Vedic Culture & Hindu Faith of India The Vedic Culture of India created the Rig Veda, the oldest of the Vedas in Hindu faith. Modern scholars now query origins of the Vedic Civilizations in Indian history.
of the Vedas and cornerstone of the Hindu faith. Many ancient cultural aspects of Indian society dating back to the Vedic Civilizations are still extant today, however Indian scholars, Yogis and now modern historians have long queried the origins of the Vedic era, particularly its historical documented start date of 1500BCE.
With the benefits of science, satellite photography and sophisticated dating techniques some scholars now argue that the Rig Vedic Civilization - the first Vedic culture - may well have been in existence from before 6000BCE and indeed have influenced the development of the Indus Valley Civilization of North India and Pakistan.Origins of the Rig Veda & Vedic Culture of India
The origins and history of the Vedic Culture are now hotly debated as modern scholars even query the dates for what has been termed the Vedic tradition, or its precursor the Rig Vedic Civilization. The Rig Vedic Culture created the Rig Veda, the oldest book in Sanskrit and of the Vedas of the Hindu faith. According to Britannica Online and the New World Encyclopedia, an online reference, the Vedic Civilization lasted from around 1500BCE to 500BCE and was based in northern and north west India.Modern scholars, with the advantage of scientific techniques, satellite photography, DNA and carbon date testing now argue that the initial Vedic Culture of India, the Rig Vedic Civilization was in existence far earlier than 1500BCE. The sacred Rig Veda was created at this time and most aspects of Vedic science, for example the practice of yoga, meditation and mantra, originated within the Rig Veda. Dr K Chandler assesses that it now seems certain that the Rig Vedic Civilization was in existence long before "3000BC and possibly before 6000BC".
Arguments for the Existence of the Rig Vedic Culture prior to 1500BCE
According to Dr K Chandler some of the many arguments for the existence of the Vedic Culture prior to 1500BCE are as follows:- The ancient city of Mehrgarh dates back to before 6500 BCE, well before the existence of the Indus Valley Civilization
- 1981 discovery of the submerged ancient city of Dwarka (or Dwaraka), mentioned in the Vedic Mahabarata, has established that the city was dated from 1600BCE
- Simple comparison of the body of literature produced by the Vedic Civilizations with texts produced by the Greek and Roman Civilizations lead to a conclusion that the Rig Veda tradition originated well before 3500BCE
- Astronomic texts from the Vedic Brahmana support dating of the Rig Vedic Civilization from between 6000BCE and 4500BCE based on references to constellations and equinoxes. This anomaly was first pointed out by Professor H Jacobi of the University of Bonn and Asian scholar B Tilak in the 19th Century
- Discovery of ancient stone inscription in Devanagri dated from at least 3000BC. Devanagri is the script in which Vedic Sanskrit was written
- Principal cities of the Indus Valley Civilization were planned and laid out according to the principles of an architectural system described in Sthapatya Veda
- Ancient artefact from the Indus Valley Civilization of Mohenjo-daro picturing a king seated in the Lotus position. The Indus Valley Civilzation has been declared to predate the Vedic. As the Vedic Civilizations invented yoga this artefact should have been an impossibility.
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