panishads are called Eedant a :t he end of t he Eeda< f irst ly' because t
hey
denot e t he last phase of t he Eedic period and secondly' because t hey
reveal
t he f inal aim of t he Eeda.
T he /ldest ,panishads are &rhadaranyaka and Chandogya ,panishads
which
dat e as back as t he f irst millennium &C. 9at est were composed in t he
medieval and early modern period. T he lat est ,pnishad is Mukt ikM
,pnishad
and was recorded by 0ara Shikoh.@t dat es t o !.7.. 0ara Shikoh was son
of
Mughal emperor Shah Kahan and is known t o have t ranslat ed f if t y
,panishads
int o *ersian. T here are !%- ,panishads and t hey are also called
Eedanga.
F,paF means nearby and FsadaF means sit . So ,panishads cont ain t he
knowledge impart ed by t he gurus t o t heir disciples.
T here are !%- ,panishad. .. are predominant and they are called
'ukhya
/panishadsF. T hey are as f ollows3
Qt able idR"! 8S
9itareya ;#anishad
Ait areya ,panishad should be not ed f or one of t he " Mahavakyas viz.
F0ra)anam "rahamaF or FConsciousness is &rahmanF. T he 2our
Mahavakyas of
Eedas are as f ollows3
0ra)nanam "rahma FConsciousness is &rahmanF :Ait areya ,panishad of
t he )ig Eeda<
*yam *tma "rahma FT his Self :At man< is &rahmanF :Mandukya
,panishad of t he At harva Eeda<
1at 1vam *si FT hou art T hat F :Chandogya ,panishad of t he Sama
Eeda<
*ham "rahmasmi F@ am &rahmanF :&rhadaranyaka ,panishad of t he
Ja+urveda<
Bhad?raya*a ;#anishad
@t is cont ained in t he Shat pat h &rahman. @t cont ains t he f ollowing
2amous
Shloka3

!.4.#-.
T he meaning of t he above Shloka is 3 9ead ,s 2ro m the ,nreal To the
)eal' 9ead ,s
2ro m 0arkness To 9ight' 9ead ,s 2ro m 0eath To @mmo rtality' /M ' 9et
There &e *eace *eace
*eace
0 aittir@ya ;#anaishad
T his ,panishada is associat ed wit h t he T ait t iriya school of t he
Ja+urveda. T he
T ait t iriya ,panishad describes t he various degrees of happiness
en+oyed by
t he dif f erent beings in creat ion
Ch?ndogya ;#anishad
T his ,panishad is associat ed wit h t he 5aut huma Shakha of t he
Samaveda.
Along wit h &rhadaranyaka ,panishad' t he Chandogyopanishad is an
ancient
source of principal f undament als of Eedant a philosophy.
<ena ;#anisahda
F5enF lit erally means >by whom>. @t belongs t o t he T alavakara
&rahmana of
Sama Eeda and is t heref ore also ref erred t o as T alavakara ,panishad.
Asa ;#anishad
@t is one of t he lat est Mukhya ,panishads' dat ing appro(imat ely t o
Mauryan
t imes.
Bvet?Cvatara ;#anishad
,panishads are sources of serious philosophical t hought H however' t his
,panishad dif f ers f rom ot her ,panishads by e(plaining t he same
principles in
a very simple' easygoing and #oeti+ 1ay.
<atho#nishad
@t was translated by Ma( MTller in !-C$. @t was rendered in verse by
6dwin Arnold as
FThe Secret of 0eathF. The central story is immortality and covers the
story of
encounter of ?achiketa' son of sage Ea+asravasa' with Jama' 1od of
death.
$u*ti*a ;#nishad
T his ,panishad deals wit h t he *ara Eidya and Apara Eidya. T he *ara
Eidya is
knowledge t hat leads t o Self )ealizat ion ' Apara Eidya deals wit h everyt
hing
else or t he mat erial knowledge. Mundaka ,panishad is not able as t he
source
of t he phrase Sat yameva +ayat e :4.!..<
$?andD*ya
Mandukya is t he Short est ,pnishad. @t cont ains t welve verses
e(pounding t he
myst ic syllable Aum' t he t hree psychological st at es of waking'
dreaming and
sleeping' and t he t ranscendent f ourt h st at e of illuminat ion.
2raCna
Si( pupils int erest ed in knowing divinit y or &rahman come t o sage
2i##alada
and reDuest s him t o clarif y t heir spirit ual doubt s. T heref ore' t his
,pnishad is in
Uuest ion Answer f ormat .
Vedanga
#%!! %7 %7 %"3%73"C 15Today
Eedangas are si( au(iliary disciplines associat ed wit h t he st udy and
underst anding of t he Eedas. T hey are as f ollows3
hi*sha E2honeti+sF
@t s aim is t he t eaching of t he +orre+t #ronun+iation of t he Eedic hymns
and
mant ras. T he oldest phonet ic t e(t books are t he *rat ishakyas :prMt
iVMkhya<'
describing pronunciat ion' int onat ion of Sanskrit ' as well as t he Sanskrit
rules of
sandhi :word combinat ion<' specif ic t o individual schools or Shakhas of t
he
Eedas.
<al#a E-itual CanonF
@t cont ains t he sacrif icial pract ice and syst emat ic sut ras. T here are t
hree
kinds of Sut ras part of 5alpa3
BrautasDtras' which are based on t he Shrut i' and t each t he
perf ormance of t he great sacrif ices' reDuiring t hree or f ive sacrif icial
f ires
,artasDtras. or rules based on t he Smrit i or t radit ion. T he
Smart asWt ras have t wo classes viz.
1rhyasut ras' or domest ic rules 3 T hey are basically t reat ing t he
rit es of passage' such as marriage' birt h' namegiving' et c.'
connect ed wit h simple of f erings int o t he domest ic f ire.
&har,asutras or +usto,s and so+ial duties4 T he
0harmasWt ras are t he f irst f our t e(t s of t he 0harmasast ra
t radit ion and t hey f ocus on t he idea of dharma' t he principal guide
by which Hindus st rive t o live t heir lives. T he 0harmasWt ras are
writ t en in concise prose, leaving much up to the educated reader to
interpret.1he most important of these te#ts are the sutras of
2pastamba, 3autama, "audh4yana, and Vasiha.
T he 0harmasWt ras can be called t he guidebooks of dhar,a
as t hey cont ain t he rules of conduct and rit es as pract iced in
t he Eedic schools. T hey discuss about t he dut ies of people
at dif f erent st ages of lif e like st udent hood' householdership'
ret irement and renunciat ion. T hese st ages are also called
MVramas. T hey also discuss about t he rit es and dut ies of
kings' +udicial mat t ers' and even personal pract ices like t he
regulat ions in diet ' of f enses and e(piat ions' daily oblat ions'
and f unerary pract ice.
