History of the Vedic civilization
The great history of the Vedic civilization may be mostly lost, but the vast repository of the history of the ancient world is still preserved in the Sanskrit literature.
Chronology
Rise of the Vedic civilization
Great Flood
All the ancient civilizations of the world have kept in their memories the story of a great flood that happened in the past and the whole planet was submerged by it. This flood is also mentioned in some ancient Sanskrit texts.
At the end of the Ice Age, when the Earth was submerged in a great flood due to the melting of the glaciers, King Vaivasvata Manu took the Saptarishis (seven sages) to safety on the high mountainous region of the Himalayas in a huge boat. When the water level receded, King Manu and the seven sages descended from the mountainous area and settled on the vast green plains of the Saraswati River.
Manu
'Manu' is a title. According to Vedic cosmology, there are 14 Manvantaras (cyclical periods of time); the king at the beginning of each Manvantara is called 'Manu'.
The Manu of the present Manvantara is Vaivasvata Manu.
The history of Manu is recorded in all the ancient civilizations of the world. In ancient Egypt, Manu was called 'Manas'. In the Sumerian civilization Manu has been called 'Manars'.
Manu and Yama (Vedic), Mannus and Ymir (Germanic).
In English - 'Man', in Germanic - 'Mannus', in Greek and Latin - 'Minos', in Spanish - 'Manna'. There are other similarities with the word 'Manu' in other languages too.
Vedic time measurement
The age of 1 Srishti (creation) is of 4,32,00,00,000 solar years. This is also the astronomical age of the Sun, which is the basis of the Solar System.
1 Srishti = 1 Kalpa
1 Kalpa = 14 Manvantaras (4,32,00,00,000 years)
1 Manvantara = 71 Mahayugas (30,67,20,000 years)
1 Mahayuga = 4 Yugas (43,20,000 years)
Mahayuga (4 Yugas)
Satya Yuga - 17,28,000 years
Treta Yuga - 12,96,000 years
Dvapara Yuga - 8,64,000 years
Kali Yuga - 4,32,000 years
5,123 years of Kali Yuga are going on at present.
Saraswati Valley Civilization
The Saraswati River was the biggest and one of the most important rivers of the Vedic era, which used to break the mountains from the glaciers of the Himalayas and through the plains merge into the Arabian Sea. It is mentioned repeatedly in the Rig Veda. The Saraswati River dried up during the later Vedic period and the Mahabharata period.
A hymn (10.75) of the Rig Veda describes the Saraswati River as flowing west of the Yamuna and east of the Sutlej. In the epic Mahabharata, it is said that the Saraswati River dried up forming a desert (Thar Desert, Rajasthan). The same is also said in other later Vedic texts.
The Saraswati was a great river during the Vedic period and it was considered the most sacred river, because living near its banks and consuming its water, the sages composed scriptures and performed rituals.
In Rig Veda 7.36.6 the Saraswati is described to be the mother of all the rivers.
The Saraswati River is mentioned many times in the Mahabharata. It has been told that many kings performed many rituals near its banks. Geological excavations and satellite images proved the existence of the Saraswati River and dated its drying up to about 4,000 years ago. Also the remains of the cities that were located on the banks of where the Saraswati was supposed to be have been found, which proves the facts mentioned in the Mahabharata and in the other ancient scriptures.
Scientific and geological discoveries have revealed that at some point, due to the displacement of the tectonic plates of the Indian subcontinent and of the Himalayan headwaters, several earthquakes occurred in this region, due to which the mountains below the ground rose up and the water of the Saraswati River went backwards.
The description of another river called Drishadvati also comes from the Vedic period. It was a tributary of the Saraswati River and it also flowed through the present day Haryana. Later, due to the several earthquakes and to the rising of the Haryana and Rajasthan mountains, the direction of the flow of the rivers changed. The Drishadvati River started flowing north and east and also disapperead.
