“The earliest forms of Hinduism arose from prehistoric faiths. The true beginnings of the faith began around 4000 B.C with the combined practices of several tribal religions, which make it the oldest still-practiced religion in the world.” [Source: Jonathan H. Kantor, Listverse, July 31, 2016]
Hinduism has evolved as a part of the Sanskrit culture of ancient India. Having evolved from its beginnings in the Vedic civilization, it has evolved through centuries of the history of India. The people of India are the descendents of the Aryan people who lived in India from time immemorial. The earliest form of Hinduism was essentially nature worship. The Hindu spiritual system has evolved Vedic substratum, and its theological postulates, philosophy and legends which are a part of the Sanatana Dharma. There is no sectarianism, no fake mysticism, and no pagan obscure rites in Sanatana Dharma. The rituals observed by the Hindus of India are Vedic in principle. The form of worship, the Puja-Padhati, is also Vedic in its structure. Hindus meditating every morning, or doing his Puja, chanting Bhajans, practicing his Asanas, or doing Pranayama, does not feel he is doing anything out of the ordinary. He has inherited it and firmly believes Pranayama, Indian science of breathing, is the physical conduit to the Divine.
The word Hindu occurs in Rig Veda as the second part of word VIBHINDU in RV (VIII.2.41) by Rishi Medhatithi, in RV (1,103, 30) by Rishi Angiras and in RV (1.116,20) by Rishi Kakshivan. The word Vibhindu has been used by three different Rig Veda Rishis. In other words, Hindu word was used during Vedic times. Secondly, Ashoka’s inscriptions on stone during 3rd century BC used word HIDA in Prakrit more than 70 times for Hindus, The Herbrew Bible 300 BC used word HODU for India which is Judaic form of Hindu.
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Labi-bin-eAkhtab bin-eTurfa, 170 BC writes in his poem in Sair-ul-Okul, a collection of poetries of Arabia, HIND for India and HINDUS for Indians. Similarly, Omar-bin-Hassan, an uncle of Prophet Mohammed, writes in his poem, again from same collection poetries, in praise of Lord Shiva uses word HIND for India and HINDUS for Indians.
Brihaspatya Agama composed during 1st.century AD to 5th. Century AD narrates; “Starting from Himalayas extending up to Indian Ocean is the nation build by Gods, Hindustan. Meru Tantra of Shiva Agama uses word HINDU and described; those who renounced ignorance and inferiority.
Chinese travelers Fa-Hiean, 5th century AD and Hien-Tsang 7th century AD used YINTU for Hindus.
According to some scholars, the word India is said to have derived from Indus, which is the Romanized form of the Greek “Indós”. The Greek equivalent, however, comes from “Hindu” which is the Persianised word for Sindhu, the great river in whose banks the Vedic civilization originated and flourished.
In ancient history, the Greeks, then the Persians, used the word Hindu to refer to the land and people beyond the Indus (or Sindhu) River. The word Hindu was used by Greek authors, beginning with Herodotus in the 6th century.
Finally, using the word Hinduism to refer to a religion became popular only in the 19th century, first by the British and then by Hindus themselves to identify themselves as different from Muslims and others. In 1816, Rammohan Roy, a Hindu reformer, used the word ‘Hindooism’.
Civilization is a social phenomenon. The Sanskrit civilization constitutes the great heritage of our country. It flourished in different regions, mainly on the banks of the rivers, by socio-religious and cultural bonds till today. It was on the banks of the lost sacred river Saraswati, that the Vedic Rishis perceived the hymns of the Vedas, in Sanskrit. Almost all ancient scriptures of Vedic India were written in Sanskrit only. These written records are the kernel of Hindu sacred literature. Vedic culture spread over the banks of Saraswati and other rivers became integral part of Aryan culture. In Hindu religious philosophy the prominence of Saraswati after it dried around 1900 BC, has taken over by Ganga. The waters of sacred Ganga, has purified Indian life in all ages by washing out the dirt of time.
In Rig Veda, Saraswati is praised as the Mother among rivers; Ambitame, Naditame, Devitame, Saraswati. Its literal meaning is; the greatest of goddesses, the greatest of mothers, the greatest of rivers. Saraswati River has been praised in 71 Richas of Rig Veda like RV (2.41.16) and in many more.
Geological evidence has been found to suggest that the river Saraswati flowed down a north-westernly course, in northern India from Himalaya to the Rann of Kutch, in ancient times. It is believed to have dried up sometime between Vedic period and the time of Mahabharata. There is geological evidence to believe
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that, the withdrawal of the waters of Yamuna and Satluj, which fed Saraswati, dried its waters. Saraswati was then the major river in Northern India, independent of the Indus river system and the Ganga river system. However, the Saraswati River went dry with the end of the Indus Valley culture during1900 BC. In fact this may have caused the ending of the Indus culture. After Saraswati vanished it became a legend.