Vya*aran E'ra,,arF
Eyakaran includes t he AMdhyMyN' of *anini. Most of t he work of very early
@ndian grammarians ranging t o -t h cent ury &C is lost . T here are " part s
of
*anini>s 1rammar3
PivasWtra3 Co ntains pho no lo gy :no tatio ns fo r pho nemes specified in !"
lines<
AadhyMyN3 Co ntains mo rpho lo gy :co nstructio n rules fo r co mple(es<
0hMtupMha3Co ntains list o f ro o ts :classes o f verbal ro o ts<
1aapMha3 Co ntains list o f classes o f primitive no minal stems
(iru*ta Ee:#lanationF
@t is t radit ionally at t ribut ed t o JMska' an ancient Sanskrit grammarian. @t
deals
wit h et ymology' part icularly of obscure words' especially t hose occurring
in
t he Eeda
Chhanda EVedi+ ,eterF
@t measures and divides Eedic Mant ras by number of padas in a verse'
which
is called *adas. ?umber of padas divides each verse' hymn' or mant ra and
number of syllables divides each pada. T here is a dist inct t a(onomy on t
his
basis. 2or e(ample a 1ayat ri Chhanda has 4 padas of - syllables cont aining
#" syllables in each st anza. Similarly' Anuup has " padas of - syllables
cont aining 4# syllables in each st anza. Anust up is t he t ypical shloka of
classical Sanskrit poet ry
Gyotisha E9strologyF
@t describes rules f or t racking t he mot ions of t he sun and t he moon and t
he
f oundat ion of Eedic Kyot ish.
hatdarshana
#%!! %7 %7 %"3%734- 15Today
Hindu philosophy is t radit ionally divided int o si( Mst ika :ort hodo(< schools
of
t hought ' or daranam' which accept t he Eedas as supreme revealed
script ures. T he Mst ika schools are3
!. Samkhya' an at heist ic and st rongly dualist t heoret ical e(posit ion of
consciousness and mat t er.
#. Yoga' a school emphasizing medit at ion' cont emplat ion and liberat ion.
4. Nyaya or logic' e(plores sources of knowledge :?yMya SWt ras<.
". Vaisheshika' an empiricist school of at omism.
7. Mims' an ant iascet ic and ant imyst icist school of ort hopra(y.
.. Vedanta' t he last segment of knowledge in t he Eedas' or t he >Knan>
:knowledge< >5anda> :sect ion<. Eedant a came t o be t he dominant current
of Hinduism in t he post medieval period.
/f t he hist orical division int o si( darsanas' only t wo schools' Eedant a
and Joga' survive.
T he basic inf ormat ion about t hem is as f ollows3
Qt able idR"4 8S
(yaya4
9it erally means recursion. @t is based on t e(t s known as t he ?yaya Sut
ras'
which were writ t en by 9*s a#ada 'auta,a f rom around t he #nd cent
ury A0.
?yaya Sut ras say t hat t here are f our means of at t aining valid
knowledge3
percept ion' inf erence' comparison' and verbal t est imony. Click here t o
read
more about ?yaya *hilosophy.
Vaisheshi*a
@t was proposed by $aharis hi <anaad. @t post ulat es t hat all ob+ect s in t
he
physical universe are reducible t o a f init e number of at oms. T he school
deals
in det ail wit h F*adart hF or Mat t er. )ead More Here
a,*ya
Samkya or Samkhya means 6numerat ion. T he f ounder of t he Sankya
school
of *hilosophy was $aharis hi <a#il. T he school denies t he Fe(ist ence of
1odF
and post ulat ed t hat t here are t wo realit ies *urusha and *rakrit i.
*urusha is t he
consciousness and *rakrit i is t he phenomenal realm of mat t er. )ead More
Here.
=oga
2ounder of t his school of *hilosophy was *at an+ali. Ju+ means Fcont rolF
and
Joga also mean t o FaddF. )M+a Joga' 5arma Joga' Knana Joga' &hakt i
Joga'
and Hat ha Joga are it s main branches. T he Jogasut ras of *at an+ali which
mainly post ulat e t he )a+ Joga ' dat e back t o Mauryan *eriod while Hat
hayoga
was int roduced by Jogi Swat marama. T he ma+or dif f erence bet ween )a+
Joga
and Hat hayoga is t hat )a+a Joga aims at cont rolling all t hought waves or
ment al modif icat ions' while a Hat ha Jogi st art s his Sadhana' or spirit ual
pract ice' wit h Asanas :post ures< and *ranayama. So )a+ Joga st art s f
rom
Mind and Hat hyoga st art s f rom &ody. )ead more here
$i,ansa
$i,ans a ,eans invest igat ion or enDuiry. T he primary enDuiry is int o t
he nat ure
of dharma based on close t heology of t he Eedas. it has t wo divisions'
*oorva
Mimansa and ,t t ar Mimansa. ,t t ar Mimansa is t reat ed as
anot her vedang a FEedantaF. T he poorva Mimansa was post ulat ed by
Kamini. T he
ideology of *oorva Mimansa was t o count eract t he challenge by &uddhism
and vedant a which marginalized t he Eedic sacrif ices. T his school got
moment um in 1upt a period and reached it s clima( in C-t h cent ury.
Sabara
and 5umaril &hat t a were t wo main int erpret at ors. @t was one of t he
ma+or
f orces t o decline &uddhism in @ndia ' but lat er it self was eclipsed by
Eedant a.
)ead more here
Vedanta4
Eedant a means Eeda end or t he purpose or goal of t he Eedas. @t was
given
by &adrayana or maharishi Eyasa who is one of t he C chiran+ivis and wrot e
FahabhartaF. )ead more here
Vaisheshi*a 2hiloso#hy
#%!4 %7 ## #%3%73#- 15Today
Eaisheshsika is a kind of At omism. @t was proposed by $aharishi <anaad.
@t
post ulat es t hat all ob+ect s in t he physical universe are reducible t o a f
init e
number of at oms. T he school deals in det ail wit h F*adart hF or Mat t er.
Eaisheshika syst em developed independent ly f rom t he ?yaya' but t he t
wo
event ually merged because of t heir closely relat ed t heories. @n it s
classical
f orm' however' t he Eaishesika school dif f ered f rom t he ?yaya in one
crucial
respect 3 where ?yaya accept ed f our sources of valid knowledge' t he
Vaishesi*a a++e#ted only #er+e#tion and inf eren+e.
Eaisheshika is also dif f erent f rom t he Modern At omic T heory because
Eaisheshika says t hat t he behaviour of t he at oms is guided by t he
Supreme
being.
T he Eaisheshika School classif ied t he mat t er or padartha int o si( cat
egories3
&ravya Esu)stan+eF4 T here are nine subst ances viz. pt hvN :eart h<' ap
:wat er<' t e+as :f ire<' vMyu :air<' MkaVa :et her<' kMla :t ime<' dik :space<'
Mt man :self < and manas :mind<. 0 he f irst f ive are +alled )hDtas
E2an+ha)hutasF t he subst ances having some specif ic Dualit ies so t hat
t hey could be perceived by one or t he ot her e(t ernal senses.
'ua EHualityF4 T here are !C 1unas or Dualit ies of mat t er. 1he 3unas
are diferent from 5ravya. While a 5ravya is capable of e#isting
independently
by itself, a gua67uality8 cannot e#ist so. T he !C 1unas are rWpa :colour<'
rasa :t ast e<' gandha :smell<' sparVa :t ouch<' sakhyM :number<'
parimMa :size8dimension8Duant it y<' pt hakt va :individualit y<' sayoga
:con+unct ion8accompaniment s<' vibhMga :dis+unct ion<' parat va :priorit y<'
aparat va :post eriorit y<' buddhi :knowledge<' sukha :pleasure<' dukha
:pain<' icchM :desire<' dvea :aversion< and prayat na :ef f ort <. T o t hese
*raVast apMda added anot her 1unas such as gurut va :gravit y<' dravat va
:f luidit y<' sneha :viscosit y<' dharma :merit <' adharma :demerit <' Vabda
:sound< and sakMsra :f acult y<. 6"y reading this you can imagine the
knowledge level of our sages 9::: years ago K 8
<ar,a Ea+tivityF4 Act ivit y is a f eat ure of t he some of t he 0ravyas.
OkMVa :et her<' kMla :t ime<' dik :space< and Mt man :self <' t hough
subst ances' are devoid of karma :act ivit y<
?,?nya EgeneralityF4 Ahen a propert y is f ound common t o many
subst ances' it is called sMmMnya.
