Timeline of Vedic civilization:
Many important events of ancient Hindu civilization are being validated and under revision by Indian and Western scholars. The Aryan invasion theory has been rejected and chronology of many important events is further back dated.
Chronology of Ancient Indian History | |
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* 500,000 BC : Tools like stone axes were in use in India.
* 70,000 BC : Start of last ice age.
* 35,000 BC : Asians spread to Eurasia
* 30,000 BC : Native Americans spread all over Americas
* 12,000 BC : Vedic civilization flourishes in India.
* 10,000 BC :
The existence of Vedas as early as 10000 BC has been found based on
description of celestial events in vedic scripture Taittariya brahmana.
A celestial event of asterism Aquarius 20° 00' to Pisces 3° 20' ( Purva Bhadrapada ) rising due east has been mentioned in the vedic scripture.
By reverse engineering using calculations based on Vedanga Jyothishya, Some Indian scholars(Dr. B.G. Siddharth) have found that, This celestial event had occured around 10000 BC.
* 8,500 BC : Yajur veda Taittireya samhita describes a celestial event where the position of Pleiades asterism(Kritika) is mentioned, dating the usage of this Veda to 8500 BC.
* 7,300 BC: According to calculations by some scholars King Rama was born in 7323 BC.
* 7,000 BC: Manu Vaivasvata "Father of humankind" sailed from south to north towards the Himalayas during the great deluge.
* 7,000 BC: Early evidence of horses being used in the Gangetic plains. This based on horse sacrifice mentioned in Ramayana.
* 6,500 BC: According to Dr. Frawley The Rig Vedic verses (e.g., 1.117.22, 1.116.12, 1.84.13.5) describe winter solstice in Aries which can date the planetary positions to around 6,500 BC.
* 5,000 BC: Indus-Sarasvati civilization in Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, present day Gujarat and Rajastan. Dated by analysis of archeological sites. Brick fire altars found in many houses, suggesting Vedic yajna/fire worship. Earliest signs of worship of Lord Siva. Part of current day Afghanistan was part of Vedic Hindu civilization.
* 4,000 BC: Sage Kapila propounded the Sankhya Philosopy, one of the six darshanas of ( hinduism ) philosophy. The date of Kapila is very contraversial but since
Kapila is mentioned in mahabharatha, his time must be much before the events of
Mahabharatha.
* 3138 BC - Mahabharata War: The date has been determined by Indian scholars based on
MahaRishi Veda Vyasa's description of the positions of the Sun, Moon, Rahu, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars and Venus at
the time of the MahaBharata war. Vysa Also describes the planetary
positions and the winter solstice at the time of Bheeshma's death, a few
days after the war. An inscription dated 634 AD at a Jain temple in Aihole, Karnataka states that the temple was built after 3735 years ( Saka era ) had passed since the Bharata war.
Tilak and other scholars have computed the traditional period of the Mahabharata war to be 3100 BC based on vedanga Jyothishya calculations. Alternate date of Mahabharata war has been suggested as 5561 BC.
* 3102 BC: Some scholars compute this period as the beginning of KaliYuga based on computation using Vedanga Jyothishya and Lord Krishna's reference to it in MahaBharata.
* 3100 BC: End of early vedic period. Some scholars consider the end of Mahabharata war as the beginning of later Vedic period.
* 2900 BC : Sage Ashvalayana ( disciple of sage Saunaka) compiles Rigvedic Srauta and Grihya sutras. The Grhya sutra descibes the process of conducting rituals at important events such as
conception, birth, initiation, marriage, death etc. Srauta sutras describe the
process of conducting ritual sacrifices at the altar of fire etc.
* 2500 BC: Indus - Sarasvati civilization flourishes for next 600 years spread over northwest India, Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana. The settlement had links to Karnataka ( Dakshina patha ), Mesopotamia and Central Asia. Rice and cotton are cultivated.
* 1900 BC: Possible drying up of Saraswati river due to climatic changes and its tributaries changing course due to tectonic shift. People move east to Gangetic plains and south to Deccan plateau. Probable timeline for migration to east and south of so called "Vedic Aryans" Pancha Dravida and Pancha Gauda.
* 1900 BC: Yaska - Celebrated author of Nirukta, a treatise on Sanskrit etymology, philology and semamntics. This is regarded as earliest known work on language etymology. Yaska succeeded sage Sakatayana and refers to 9 predecessors. Some of the ancient etymolgists named are Audumbarayana, Varshayani, Gargya and Galava.
* 1500 BC: Ayurveda ( Hindu school of medicine ) starts to get systematized.
Aitreya(Punarvasu) samhita is referred to as the oldest digest of Ayurvedic medicine. However Caraka ( Charaka ) samhita is well known and is supposed have been
compiled by Caraka as the earliest known work on Internal medicine in world history.