“The Vedic civilization of the legendry river Saraswati flourished in the close vicinity of Kashmir. There is little doubt left now about the historicity of the Saraswat people. Geological evidence has come to surface which establishes beyond doubt that the river Saraswati flowed down from the Himalayas in a north- westernly course, to Rann of Kutch. Archaeological excavation along the course of the ancient river has revealed sterling facts about the civilizational linkages between the Harappan and the Saraswat people. David Frawley, a leading US Indologist has reported, that a Committee of geologists, historians, geographers and other experts appointed by Government of India, under the chairmanship of Dr. V.S.Watankar, conducted a survey of 150 archaeological sites, over a stretch of 3500 kilometers along the course of the river Saraswati. They used latest techniques such as Multi-Spectral Scanner (MSS) and land sat imagery. The Committee concluded that the river Saraswati dried up gradually between 1800 BC and 800 BC due to tectonic movements which caused change in the course of river Satluj. The Committee discredited the theory of Aryan invasion of India and rejected the sociological divide between the pre-Aryan India and the Vedic India of the Aryan origin. It refused to recognize that the Harappan and Mohenjodara cultures represent the pre-Aryan, Indus Valley Civilization. The Committee concluded that the discovery of the dried channel of the river Saraswati, east of river Indus and the location of more than 260 archaeological sites which showed civilizational similarities to Harappan and Mohenjodara cultures provided evidence of the historical continuity of the Sind Valley Civilization and the early Vedic civilization of India.
Evidence is also available of the close contact between the people of the Saraswati civilization and people of Kashmir. Nilmat era of the Hindu history of Kashmir followed the disappearance of the river Saraswati. Nilmat Purana narrates; ‘sixty five rituals and festivals, were celebrated with great devotion, faith, pomp and show. Some of the rituals and festivals find mention in other Puranas also. Some of these are celebrated even today in Kashmir, like Kaw Poonim and Yaksha Mavas (Kechi Mavas). It is generally thought that the Purana talks of rituals and festivals of Nagas only, and these being adopted by Aryan Saraswat Brahmins of Kashmir, which is not so. Many of the rituals, festivals and days are common with those followed by Aryans in Bharatvarsha or emanating from Vedas.’” (Kashmir Hindu Shrines by Chaman Lal Gadoo)
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The beginnings of Hinduism can be traced from the Indus Valley civilization (3200-1600 B.C.) to the composition of the Vedas, which began around 1500 B.C. The Indus Valley culture, known to the modern world through its archaeological remains (including impressive urban structures, pottery, inscriptions, and other artifacts), represents one of the most advanced civilizations in the world from these early times. [Source: Leona Anderson, Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices, Thomson Gale, 2006]
The Indus Valley Civilization, flourished for nearly eight centuries was, according to some scholars largest ancient civilizations. It was noted for its efficient town planning with interlinked drainage system, dwelling houses built with standardized burnt bricks, tiled flooring, wheel- turned ceramics, terracotta craft, spinning and weaving, bead-making, and more importantly, copper- bronze casting by the cire-purdue or lost-wax process. Within this civilization flourished many towns and cities including Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa, Chanhu-Daro, Kalibangan and Lothal, which have revealed an agriculture-based economy with granaries and other storing techniques that made for an enriched community life. While there is wide-ranging archaeological data concerning the technical skills of the people, there is little information about their other activities. This is because their script, found on nearly 3,000 seals and other inscribed objects, is yet to be deciphered. Further excavation has shown that the great majority of the sites of the Indus Valley culture were east, not west of Indus. In fact, the largest concentration of sites appears in an area of Punjab and Rajasthan near the dry banks of ancient Saraswati and Drishadvati rivers.
India has been home to ancient civilizations since around 3300 BC which include the Indus Valley civilization, the Vedic Age, the Mauryan Empire, and the Gupta Empire. All of these civilizations contributed many-advancements in science, technology, art, and culture. The earliest known major civilization in ancient India was the Saraswati / Indus Valley civilization that became more organized around 2600 BC However, its development started earlier than that, with some evidence of cultural and technological developments going back to 5000 BC But by 2600 B.C.E., the Indus Valley civilization had planned cities with complex public work projects like a sewage and drainage system. There was development of technology like standardized systems of weights and the use of various crafts like metal working.
The urban culture of the Bronze Age found in Harappa, now in Pakistani Punjab was a path-breaking discovery. In 1853, A. Cunningham, the British engineer who became a great excavator, noticed a Harappan seal. Though the seal showed a bull and six written letters, he did not realize its significance. Much later, in 1921, the site of Harappa was appreciated when an Indian archeologist, Sh. Daya Ram Sahni, started excavating it. At about the same time, Sh. R.D. Banerjee,
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a historian, excavated the site of Mohenjo-Daro in Sindh. Both discovered pottery and other antiquities indicative of a developed civilization. Large-scale excavations were carried out at Mohenjo-Daro under the supervision of Marshall in 1931. Mackay excavated the same site in 1938. Vats excavated at Harappa in 1940. In 1946 Mortimer Wheeler excavated Harappa, brought to light important antiquities of the Harappan culture at various sites where bronze was used.