ViCea E#arti+ularityF 4 &y means of viVea' we are able t o perceive
subst ances as dif f erent f rom one anot her. As t he ult imat e at oms are
innumerable so are t he viVeas
a,av?ya Einheren+eF4 Samavaya is basically cause and t he ef f ect by
t wo subst ances. Acording t o *raVast apMda' it is t he relat ionship e(ist ing
bet ween t he subst ances t hat are inseparable' st anding t o one anot her
in t he relat ion of t he cont ainer and t he cont ained
/ne more cat egory was lat er added called abhMva :none(ist ence<. Here' t
he
f irst t hree cat egories are def ined as artha E1hi+h +an #er+eiveF and
they
have real o)%e+tive e:isten+e. T he last t hree cat egories are def ined as
budhyapekam 6product of intellectual discrimination8 and they are logical
categories.
Vaisheshi*a 2hiloso#hy
#%!4 %7 ## #%3%73#- 15Today
Eaisheshsika is a kind of At omism. @t was proposed by $aharishi <anaad.
@t
post ulat es t hat all ob+ect s in t he physical universe are reducible t o a f
init e
number of at oms. T he school deals in det ail wit h F*adart hF or Mat t er.
Eaisheshika syst em developed independent ly f rom t he ?yaya' but t he t
wo
event ually merged because of t heir closely relat ed t heories. @n it s
classical
f orm' however' t he Eaishesika school dif f ered f rom t he ?yaya in one
crucial
respect 3 where ?yaya accept ed f our sources of valid knowledge' t he
Vaishesi*a a++e#ted only #er+e#tion and inf eren+e.
Eaisheshika is also dif f erent f rom t he Modern At omic T heory because
Eaisheshika says t hat t he behaviour of t he at oms is guided by t he
Supreme
being.
T he Eaisheshika School classif ied t he mat t er or padartha int o si( cat
egories3
&ravya Esu)stan+eF4 T here are nine subst ances viz. pt hvN :eart h<' ap
:wat er<' t e+as :f ire<' vMyu :air<' MkaVa :et her<' kMla :t ime<' dik :space<'
Mt man :self < and manas :mind<. 0 he f irst f ive are +alled )hDtas
E2an+ha)hutasF t he subst ances having some specif ic Dualit ies so t hat
t hey could be perceived by one or t he ot her e(t ernal senses.
'ua EHualityF4 T here are !C 1unas or Dualit ies of mat t er. 1he 3unas
are diferent from 5ravya. While a 5ravya is capable of e#isting
independently
by itself, a gua67uality8 cannot e#ist so. T he !C 1unas are rWpa :colour<'
rasa :t ast e<' gandha :smell<' sparVa :t ouch<' sakhyM :number<'
parimMa :size8dimension8Duant it y<' pt hakt va :individualit y<' sayoga
:con+unct ion8accompaniment s<' vibhMga :dis+unct ion<' parat va :priorit y<'
aparat va :post eriorit y<' buddhi :knowledge<' sukha :pleasure<' dukha
:pain<' icchM :desire<' dvea :aversion< and prayat na :ef f ort <. T o t hese
*raVast apMda added anot her 1unas such as gurut va :gravit y<' dravat va
:f luidit y<' sneha :viscosit y<' dharma :merit <' adharma :demerit <' Vabda
:sound< and sakMsra :f acult y<. 6"y reading this you can imagine the
knowledge level of our sages 9::: years ago K 8
<ar,a Ea+tivityF4 Act ivit y is a f eat ure of t he some of t he 0ravyas.
OkMVa :et her<' kMla :t ime<' dik :space< and Mt man :self <' t hough
subst ances' are devoid of karma :act ivit y<
?,?nya EgeneralityF4 Ahen a propert y is f ound common t o many
subst ances' it is called sMmMnya.
ViCea E#arti+ularityF 4 &y means of viVea' we are able t o perceive
subst ances as dif f erent f rom one anot her. As t he ult imat e at oms are
innumerable so are t he viVeas
a,av?ya Einheren+eF4 Samavaya is basically cause and t he ef f ect by
t wo subst ances. Acording t o *raVast apMda' it is t he relat ionship e(ist ing
bet ween t he subst ances t hat are inseparable' st anding t o one anot her
in t he relat ion of t he cont ainer and t he cont ained
/ne more cat egory was lat er added called abhMva :none(ist ence<. Here' t
he
f irst t hree cat egories are def ined as artha E1hi+h +an #er+eiveF and
they
have real o)%e+tive e:isten+e. T he last t hree cat egories are def ined as
budhyapekam 6product of intellectual discrimination8 and they are logical
categories.
=oga 2hiloso#hy
#%!4 %7 ## #%3%73%7 15Today
Ju+ means Fcont rolF and Joga also mean t o FaddF. T his philosophy is very
close t o Samkhya and can be easily dist inguished as
JogaR Samkhya B 0ivinit y.
T hus' yoga school accept s t he samkhya psychology and met aphysics' but
is
more t heist ic t han t he samkhya' because it also includes the divine
entity t o
t he samkhya>s element s of realit y.
*at an+ali is widely regarded as t he compiler of t he f ormal yoga
philosophy. T he yoga phislosophy of *at an+ali is also known as -a%a
=oga. T he ot her branches include <ar,a =oga' Gnana =oga' Bha*ti
=oga' and "atha =oga.
)a+a Joga is a syst em f or cont rol of t he mind. As per *at an+ali Joga is def
ined
as : -
3' which means t hat Joga is t he inhi)ition of

the
,odif i+ations of the ,ind. Swami Eivekananda t ranslat ed t he sut ra as
F(oga is restraining the mind+stuff from taking various forms'.
Hindu philosophy dist inguishes seven ma+or branches of Joga3
Rja Yoga :Classical Joga<' a syst em of yoga codif ied by *at aX+ali and
classif ied as one of t he si( Mst ika :Fort hodo(F< schools of Hindu
philosophy.
Jnana yoga' :buddhiyoga< cent red on t he f acult y of discernment and
>virt ually ident ical wit h t he spirit ual pat h of EedMnt a>.
Karma-yoga' in which t he world of everyday work becomes t he t ool by
which self is t ranscended.
Bhakti-Yoga t he pat h of devot ed service t o 1od.
Tantra-yoga f ocused on t he t echniDues and psychophysical t eachings
cont ained wit hin a body of t e(t s called t ant ras.
Mantra-yoga' one of t he most ancient f orms of yoga in which t he
psychoacoust ical propert ies of t he spoken word are used t o
concent rat e t he mind.
atha yoga' a syst em of physical purif icat ion designed t o reint egrat e
and rebalance t he mind and body in preparat ion f or )a+ayoga :f irst
described by Jogi Swat marama<.
9shtanga =oga
T he Jogasut ras of *at an+ali lat er became t he basis of 9shtanga =oga. T
his
eight limbed concept derived f rom *at ana+ali>s Jogasut ra is a core
charact erist ic of pract ically every -a%a yoga variat ion t hat is pract iced t
oday.
T hese eight limbs are as f ollows3
!ive =a,a4 Jama ref ers t o t he f ive Fabst ent ionsF. T hese abst ent ions
are
Ahimsa :nonviolence<
Sat ya :T rut h' nonlying<
Ast eya :noncovet ousness<
&rahmacharya :nonsensualit y' celibacy<
Aparigraha :nonpossessiveness<.
!ive (iya,a4 T he ?iyama ref ers t o f ive FobservancesF. T hese are
Shaucha:purit y<
Sant osha:cont ent ment <
T apas :aust erit y<
Svadhyaya :st udy of t he Eedic script ures t o know about 1od and
t he soul<' and
@shvara*ranidhana :surrender t o 1od<.
Asana3 Asana means t o be seat ed. *at an+ali>s Sut ras ref ers t o t he
seat ed posit ion used f or medit at ion.