Brahmavarta
After the Great Flood, King Vaivasvata Manu built the first civilization on the fertile region of the Saraswati Valley. This region was called Brahmavarta.
It is said that in this divine region righteous and good people used to born.
The kingdom of Brahmavarta was situated between the Saraswati and Drishadvati rivers. The capital of the kingdom of Brahmavarta was Barhishmati, from where King Manu used to run the kingdom.
Vedic culture and society
The word 'Veda' means the sacred spiritual 'knowledge'. The Vedas were considered infallible as they imparted the highest spiritual knowledge. Initially, the Vedas were transmitted orally and passed through generations.
The early Vedic people worshipped forces of nature and personified them as gods and goddesses. Indra, Agni, Varuna, Surya were some of their gods, while Usha, Aditi, Prithvi were some of their goddesses. People composed many hymns in honour of the gods and goddesses they worshipped.
The ultimate aim of life of a human being was to attain Moksha (liberation) from the Samsara (cicle of births and deaths) through the pursuit of Dharma (righteousness), Artha (wealth) and Kama (pleasure).
People who followed Vedic principles were called 'Aryas', which means 'noble' or 'righteous' persons. People who abstained from this way of life were called 'Anaryas'.
Though Vedic society was patriarchal, women were treated with dignity and honour.
The society was divided into different social occupations. This system was called Varna Vyavastha. There were four categories of people:
- Brahmins (priests and scholars)
- Kshatriyas (warriors and rulers)
- Vaishyas (traders and merchants)
- Shudras (farmers, craftsmen, labourers)
Another important social institution of the time was the system of Chaturashrama, the division of life span into four distinct stages: Brahmacharya (stage of celibacy, education and disciplined life in a guru’s ashram), Grihastha (stage of family life), Vanaprastha (stage of gradual detachment) and Sannyasa (stage of spiritual retreat from worldly life).
Vedic scriptures
Vedic and Sanskrit literature was composed of many scriptures which have been written and composed by different sages and scholars in different times. Many of them have received certain knowledge in a revealed way and have passed it through generations to be transcribed.
There were two types of revealed and unrevealed scriptures:
Shruti (revealed scriptures)
- Vedas
- Samhitas
- Brahmanas
- Aranyakas
- Upanishads
- Gitas
Smriti (unrevealed scriptures)
- Vedangas
- Puranas
- Itihasas
- Shastras
- Sutras
Many texts have been lost over time, but most have been preserved to the present day.
Solar & Lunar dynasties
King Vaivasvata Manu was the Chakravarti of the early Vedic civilization.
The Solar dynasty started from his son Ikshvaku and the Lunar dynasty from his daughter Ila.
Ikshvaku - Solar dynasty (Suryavansha)
Ila - Lunar dynasty (Chandravansha)
Some similarities with the Solar and Lunar dynasties are also found in other ancient civilizations and in their history.
In Greek culture, the gods Apollo and Artemis are brothers and also represents the Sun and the Moon respectively:
Apollo (Sun) - Ikshvaku (Solar dynasty)
Artemis (Moon) - Ila (Lunar dynasty)
In the Abrahamic religious texts, they are called Ham and Shem.
Both Ham and Shem were the sons of Noah, who is identifiable with Manu.
In ancient Egypt Ikshvaku was called Ukafusi, and by the Sumerians Ukkasi.
Sapta Sindhu: Center of Vedic civilization
The fertile plan east of Hindu Kush mountains was called 'Sapta Sindhu'.
Meaning of 'Sapta Sindhu':
Sapta (seven) + Sindhu (Indus River) = Land of seven rivers
In the Rig Veda, the abode of the Vedic people is designated by the name of the Sapta Sindhu region. In the Rig Veda 10.75 there is a collected description of the rivers flowing in the Sapta Sindhu.