In the post-Independence period, archaeologists from both India and Pakistan excavated the Harappan and connected sites. S/Shri Suraj Bhan, M.K. Dhavalikar, J.P. Joshi, B.B. Lal, S.R. Rao, B.K. Thapar, R.S. Bisht, and others worked in Gujarat, Harayana, and Rajasthan.
In Pakistan, Kot Diji in the central Indus Valley was excavated by F.A. Khan, and great attention was paid to the Hakra and pre-Hakra cultures by M.R. Mughal. A.H. Dani excavated the Gandhara graves in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. American, British, French, and Italian archaeologists also worked at several sites including Harappa.
Anthropologists have observed that the present population of Gujarat is composed of more or less the same ethnic groups as are noticed at Lothal in 2000 BC. Similarly, the present population of the Punjab is said to be ethnically the same as the population of Harappa and Rupar 4000 years ago. Linguistically the present day population of Gujarat and Punjab belongs to the Indo-Aryan language- speaking group. The only inference that can be drawn from the anthropological and linguistic evidences adduced above is that the Harappan population in the Indus Valley and Gujarat in 2000 BC was composed of two or more groups, the more dominant among them having very close ethnic affinities with the present day Indo-Aryan speaking population of India. In other words there is no racial evidence of any such Indo-Aryan invasion of India but only of continuity of the same group of people who traditionally considered be Aryans.
“The Hindu synthesis began to develop between 500–300 B.C. as various forms of Hindu study coalesced into the practices we see today. The earliest records of Hindu gods, goddesses and Hindu beliefs were first written down in about the fourth century A.D. However, by this time, there was already a strong oral tradition which supported these beliefs. The early Hindu epics and myths help us to understand the evolution of the gods and goddesses and the development of beliefs which form the basis of the modern Hindu religion.” [British Museum]
Hinduism is regarded by some scholars as the oldest surviving religion. It originated around the Indus Valley near the River Indus in modern day Pakistan. Some elements date back as far as 7,000 to 10,000 years ago. Based on study of its earliest scriptures, the history of the intellectual and religious life of the ancient Hindus is matchless in its continuity, its fullness, and its philosophical truth. The Aryans built houses, villages, and towns, made roads, and constructed boats for
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communication by water or for a humble kind of trade. Weaving, spinning, and plaiting were known, and furs, skins, and woolen fabrics were made into garments. Carpentry must have made considerable progress, and dyeing was known. Many of the useful animals had been domesticated and brought under the service of man. The cow, the bull, the ox, the sheep, the goat, the swine, the dog, and the horse had all been domesticated.
India has been home to ancient civilizations since around 4000 BC even earlier which include the Indus Valley civilization, followed by the Vedic Age, even the Mauryan Empire, and the Gupta Empire had initially its big role in overall development of the country. All of these civilizations contributed to the advancement in science, technology, art, and culture. The earliest known major civilization in ancient India was the Indus Valley civilization that became more organized around 2600 BC. However, its development started earlier than that, with some evidence of cultural and technological developments going back to 5000 BC. But by 2600 BC the Indus Valley civilization had planned cities with complex public work projects like a sewage and drainage system. There was also development of technology like standardized systems of weights and the use of various crafts like metalworking.
The history of the intellectual and religious life of the ancient Hindus is matchless in its continuity, its fullness, and its philosophical truth. The Aryans built houses, villages, and towns, made roads, and constructed boats for communication by water for trade. Weaving, spinning, and plaiting were known, and furs, skins, and woolen fabrics were made into garments. Carpentry must have made considerable progress, and dyeing was known. Many of the useful animals had been domesticated and brought under the service of man. The cow, the bull, the ox, the sheep, the goat, the swine, the dog, and the horse had all been domesticated. A well-known stamp seal from the Indus Valley, the Pashupati seal is carved in steatite and gets its name from the Sanskrit word for “lord of all animals,” referring to the Hindu deity Shiva. Mohenjo-Daro was one in a series of settlements that is collectively known as the Indus Valley Civilization. Named after the Indus River, this early civilization encompassed a vast swath of present- day Pakistan and northwestern India. Mohenjo-Daro had an estimated 40,000 residents and was a well-planned settlement with efficient urban facilities that included street drainage, a sewage system, and large civic buildings. Residents also had access to well-water and many had baths in their homes. Seals numbering in the thousands have been discovered in excavations of Indus cities as well as in sites in the Persian Gulf in southwest Asia. Seals from the Gulf region have similarly been found in Indus cities. The finds suggest active trade and exchange between these areas in the third millennium BC.
Compiled by Chaman Lal Gadoo
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