*ranayama :FSuspending &reat hF<3 *rMna' breat h' FMyMmaF' t o rest rain
or st op. Also int erpret ed as cont rol of t he lif e f orce.
*rat yahara :FAbst ract ionF<3 Ait hdrawal of t he mind or senses f rom an
ob+ect or event .
0harana :FConcent rat ionF<3 2i(ing t he at t ent ion on a single ob+ect .
0hyana :FMedit at ionF<3 @nt ense cont emplat ion of t he nat ure of t he
ob+ect
of medit at ion.
Samadhi :F9iberat ionF<3 merging consciousness wit h t he ob+ect of
medit at ion.
"athayoga Versus -a%ayoga
T he Jogasut ras of *at an+ali which mainly post ulat e t he )a+ Joga' dat e
back
t o Mauryan *eriod while Hat hayoga was int roduced by Jogi Swat marama.
1he
ma)or difference between %a) (oga and $athayoga is that %a)a (oga aims at
controlling all thought+waves or mental modifications, while a $atha (ogi
starts his
!adhana, or spiritual practice, with *sanas 6postures8 and 0ranayama. !o
%a)
(oga starts from ind and $athyoga starts from "ody.
2alaeolithi+ 9ge 2rehistory of India
#%!! %7 %" !"3%73!% 15Today
*alaeolit hic Age spanned f rom !%%%%% years ago t ill !%%%% years ago. @t is
divided int o 4 ages viz. 9ower *alaeolit hic age which spans t ill !%%%%%
years
ago. Middle *alaeolit hic which spans f rom !%%%%% years ago t ill "%%%%
years
and upper *alaeolit hic which spans f rom "%'%%% years t o !%%%% years ago.
*alaeolit hic t ools were club' sharpened st one' chopper' hand a(e' scraper'
spear' &ow and arrow' harpoon' needle' scrat ch awl et c. T he t ools made
were
generally of hard rock Duart zit e so t he *alaeolit hic man was called Uuart
zit e
Man. T he t erm *alaeolit hic was coined by archaeologist Kohn 9ubbock in
!-.7.
@t lit erally means F/ld St one Age.F @t was marked by t he hunt ing gat
hering
nat ure. Most *alaeolit hic sit es in @ndia developed in t he *leist ocene
period.
/o1er 2alaeolithi+ 5ra
T he earliest human set t lement s in sout h Asia have been ident if ied wit h
an
abundance of st one t ool assemblages. T he oldest known t ools used by
human beings were t he simple cores and f lakes' and t hey have been
report ed
f rom t he Siwalik Hills at )iwat ' near )awalpindi in *akist an. T hese t ools
dat e
back t o as old as t wo million years. However' t he earliest reliable st one t
ool
assemblages belong t o t wo dist inct cult ural and t echnological t radit ions
viz.
t he Sohanian Cult ure and t he Acheulian cult ure' which we st udy under t
he
lower *alaeolit hic cult ures.
o hanian +ult ure
T he name is derived f rom t he Sohan river' a t ribut ary of @ndus. T he sit
es of
Sohanian cult ure were f ound in t he Siwalik Hills in ?ort hwest @ndia and
*akist an. T he art ef act s of t hese st ages were f ound in t hree river t
erraces
which were correlat ed wit h t he phases of t he f ourf old *leist ocene
glaciat ion.
T hese st ages have been named T !' T # and T 4. T he animal remains f
rom t his
deposit included horse' buf f alo' st raight t usked elephant and hippopot
amus'
suggest ing an environment charact erized by perennial wat er sources' t ree
veget at ion and grass st eppes. T he t ools included t he pebble choppers'
blades et c.
9+heulian +ult ure
Acheulian cult ure' named af t er 2rench sit e of St . Acheul' was t he first
effective
colonization of the Indian subcontinent and is almost synonymous wit h t he
lower
*alaeolit hic set t lement s in @ndia. T he Acheulian cult ure was a hunt er
gat herer
cult ure t hat adapt ed t o a variet y of climat es including but not limit ing t
o
west ern )a+ast han' Mewar plain' Saurasht ra' 1u+arat ' Cent ral @ndia'
0eccan
plat eau' Chot a ?agpur plat eau and t he 6ast ern 1hat s' nort h of t he
Cauvery
river. )ead more about Acheulian Culture here.
$iddle 2alaeolithi+ 5ra
T he Acheulian cult ure was slowly t ransf ormed int o
t he middle *alaeolit hic by shedding some of t he
t ool t ypes and by incorporat ing new f orms and
new t echniDues of making t hem.
In some parts of the world, the middle 0alaeolithic
culture is associated with the Neanderthal man
6$omo sapiens neanderthalensis8, however, no
physical remains of Neanderthal man have been found in India.
&ut ' what has been f ound in @ndia are t he st one t ools very similar t o t
hose
f ound wit h t his hominid species in 6urope and ot her regions.
1he first general observation about the iddle 0alaeolithic era is that in
comparison
to the lower 0alaeolithic era, the distribution of sites is sparse. T he reason f
or t his
is t hat t he middle *alaeolit hic cult ure developed during t he upper *leist
ocene'
a period of int ense cold and glaciat ion in t he nort hern lat it udes. @n t
hose t imes'
t he areas bordering glaciat ed regions e(perienced st rong aridit y.
However'
generally' t he middle *alaeolit hic populat ions occupied t he same regions
and
habit at s as t he preceding Acheulian populat ions.
0 o o ls o f ,iddle 2alaeo lit hi+ 5ra
Middle *alaeolit hic t ools were primarily made on f lakes and blades made
by
f inely t rimming t he edges. Some of t hem were used f or manuf act uring t
he
wooden t ools and weapons and also f or processing animal hide. T here are
lit t le hint s of use of wooden shaf t s. @n comparison t o t he lower *alaeolit
hic
era' t he t ools in middle *alaeolit hic became smaller' t hinner and light er.
T hen'
t here was also a signif icant change in t he choice of raw mat erial f or
making
t ools. Ahile Duart zit e' Duart z and basalt cont inued t o be used' in many
areas
t hey were replaced or supplement ed by fine+grained siliceous rocks like
chert
and )asper. T ool 2act ory sit es at chert out crops occur at many places in
cent ral @ndia and )a+ast han.
I,#o rt ant $iddle 2alaeo lit hi+ it es in India
9uni valley' around 0idwana' &udha *ushkar in )a+ast han
Ealleys of t he &elan' Son river' ?armada river and t heir t ribut aries in
cent ral @ndia
Some sparse sit es in Chot a ?agpur plat ea' 0eccan plat eau and 6ast ern
1hat s
;##er 2alaeolithi+ 5ra
,pper *alaeolit hic cult ure developed during t he lat er part of t he upper
*leist ocene. T he ,pper *alaeolit hic period has recorded a rich panorama of
f ossils in t he peninsular rivers of @ndia. /ne import ant discovery is of t he
ostri+h egg shells at over "% sit es in )a+ast han' Madhya *radesh and
Maharasht ra' which shows t hat ost rich' a bird adapt ed t o arid climat e'
was
widely dist ribut ed in west ern @ndia during t he lat er part of t he upper
*leist ocene.T here were very import ant changes in t he *alaeolit
hicenvironment
which had it s own impact on t he dist ribut ion and living ways of
t he humans. Some of t hem were as f ollows3
T here was e(t remely cold and arid climat e in t he high alt it ude and
nort hern lat it udes.
T here was e(t ensive f ormat ion of desert s in ?ort h west @ndia
T he drainage pat t ern of west ern @ndia became almost def unct and river
courses shif t ed Fwest wardsF.
Eeget at ion cover over most of t he count ry t hinned out during t his
period.
Coast al areas of sout heast ern T amil ?adu' Saurasht ra and 5ut ch
developed Duart z and carbonat e dunes as a result of t he lowering of
t he sea level.
