Eternal India Encyclopedia

LURE - THRU THE AGES

Eternal India encyclopedia

Pre-Harappan Cultures Mehrgarh (Chalcolithic) Kot-Diji I:

* Introduced weight unit and script in Bahrain and Oman. * First to have a decimal graduation for linear measurement equivalent to Greek Uncia. * Conceived of energy in three forms- fire, sun & lightning. * Terracotta model of a plough from Banawali and the seed drill motif on a seal from Lothal confirm the use of sophisticated agricultural implements. * Natural calamities caused decay of Harappan towns and cities. * Cotton : main commercial crop and used in manufacturing cloth. * Domestication of animals and cultivation of plants was done. * They liked monkey, squirrel, hare, dove, and parrot and produced excellent terracotta models of these animals and birds. * Tiger, rhinoceros and gharial, though feared, served as symbols of divine power and were carved on seals. * Usage of copper and bronze tools in ornaments and agricultural implements. * Bead-making industry catered to international and domestic market. * Ceramic industry : rich in typology and decoration. * The art of painting on pottery had reached sophistication. epics seem to have grown in length with additions and interpolations being made subsequently. The complete Mahabharata of 100,000 verses, the longest single poem in the world, is mentioned for the first time in an inscription of the Gupta period (4th century A.D.). Among the religious poems that form part of this epic, the most famous is the Bhagavad Gita, the "Song of the Lord", which constitutes the cornerstone of Hinduism. The Upanishads , composed from 700 B.C., represent a higher stage in Aryan evolution. They contain speculation and thinking about such fundamental questions as the beginning of creation and the exis- tence of a creator. The term Upanishad means a "sitting down near", sitting at the feet of a master who imparts spiritual doctrines. The early Upanishads embody a bewildering variety of specula- tions and theories on the origin of the universe, the nature of the soul and other problems. Creation was attributed to the primeval person, Prajapati, who feeling the need for companionship, divided himself and produced a wife. This couple taking the form of men and animals, created the whole universe. The world was also said to have originated in a ‘Golden Embryo’ (Hiranyagarbha), which became the basis of the cosmic Egg of later Hindu mythology. Hinduism as we know it today developed out of these metaphysi- cal enquiries. The philosophy of the Upanishads with its concept of the Absolute or the Universal Soul militating against the multiplicity of Aryan gods, resulted in the idea of the trinity of gods with Brahma as the Creator, Vishnu as the Preserver and Shiva as the god who destroys the world when it becomes evil-ridden. Sacrifices, which occupied a prominent place in the Vedic ritual, included offerings of milk, grain, ghee (clarified butter) and the juice of the Soma plant. The object of the sacrifice was the gratification of the gods in order to obtain boons from them.

3400-3000 B.C. : 3100-2800 B.C.

Sothi and Kalibangan I

Harappan Culture Mohenjo-daro : 3100-1900 B.C. Kalibangan II : 2900-1900 B.C.

Lothal A :

3000-1900 B.C.

Rangpur II A :

2000 (?)-1900 B.C.

Late Harappan Culture Lothal B, Rangpur II B : 1900-1700 B.C. Devolutionary phase of Late Harappan Culture

Lothal B (latest levels) and Rangpur II C : 1700-1600 B.C. Prabhas Period II (Early Prabhas Culture): 1800-1500 B.C. Post-Harappan Cultures

Lustrous Red Ware Culture Rangpur III :1600-1300 B.C. Late Prabhas Period III : 1500-1200 B.C. * Developed brisk overseas trade and established merchant colonies in Bah- rain, Failaka and the Euphrates -Tigris valley. * Built the first dockyard of the world.

THE VEDIC AGE

The Vedas which form the earliest Indian literature consist largely of hymns to the Aryan gods in their language, Sanskrit. Veda means knowledge and is derived from the root, vid , to know. The Rig Veda, the earliest of the Vedas, parts of which were composed prior to 1000 B.C., consists of 1028 hymns to the Aryan gods and were composed by priests. The remaining Vedic literature- the Sama, Yajur and Atharva Vedas - is of later date. Each of the Vedas has two main divisions - the samhitas, and the Brahmanas. The samhitas consist of the/rawfra portion of the Vedas. Mantra means formula, a verse or phrase believed to have magical or religious efficiency. Each entire collection of mantras forms a samhita. There are four principal samhitas - Rig Veda samhita, Yajur Veda samhita, Sama Veda samhita, Atharva Veda samhita. The second part of each Veda, the Brahmana, is mostly in prose containing detailed descriptions of the sacrifical rites and the modes of their performance. The brahmanas (composed from about 700 B.C. onwards) being in prose could not be so readily learnt by rote as verse. The Vedas, Brahmanas, Aryanyakas and Upanishads comprise the literature known as Vedic. They are believed to have been directly revealed to its authors and are known as shruti (‘heard’). They are therefore of greater sanctity than the later texts known as smriti (‘remembered’). The sutras and shastras are smriti. Th e Aryans worshipped the forces of nature which they invested with divinity. Indra was the foremost among the Aryan gods. He was the god of thunder and rain who helped the Aryans to vanquish their enemies. Agni was the god of fire, the purest of the five elements. Fire played a prominent part in Aiyan rituals. The other gods included Surya (Sun), Varuna, who presided over the other gods in the Heavens and Yama, the god of Death. There were a number of lesser gods and goddesses and deities. The Vedic period produced the two great epics of India, the Ramayana and Mahabharata. The author of the first is reputed to be the sage Valmiki, the author of the second is the sage Vyasa. But both the