* 1300 BC: Ancient grammarian genius Panini composes Ashtadhyayi, Describes the difference between the language of the learned ( Sanskrit/ Samskruta ) and the colloquial language (Prakrit and Apabramsha) of communication. Panini gave a framework of formal rules and definitions to describe Samskruta(Sanskrit) grammar. The language of the Vedas is known as Chandas.
* 1250 BC: King of Magadha, Shuchi compiles Vedanga Jyothishya, The earliest known treatise
on Astrology. Laghada is another compiler of Vedanga Jyothishya according to certain ancient works on astrology. Vedanga Jyothishya was in vogue since the time of Mahabharata.
* 1100 BC : Grammarian Katyana writes a vartika on Panin's Ashtadhyani. A vartika is a brief elucidation of some research work to clear any ambiguity.
* 1000 BC: Later Vedic period ends. Era of Upanishads begin.
* 850 BC : Earliest records of the city of Varanasi dated to 80 BC found. Varanasi ( or Kashi)
is mentioned in Vedas and is probably the oldest living city in history.
* 800 BC : Mathematician Baudhayana's theorem pre-dates Pythagoras theorem by 300 years. Budhayana also wrote a treatise on vedic rituals known as Baudhayana Srauta sutra.
* 750 BC : Prakrit, The language of common man is in use. Sanskrit, The language of the learned starts
getting refined.
* 623-543 BC: Buddha( Siddhartha Gautama ), born to Hindu shaivaite sakya royal family in Lumbini, Northern part of ancient India.
* 600 BC : Sushrutha, ancient Indian Surgeon lived and practiced at Kashi. Systematized and wrote a samhita(treatise) on surgery and other practices. Sushrutha is known as world's earliest plastic surgeon. Only tainted manuscripts of Sushrutha Samhita have been found.
| The chronology of ancient Indian history has been compiled by www.desitip.com. |
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* 600 BC : Carvaka ( Chaarvaka ). Carvaka propounded a philosophy of atheism known as Lokayata. One who questions the authenticity of vedas is
known as a Nastika ( Naastika ). The Lokayata philosophy is more popularly as Carvaka due to the author. The Carvakas did not believe in life after death
and believed in naturalism and sensual indulgence. This philosphy was refuted
by later day Indian philosophers such as Sage Madhava Vidyaranya.
* 599 BC : Bhagawan Mahavir, The 24th thirthankar of Jains was born as a prince in Bihar.
Mahavir's teachings stress on vegetarianism, asceticism and nonviolence. Some scholars have proposed the date of Mahavira to be 1882 BC.
* 500 BC : Pali and Prakrit used by Buddhists and Jains to write their scriptures. Brahmi
script is in use.
* 473 BC : Adi Shankaracharya born in Kaladi, present day Kerala. This is based on the
fact that Shankaracharya was born 70 years after the PariNirvana of Buddha.
ShankaraCharya debated and transformed Shaktas, Vaishnavaites, Shaivaites, Sankyas, Jains
with his vast knowledge of Vedas and sharp intellect. Advaita philosophy became
pre-eminent during Shankaracharya's time. Some scholars put the birth date of ShankaraCharya to be 509 BC while others put it as 788 AD. More research is needed to determine the accuracy of Shankaracharya's time.
* 413-322 BC : The mighty Nandas rule India from Magadha in present day Bihar.
* 326 BC : Alexander battles with Paurava(Poros) a small king at the northwestern Indian border. Alexander learn't that the Nandas were waiting for him on the eastern banks of river Ganges with an infantry of 200,000 soldiers, 20,000 horses, 2000 chariots and 4000 elephants. This seems to have terrorized the Macedonian soldiers and Alexander retreated to Persia in 324 BC and died in Babylonia in 323 BC.
*
322 - 299 BC : ChandraGupta Maurya ascends the throne in Magadha.
* 299 BC : Bindusara ascends throne in Magadha.
*
273-234 BC : Reign of Emperor Asoka.
* 235 BC - 225 AD : Satavahanas rule parts of central and south India from their capital at Pratishtana ( Paatan ) in ancient Karnataka. Gunadya's famous Brhat Katha was composed during this time.
* 182 BC : End of Maurya Empire. The rise of Sungas.
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100 BC : Mathematician Pingala uses Binary arithmetic to classify Vedic meters while writing a treatise on Vedanga Chandas Shastra.
* 73-28 BC : The reign of Kanvas.
* 15 AD - 124 AD : The reign of Kushans in Northwest India.
* 250 - 490 AD : The Vakatakas
Chronology of medieval Indian History
This is under compilation
History