0uring t erminal *leist ocene sout hwest erly monsoons became weak
and t he sea level decreased by scores of met res.
0ue t o t he harsh and arid climat e' t he veget at ion was sparse t hough t
he
f aunal f ossils show presence of grasslands. T he human populat ion f aced
rust icat ed f ood resources and t hat is t he reason t hat t he number of
,pper
*alaeolit hic sit es is very limit ed in t he arid and semiarid regions. T he
most
opulent archaeological evidence of t his period comes f rom t he &elan and
Son
valleys in t he nort hern Eindhyas ' Chot a ?agpur plat eau in &ihar ' upland
Maharasht ra' /rissa and f rom t he 6ast ern 1hat s in Andhra *radesh.
0 ools of ;##er 2alaeolithi+ 5ra
T he t ools of ,pper *alaeolit hic 6ra are essent ially charact erized by blade
and
t hey show a marked regional diversit y wit h respect t o t he ref inement of
t echniDues and st andardizat ion of f inished t ool f orms. T he middle
*alaeolit hic
t radit ion cont inued but in t his period we see t he parallelsided blades st
ruck
f rom st andardized prismat ic cores. 2urt her' t he prot ot ypes of t raps'
snares
and net s were probably used during t he upper *alaeolit hic t imes. T he
bored
st ones and grinding slabs have also been f ound giving hint s t o
advancement s
in t he t echnology of t ool product ion. T he bored st ones are st ill used by
f ishermen as net sinkers in riverine f ishing and marine f ishing. T he ,pper
*alaeolit hic set t lement s also show a dist inct t rend of being associat ed
wit h
permanent sources of wat ers. T he use of grinding st ones might have been
f or
processing plant f oods such as wild rice.
T he earliest f orm of art is f ound in t he f orm of ost rich egg shell pieces
engraved wit h crosshat ched designs f rom t he upper *alaeolit hic period.
Bhi,)et*a -o+* helters
&himbet ka rock shelt ers are locat ed in )aisen 0ist rict of Madhya *radesh'
"7
km sout h of &hopal at t he sout hern edge of t he Eindhyachal hills. T hese
served as shelt ers f or *alaeolit hic age man f or
more t han ! lakh years. T his is t he most e(clusive
*alaeolit hic sit e in @ndia which cont ains t he rock
carvings and paint ings. T hese paint ings belong t o
t he *alaeolit hic' Mesolit hic ages' Chalcolit hic'
earlyhist oric and even medieval t imes.
&himbet ka is a Aorld herit age Sit e.
*lease not e t hat it was earlier considered t o be a &uddhist sit e and was
lat er
recognized as *alaeolit hic sit e by Eishnu Shridhar Aakankar who is now
also
called Ff at her of rock art in @ndia F. &himbet ka )ock shelt ers were
included in
t he world herit age list in !$C%
I,#ortant 2alaeolithi+ sites in India4
9ingsugur in )aichur dist rict ' 5arnat aka was t he f irst sit e t o be
discovered f rom @ndia.
9idder river *ahalgam ' 5ashmir
Sohan valley *un+ab'
&anks of )iver &eas' &angagnga
Sirsa Haryana'
Chit t orgarh and 5ot a' )a+ast han'
)iver Aagoon' 5adamali basins )a+ast han.
)iver Sabaramat i and Mahi basins :)a+ast han Y 1u+arat <'
&asins of river t apt i' 1odavari' &hima and 5rishna
5oregaon' Chandoli and shikarpur :Maharasht ra<'
)iver )aro :Kharkhand<'
)iver Suvarnrekha :/rissa<'
1hat prabha )iver &asin :5arnat aka<.
*ahalgam ' Kammu Y 5ashmir
&elan Ealley' Allahabad
Sinsgi T alav' 0idwana ' ?agaur )a+ast han
Hunsgi' 1ulbarga in karnat aka.
At t irampakkam in T amilnadu
Introdu+tion to 2rehistory
#%!! %7 %" %-3%7377 15Today
T he past of humankind has been divided int o t wo broad cat egories viz.
2rehistori+ and histori+. *rehist oric period belongs t o t he t ime bef ore t
he
emergence of writ ing and t he hist oric period t o t he t ime f ollowing it . @t
has
been so f are believed t hat Modern Humans originat ed in Af rica and have
lived
on our planet f or around !7%'%%% years. @n recent t imes' t here have been
some
challenges t o t his t heory.
T he ant hropologist s have long t heorized t hat humans emerged f rom Af
rica
and int o 6ast and Sout heast Asia around .%'%%% years agoH t here has
been a
signif icant lack of f ossil evidence t o support t hese claims. T he earliest
skull
f ossil evidence in t he region had dat ed back !.'%%% years and was f ound
in
t he early #%th cent ury. !n "#g#st $%&$, a new skull was found that dates
back to
;<,::: to <=,::: years. 1his discovery has bolstered the genetic studies
that point
to modern humans inhabiting &aos and the surrounding environs at that
time,
according to a report of the anthropological discovery published in the latest
edition
of the 0roceedings of the National *cademy of !ciences 60N*!8. 1he skull
has
been found in Tam 'a (ing, 'the )a*e o+ the Monkeys, in northern
(aos. It
helps fill in this mysterious gap in the fossil record.
9dvent of 1riting
&ut ' man learnt writ ing only about 7%%%-%%% years ago. Arit ing most
likely
began as a conseDuence of polit ical e(pansion in ancient cult ures' which
needed reliable means f or t ransmit t ing inf ormat ion' maint aining f
inancial
account s' keeping hist orical records' and similar act ivit ies. @t has been
concluded t hat around t he "th millennium &C' t he comple(it y of t rade
and
administ rat ion out grew t he power of human memory' and writ ing
became a
more dependable met hod of recording and present ing t ransact ions in a
permanent f orm. T he earliest record of human writ ing may be t he
&is#ilio
0 a)let' dat ed t o t he .th millennium &C.
So' we humans have not learnt writ ing f or
a long t ime' even t oday I0-I2 J of the
"u,an 2o#ulation is illiterate. So'
writ t en hist ory gives us account of only
%.!Z of human hist ory. T hen' bef ore t he
invent ion of print ing t echnology in t he
medieval period' writ t en document s were
f ew and f ar bet ween' and many of t hem
have been lost due t o being writ t en on perishable mat erials like t ree
bark'
palm leaf ' papyrus and clot h. T his means t hat t he st ory of humankind
has t o
be reconst ruct ed largely wit h t he help of nonlit erary or archaeological
sources. T hese sources comprise ob+ect s [ t ools' weapons' ornament s'
st ruct ures and art ist ic creat ions which were produced and used by
humans
and which have survived t he ravages of t ime.
9r+haeology & 5thnoar+heology
9ike ot her creat ures' we humans also had t o adapt ourselves t o t he
environment ' but unlike ot her beings' we have done so wit h t he aid of
t echnology and mat erial cult ure :mat erial ob+ect s like t ools' weapons' ut
ensils'
houses' clot hes' ornament s' et c<. Since' t he component s of environment
such
as landscape' climat e' f lora and f auna also t ends t o change over t ime'
archaeologist s have t o reconst ruct past environment s as well. Moreover' t
he
biological remains of men have cont ribut ed t o t he underst anding of not
only
his biological evolut ion but also cult ural evolut ion. Archaeology' t hus' is a
mult idisciplinary
st udy involving disciplines like geology' palaeont ology'
palaeobot any' biological ant hropology and archaeological chemist ry.
T hen' t he cult ural changes t ake place at an uneven pace in dif f erent
regions.
@n many part s of t he world' f or e(ample in @ndia' prehist oric ways of lif e
have
survived more or less unchanged int o modern t imes. T he discipline' under
which we st udy t he nonindust rialized societ ies' especially t hose pract
ising
hunting+gathering, fishing, primitive cultivation and pastoralism, is known as
et hnoarchaeology. T his st udy cont ribut es t o int erpret ing t he
archaeological
record.