Seven rivers of the Sapta Sindhu region:
- Sindhu (Indus)
- Saraswati
- Vitasta (Jhelum)
- Ashkini (Chenab)
- Purushni (Ravi)
- Shutudri (Sutlej)
- Vipasha (Beas)
Today's India was also named as 'Bharatavarsha' during ancient times, which derives from the name of either Dushyanta's son Bharata or Rishabha's son Bharata, two great and virtuous kings. The inhabitants of Bharatavarsha were called 'Bharatiyas'.
Aryavarta
In a broader sense, the complex of all the lands inhabited by the Aryas was called 'Aryavarta', which in Sanskrit means 'land of noble people'.
Aryavarta stretched from South-East Asia to beyond the kingdom of Gandhara, present day Afghanistan.
Five clans
Five main clans originated from the five sons of King Yayati of the Lunar dynasty:
- Yadu - Yadava clan
- Turvasu - Yavana clan
- Druhyu - Druhyu clan
- Anu - Anu clan
- Puru - Puru clan (later Kuru clan)
All these five clans gave rise to great dynasties and kingdoms that ruled the Earth for many years to come and had a decisive impact on the history of humanity.
Expansion of the Vedic civilization
Initially the Aryas were settled in the fertile region of Sapta Sindhu. There were always struggles among them for the supremacy over this region.
Of these struggles, the Battle of the Ten Kings is famous.
Battle of the Ten Kings
In ancient times a battle between ten kingdoms took place, probably for the control of the fertile lands, which is known as Dasharajna Yuddha (Battle of the Ten Kings).
The Dasharajna Yuddha is mentioned in the Rig Veda 7.18, 7.33 and 7.83.4-8.
This was the first organized and recorded battle in human history. This battle was fought with elephants, horses, chariots and infantry soldiers.
The powerful Puru clan created an alliance with other different clans from other regions and came on to oppose King Sudas of the Bharata clan in battle.
Bharata clan
Sudas was the king of the Bharata clan (Sudas was also a descendant of Puru).
Vasishtha was the guide of King Sudas.
Puru alliance
Samvarana was the king of the Puru clan.
Vishvamitra was the guide of King Samvarana.
- Allied clans:
- Puru clan
- Alina clan
- Anu clan
- Bhrigu clan
- Bhalana clan
- Druhyu clan
- Matsya clan
- Parsu clan
- Pani clan
At the beginning of the battle the Puru alliance was prevailing, but King Sudas, refusing diplomacy, took the Puru alliance to the valleys of the Yamuna River. Puru alliance had to come far away from their kingdoms and lands, due to which their logistics got broken. In the Yamuna Valley they got surrounded by the Bharatas, due to which they were decisively defeated. The Bharata clan, defeating the Puru alliance, expelled them from the region of Sapta Sindhu towards the west and the sole supremacy of the Bharata clan was established over the whole Sapta Sindhu region.
This battle proved to be very important and decisive in human history. Due to this battle, the defeated clans had to migrate to West and Central Asia where they established their kingdoms. Many branches also migrated to Europe.
Clans which spread accross West and Central Asia
- Anu clan - Sauvira, Kekaya and Madra kingdoms originated from the Anu clan. The kingdom of Madra was later divided into north, south, east and west states.
- Druhyu clan - Druhyus became the rulers of Kamboja. Some historians align them with the later age Druids of Europe.
- Parsu clan - Persians originated from the Parsu clan.
Other clans like the Alina and the Bhrigu clans spread in European regions.
Other clans and tribes migrated in Europe in different times, like the Yavanas (descendants of King Turvasu) who are probably the progenitors of Mediterranean civilizations.
Decline of the Vedic civilization
Kurukshetra War
The epic Mahabharata mentions another great war that took place in ancient times (around 3000 BCE): The Kurukshetra War. This conflict was the result of an issue between cousins: Pandavas (sons of Pandu) and Kauravas (sons of Dhritarashtra).
Over billions of people died in this great war. All the states and kingdoms of the world participated in it. The destruction of the intellectual and warrior class of the society led to the creation of anarchy and chaos, due to which the society mostly collapsed and degraded. All this led to the collapse of the Vedic civilization all over the world.