Origin of $an
T he origin of man begins in t he Miocene period' around t went y million
years
ago' when t he great apes' f rom whom t he humans evolved' f lourished in
large
areas of t he /ld Aorld. *rot o humans appeared in t he *liocene period'
around
f ive million years ago' and t heir cult ural evolut ion largely t ook place
during t he
*leist ocene period' which began about t wo million years ago. Ahile
biologically
humans dif f er f rom t he ot her apes in t heir upright post ure' abilit y t o
walk on
t wo f eet or hind limbs' e(t remely versat ile hand' and an unusually powerf
ul
brain' cult urally t hey dif f er in t heir abilit y t o manuf act ure and use t
ools.
2rehistori+ 2eriod4 Classif i+ation
T he prehist oric period is divided int o t hree ages' namely t he st one'
bronze
and iron ages. T hese ages' besides being t echnological st ages' also have
economic and social implicat ions. T he St one Age is divided int o t hree
periods'
viz. *alaeolit hic' Mesolit hic and ?eolit hic. T he suf f i( lit hic indicat es t hat
t echnology in t hese periods was primarily based on st one. ,conomically
the
0alaeolithic and esolithic periods represent the hunting+gathering stage
while the
Neolithic represents the stage of food production, i.e. plant cultivation and
animal
husbandry.
Con+e#t4 9)solute and -elative Chronology
Chronology of t he past can be eit her relat ive or absolut e. )elat ive
chronology
dat es prehist oric event s in relat ion t o ot her event s and geological
deposit s.
T he relat ive chronology t ells us if a part icular event is earlier or lat er t
han
anot her event . /n t he ot her hand' t he Absolut e chronology dat es event
s and
phenomena in solar calendar years. T he t echniDues such as )adiocarbon'
58Ar' f ission t racks' t hermoluminescence' T H#4%8,#4" and
dendrochronology
are t he t echniDues of absolut e chronology. /ut of t hen' t he
dendrochronology
is applicable only t o a period of a f ew t housand years and only in t he f ew
areas where old wood samples have been preserved. T hen' t he radiocarbon
dat ing can dat e event s up t o si(t y t housand years old. T he ot her met
hods
can' however' dat e event s belonging t o t he ent ire prehist oric period.
However'
t heir applicat ion is dependent on t he availabilit y of suit able mat erials
such as
volcanic ash and rock at archaeological sit es.
$esolithi+ 9ge in India
#%!! %7 %" !"3%73"! 15Today
T he t ransit ion f rom t he *alaeolit hic period t o Mesolit hic period is
marked by
t ransit ion f rom *leist ocene period t o Holocene and f avourable changes in
t he
climat e. T he climat e became warmer and humid and t here was e(pansion
of
f lora and f auna cont ribut ed by increased rainf all. T his led t o availabilit y
of new
resources t o humans and t hus t he human beings moved t o new areas. T
his
period is marked wit h increased populat ion' t hough core economy of t his
period cont inued t o be based on hunt ing and gat hering.
$ost i,#ortant Change
T he early period of Mesolit hic age marks t he hunt ing' f ishing and f ood
gat hering which t urn t o hunt ing' f ishing' f ood gat hering as well as
domest icat ing t he animals.
/ne more important fact about the Mesolithic era in @ndia is that the first
human
colonization of the 1anga plains took place during this period. There are
more than
two hundred Mesolithic sites found in Allahabad' *ratapgarh' Kaunpur'
Mirzapur and
Earanasi districts of ,ttar *radesh. This era also marks the dramatically
increased
settlement in deltaic region of &engal' the areas around Mumbai and other
places
of western coast of @ndia.
0 ools of $esolithi+ 5ra
T he t ools are Mesolit hic 6ra are smaller in size and bet t er in f inishing
:more
geomet ric< t han t he *alaeolit hic age and are called $i+roliths. T hese
microlit hs are t iny t ools of one t o f ive cent imet res lengt h' made by
blunt ing
one or more sides wit h st eep ret ouch. T he main t ool t ypes are backed
blades'
obliDuely t runcat ed blades' point s' crescent s' t riangles and t rapezes.
Some of
t he microlit hs were used as component s of spearheads' arrowheads'
knives'
sickles' harpoons and daggers.
T hey were f it t ed int o grooves in bone' wood and reed shaf t s and +oined
t oget her by nat ural adhesives like gum and resin. Hunt inggat hering way
of lif e
was slowly replaced by f ood product ion f rom about .%%% &.C. T hus we
see
t hat t he use of t he bow and arrow f or hunt ing had become common in t
his
period' which is evident f rom many rock paint ings. T he &ored st ones'
which
had already appeared during t he upper *alaeolit hic' became common
during
t his' and t he ?eolit hic and Chalcolit hic periods. T hese are believed t o
have
been used as weight s in digging st icks and as net sinkers. Similarly'
shallow
Duerns and grinding st ones also occur at several sit es. T hese new
t echnological element s led t o enhanced ef f iciency in hunt ing' collect ion
and
processing of wild plant f oods.
Changes in /if e- $esolithi+ 5ra
!ro , (o ,adis, t o edent ary set t le,ent s
T here were some more int erest ing changes in lif est yle of t he Mesolit hic
era
humans. T he f avourable climat e' bet t er rainf alls' warm at mosphere and
increased f ood securit y led t o reduct ion in nomadism t o seasonally
sedent ary
set t lement .
!irst &is#o sal o f dead and ,a*ing o f 'raves
T he sedent ary set t lement s lead t o beginning of t he t radit ion of various
ways
of int ent ional disposal of t he dead. 1he first evidence of intentional
disposal of
the dead comes from esolithic ,ra. Mesolit hic human burials have been f
ound
at &agor in )a+ast han' 9anghna+ in 1u+arat ' &himbet ka in Madhya *radesh
et c.
T he dead were buried in graves bot h in e(t ended and crouched posit ion.
@n
some cases t wo individuals were buried in a single grave. T he dead were
occasionally provided wit h grave of f erings which include chunks of meat '
grinding st ones' st one' bone and ant ler ornament s' and pieces of haemat
it e.
5,erging art s
T he Mesolit hic man was a lover of art ' evident f rom t he paint ings in
several
t housand rock shelt ers in t he Eindhyan sandst one hills in cent ral @ndia. T
he
paint ings have been f ound in bot h inhabit ed and uninhabit ed shelt ers. T
he
paint ings are made most ly in red and whit e pigment s' made f orm t he
nodules
f ound in rocks and eart h. T he sub+ect mat t er of t he paint ings are most
ly wild
animals and hunt ing scenes' t hough t here are some relat ed t o human
social
and religious lif e such as se( and child birt h.
!o o d 2ro du+t io n
T he hunt inggat hering way of lif e was slowly replaced by f ood product
ion
f rom about .%%% &.C. T he core economic act ivit ies were now included
hunt ing'
f owling' f ishing and wild plant f ood gat hering. 1he first animals to be
domesticated were dog, cattle, sheep and goat and the first plants to be
cultivated
were wheat and barley. T his new subsist ence economy based on f ood
product ion had a last ing impact on t he evolut ion of human societ y and t
he
environment . @n t he humid lands' e(t ending f rom t he middle 1anga
valley t o
China and Sout heast Asia' rice cult ivat ion and domest icat ion of pig was
accomplished probably around t he same t ime because rice and pig e(ist ed
in
wild f orm in t his region. T he cult ivat ion of yams and t aro also t ook
place in t his
region. 0omest icat ed animals proved t o be usef ul not only f or meat but
also
f or milk' hide' agricult ural operat ions' and t ransport .
$eso lit hi+ 5ra4 I,#o rt ant 2o int s
Agricult ure had not f ully developed.
T he earliest evidence of domest icat ion of animals has been provided by
Adamagarh in Madhya *radesh and &agor in )a+ast han. A st udy has also
suggest ed cult ivat ion of plant s around C%%%.%%% years back near
Sambhar lake in A+mer )a+ast han.
T he *achpadra basin and So+at Area of )a+ast han is a rich Mesolit hic
sit es and lot of microlit hs have been discovered.
&agor in )a+ast han is t he almost largest Mesolit hic sit e in @ndia. Anot her
ma+or Mesolit hic sit e in )a+ast han is T ilwara.
@n 1ua+arat some places on t he banks of river Sabarmat i are Mesolit hic
sit es which include t he Akha+' Ealsana' Hirpur' 9anghan+ et c.
Sarai ?ahar )ai in Allahabad*rat apgarh of ,t t ar *radesh is a Mesolit hic
sit e. /t her sit es in ,t t ar *radesh are Morhana *ahar and lekkahia.
@n Madhya *radesh &himbet ka along wit h Adamgarh are ma+or Mesolit hic
sit es.
@n Kharkhand Chhot a nagpur plat eau is a ma+or Mesolit hic sit e in @ndia.
@n /rissa Mayurbhan+' 5eon+har' Sundergarh is a ma+or Mesolit hic sit e in
@ndia.
@n sout h @ndia 1odavari basin is rich in microlit hs'
T he rock paint ing of Mesolit hic period is f ound in Adamgarh' &himbet ka
of Madhya *radesh and *rat apgarh' Mirzapur of )a+ast han. Apart f rom
t he animals' hunt ing scenes' t he Mesolit hic sit es have also paint ing of
social lif e' se(ual act ivit y' child birt h' rearing of children and burial
ceremony.
(eolithi+ 9ge in India
#%!! %7 %" !"3%73#! 15Today
T he ?eolit hic period began around !%C%% t o $"%% &C in T ell Uaramel in
?ort hern Syria. @n Sout h Asia t he dat e assigned t o ?eolit hic period is
C%%% &C
and t he earliest e(ample is Mehrgarh Cult ure.
T he human set t lement s in t he Mesolit hic era got more sedent ary and t
his was
t he beginning of est ablishment of villages. Man now could keep cat t le'
sheep
and goat s and prot ect crops f rom pest s. @n due course' as t he ef f iciency
of
agricult ural product ion improved' some f armers were able t o generat e
surplus
f ood. As a conseDuence' a sect ion of t he populat ion were f reed f rom t he
t ask
of f ood product ion and t heir t alent s and energies were divert ed t o t
asks such
as t he product ion of pot s' basket s' Duarrying of st one' making of bricks'
masonry and carpent ry.
T his was t he beginning of t he new occupat ions such as t he oil presser'
washerman' barber' musician' dancers et c. T his t ransit ion f rom hunt
inggat
hering t o f ood product ion is called t he (eolithi+ revolution. Around
.%%%&C' t he smelt ing of met als such as Copper began which was used f or
raw
mat erial t o be used in t ool product ion. 9at er' T in was mi(ed wit h cooper
and
bronze appeared which st ronger met al t han bot h t in and copper was. /se
of
bronze for tools led to the invention of wheel which revolutionized transport
and
pottery production.
1he Neolithic period began around .:>:: to ?;:: "C in 1ell @aramel in
Northern
!yria. In !outh *sia the date assigned to Neolithic period is >::: "C and the
earliest e#ample is ehrgarh Culture. ehrgarh is the oldest agricultural
settlement
in the Indian subcontinent.
$ehrgarh Culture
Mehrgarh is t he oldest agricult ural set t lement in t he @ndian subcont inent
Agricult urebased ?eolit hic set t lement s. 0espit e being t he agricult ure
set t lement ' it used only st one t ools' so is why placed in ?eolit hic 6ra. @t
f lourished in t he sevent h millennium &.C.
Mehrgarh is locat ed on t he &olan )iver' a t ribut ary of t he @ndus' at t he
east ern
edge of t he &aluchist an plat eau overlooking t he @ndus plain. T he
Mehrgarh
cult ure has been divided int o - sub periods and f ollowing are import ant
f eat ures of t hese subperiods3
!irst 2erio d
6arliest period of Mehrgarh is charact erized by polished st one t ools'
microlit hs and bone t ools. @n t his phase t he subsist ence economy
consist ed of a combinat ion of hunt ing' st ockbreeding and plant
cult ivat ion.
T he domest icat ed animals comprise cat t le' sheep' goat and wat er
buf f alo while t he cult ivat ed plant s comprise several variet ies of wheat
and barley.
T he houses were made of mud and mudbricks.
Mult iple rooms wit hout doors are believed t o have been used f or st oring
grain.
1he dead were buried under the floors of the houses where people lived.
Some of t he skelet ons which were buried have been f ound sprinkled wit h
red ochre.
?ecklaces of microbeads of st eat it e along wit h beads of t urDuoise'
lapis lazuli and sea shell' st one a(es and microlit hs have also been
f ound in t he graves.
In two cases, bodies of young goats were also found.
T here was no pot t ery at t his st age but basket s coat ed wit h bit umen
were used.
e+o nd 2erio d
T his period has lef t evidences of handmade' basket impressed coarse
ware. T here was emergence of wheelmade pot t ery paint ed in reddish
and black color wit h simple st raight and curved lines' rows of dot s and
crisscrosses.
Sickles made of st one bladelet s' set obliDuely in wood handles wit h
bit umen as t he adhesive mat erial' may have been used f or harvest ing.
Met al t echnology st art ed ' evident f rom t he discovery of a copper ring
and a bead .
T erracot t a human f igurines and bangles also appear.
0 hird 2erio d
@mproved f arming around 4%%% &C is evident f rom a new variet y of
barley' viz. $ordeum sphaerococcum' which can be grown only in irrigat ed
f ields.
T he presence of cotton seeds suggests the possibility of the use of this fibre
for te#tile manufacture.
T he Eessels were now decorat ed wit h paint ings of birds and animals as
also wit h geomet ric designs. /at s and anot her variet y of wheat was
added t o t he agricult ure.
St one bead manuf act uring and copper smelt ing st art ed.
!ourth 2eriod
6mergence of polychrome pot t ery wit h a t all goblet wit h wide mout h and
a pedest al base as a new shape.
6(t ensive use of t imber in t he const ruct ion of houses' of f emale
t erracot t a f igurines wit h pendulous breast s and of st amped seals of
t erracot t a and bone.
6mergence of commercial t ransact ions.
!if t h 2erio d
A marked decline in polychrome decorat ion on pot t ery.
i:t h 2erio d
0ramat ically increase in pot t ery st yles and t he f irst evidence of pot t ery
kilns.
*ipal leaf and humped bull designs appear on pot t ery which ant icipat e
Harappan mot if s.
*rolif erat ion of t erracot t a f igurines' improved f emale f igurines.
eventh 2eriod
)ichness and variet y of t erracot t a f igurines very much similar t o t he
@ndus Ealley Civilizat ion.
Medial part it ion of t he hair suggest ing t he popular pract ice among Hindu
women.
T erracot t a bulls wit h prominent humps and rams made in alabast er.
0esigns of swast ika' crucif orms and running animals on t erracot t a
f igurines.
6mergence of monument al archit ect ure evident f rom a large brick
plat f orm.
5ight h 2erio d
St ruct ured graves' semiprecious st one beads and a bronze shaf t hole
a(e.
Cigar Snapped handmade &rick st ruct ures wit h f ire places' st one blade
indust ry using f lint ' composit e st ickle' grinding st ones' bone t ools'
*ot t ery et c.
@n April #%%.' it was announced in t he scient if ic +ournal ?at ure t hat t he
oldest
:and f irst early ?eolit hic< evidence in human hist ory f or t he drilling of t
eet h in a
living person was f ound in Mehrgarh. Mehrgarh is now seen as a precursor t
o
t he @ndus Ealley Civilizat ion. F0iscoveries at Mehrgarh changed t he ent ire
concept of t he @ndus civilizat ion'F
Chal+olithi+ 9ge in India
#%!! %7 %" !"3%7377 15Today
Chalcolit hic is also known as 6neolit hic period which saw t he use of t he
met als
among which t he Copper was f irst . @t is called Chalcolit hic which means
use of
st one and well as copper was prevalent in t his period. T he earliest
set t lement s of t he Chalcolit hic period range f rom t he 1anget ic basin t o
Chhot anagpur *lat eau. T he economy of t his period was based upon
agricult ure' st ock raising' hunt ing and f ishing. 9imit ed number of Copper
and
bronze t ools have also been recovered.
T he presence of paint ed pot t ery is a hall mark of t he Chalcolit hic period.
T he burial pract ice was anot her st riking f eat ure and t he dead were
buried in a part icular direct ion all over a part icular area.
T he largest sit e of t he Chalcolit hic period is 0iamabad sit uat ed on t he
lef t bank of t he *ravara )iver.
T he pot t ery ranges f rom )ed ware ' deep red ware t o deep brown and
black' *ict ographic red and black and polished red.
o,e Chal+olithi+ Cultures4
9hara Culture4 T he sit es of Ahar Cult ure were Aahar :)a+ast han<'
balat hal' 1ilund et c. T he dist inct ive f eat ure is black and red ware.
<ayatha Culture4 9ocat ed in Chambal and it s t ribut aries' t he st urdy red
slipped ware wit h chocolat e designs is main f eat ure
$al1a Culture4 ?armada Y it s t ribut aries in 1u+arat . /ne of t he largest
Chalcolit hic set t lement s.
valda Culture4 T he wellknown sit es are in 0hulia dist rict of
Maharasht ra.
2ra)has & -ang#ur Culture4 &ot h of t hem are derived f rom t he
Harappa cult ure. T he polished red ware is t he hall mark of t his cult ure.
I,#ortant O)servations a)out Chal+olithi+ Culture
T he lower *alaeolit hic sit es were not f ound on t he plains of @ndus'
Saraswat i' &rahmaput ra and 1anga because probably mat erial in t he
f orm of st one was not available over t here. As St one was t he ma+or
indust ry of t he t ime. T hen' in nort hern @ndia ' esolithic sites have not
been recorded.
1he main difference between the &ower 0aleolithic and upper 0aleolithic was
that in &ower 0aleolithic 7uartzite was mainly used while in upper 0aleolithic
crypto+crystalline silica was mainly used.
In Aashmir, the people of Neolithic settelements used to bury dogs wit h t
heir
mast ers .
*part from the stone tools, there is one side in India which gives evidence of
"one tools in 0aleolithic ,ra. @t is Muchchat t a Chint amanu 1avi. @t s locat
ed
in kurnool .
Cult ivat ion of cot t on was a main f eat ure of Mehrgarh as well as @ndus
Ealley Civilizat ion.
T he 6arliest evidence of )ice cult ivat ion has come f rom &elan Ealley
T he Middle *alaeolit hic @ndust ry based upon st one was locat ed in
sout hern T har desert in )a+ast han and it was called /uni industry.
T he most common animal in t he cave paint ings of *alaeolit hic and
Mesolit hic era was was deer.
T he people of 1ilund in )a+ast han were ?/T aware of bricks.
T he &anana' Coconut ' areca nut et c. Came f rom Sout h 6ast Asia
around #%%% &C
&is+overy & 5:tent of Indus Valley Civilization
#%!! %7 %" !73%734# 15Today
'* long march preceded our arrival at $aripah, through )angal of the closest
description.... When I )oined the camp I found it in front of the village and
ruinous
brick castle. "ehind us was a large circular mound, or eminence, and to the
west
was an irregular rocky height, crowned with the remains of buildings, in
fragments
of walls, with niches, after the eastern manner.... 1radition affirms the
e#istence
here of a city, so considerable that it e#tended to Chicha Watni- thirteen
.osses
distant, and that it was destroyed by a particular visitation of 0rovidence,
brought
down by the lust and crimes of the sovereign'
T his was t he f irst narrat ion of t he Harappa Civilizat ion by an
6nglishman Charles Masson in !-"#. T he coss is around # miles and it has
been used as a unit of lengt h in @ndia since Eedic T imes.
However' t he discovery of Charles Masson could not at t ract any
archeological
int erest f or many years.
@n !-C#' Sir Ale(ander Cunningham published t he f irst Harappan seal.
About half a cent ury lat er in !$!# more Harappan seals were discovered by
K
2leet . 9at er an e(cavat ion campaign was carried out under Sir Kohn Hubert
Marshall and t his culminat ed in t he discovery of a Civilizat ion at Harappa
by
Sir Kohn Marshall' )ai &ahadur 0aya )am Sahni and Madho Sarup Eat s' and
at Mohen+o0aro by )akhal 0as &aner+ee' 6. K. H. Mac5ay' and Sir Kohn
Marshall.
5:tent of the Indus Valley Civilization
T he cent re of t he civilizat ion was in Sind and *un+ab in undivided @ndia' f
rom
t his cent re' t he civilizat ion spread t owards all direct ion. @n Aest t he last
e(t ent
is seaboard of Sout h &aluchist an at t he Sukt agendor which can be called
it s
west ern border. @n east Alamagirpur in ,t t ar *radesh :0ist rict Meerut <
can be
called it s 6ast ern &order. @n ?ort h it e(t ended up t o Manda in Kammu Y
5ashmir and in sout h it e(t ended up t o &hagvat rav in ?armada 6st uary
of
1u+arat . However' lat er at 0iamabad :0ist rict Ahamed ?agar Maharasht
ra<
was t he sit e where f our f igurines of &ronze on t he bank of *ravara )iver
f ound. T his pushed t he civilizat ion>s e(t ension in f urt her sout h. @ndus
civilizat ion
remnant s have been discovered f rom as f ar sout h as Mumbai in
Maharasht ra
St at e.
O)servations
Most set t lement s in @ndus Ealley Civilizat ion are on banks of rivers.
As f ar as e(t ension is concerned' t he @ndus civilizat ion was largest of t he
f our ancient urban civilizat ions of 6gypt ' Mesopot amia' Sout h Asia and
China
@t covered an area of around !4 9akh sDuare kilomet ers.
T his area is triangular in sha#e and no ot her ancient civilizat ion was
e(t ended t o such a large area.
)emains of t he sit e f irst f ound at Harappa so it is also called Harappan
Civilizat ion.
Modern dat ing met hods keep t he civilizat ion t o be ranging f rom #$%% t o
#%%%&C.
T he people of t his civilizat ion were def init ely in t ouch wit h t he ot her
civilizat ions most prominent ly being t he Mesopot amian civilizat ion.
0 he dif f eren+e )et1een na,es of "ara##an Civilization and Indus
Valley
Civilization
&ot h t he names are cot erminous. Harappa is an archaeological sit e in
*un+ab'
*akist an and t his was t he f irst sit e where t he remains of t he civilizat ion
were
f irst f ound. T hat is why it is called Harappan Civilizat ion. Since it st art ed
in t he
river valley of t he @ndus )iver and largest concent rat ion of t he set t
lement s
has been f ound along t he course of t his river' it was called @ndus Ealley
Civilizat ion.

Chronology of Indus Valley Civilization

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Chronology of Indus Valley Civilization

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