Chronology of Indus Valley Civilization the Chronology Y of the Rips E and Fall of the Harappa Civilization Has Been an Is S Use of Debate and Controversy Y

Chronology of Indus Valley Civilization The chronology y of the rips e and fall of the Harappa civilization has been an is s use of debate And controversy y. Substantive work was done by Marshall who dated this civilization between

The 325 0-2700 BC. The modern res each bas end upon the C-14 dating or radiocarbon dating has placed it between the 2900 BC to 2000 BC. However, recent excavations by the Harappa Archaeological Res each Project have beenable to build on these earlier s studies to define at least t five major periods of development.This latest t project was s started by the University of California and it was named University of California-Berkeley Project which s started in 1986 under the leadershipOf Dr. Georg e F. Dales at Harappa in Pakis tan. Dr. Dales died in 1992 and theGovernment of Pakis tan named it as Harappa Archaeological Res each Project.

These five periods represent a continuous process s of cultural development where new aspects of culture are balanced with long term continuities and linkages in many crafts and

Artifact styles. Period 1: Pre-Harappa or Ravi aspect: 3300 BC - c. 2800 BC Period 2: KitDiji or Early Harappa: c. 2800 BC - c. 2600 BC Period 3A: Harappa Phase a c. 2600 BC - c. 2450 BC Period 3B: Harappa Phase B c. 2450 BC - c. 2200 BC Period 3C: Harappa Phase C 2200 BC - c. 1900 BC Period 4: Harappa/Late Harappa Transitional c. 1900 BC - c. 1800 BC (?) Period 5: Late Harappa Phase c. 1800 BC (?) - < 1300 BC

Please don't cram thesee dates. The only thing s should be kept in mind is that the civilizationdates back to around 3300 BC to 1300 BC.The researches have made it clear that the Harappa Civilization was definitely in Contact with the Mesopotamian civilization in 2600 BC.The most accepted timeline for development from the Neolithic period to early historicPeriod through Harappa Civilization is as follows: (all dates are approximates)

Early Food Producing Era: 6500 - 5000 B.C. Regionalization Era: 5000 - 2600 B.C. Indus Civilization - Harappa Culture Integration Era: 2600 - 1900 B.C. Late Harappa Period: 1900 - 1300 or 1000 B.C. Pos t-Indus Tradition, Painted Grey Ware +1200 - 800 B.C. Northern Black Polished Ware: + 700 - 300 B.C.Early Historic Period 600 B.C.

Origin & Salient Features of Indus Valley Civilization T he quest ion about t he origin of t he Indus valley civilization is largely Unanswered. Various researches have linked significantly t he origin of Indus Valley civilization to the Neolithic site of Merger. Mehrgarh which lies on the"Kanchi Plain" of Baluchistan in Pakistan is a Neolithic site.

Merger was a Centre of t transformation from t he hunter go thirer to farming (wheat and Barley are found) and herding (cattle, sheep and goat s were reared).Apart from t his, a Neolithic set element has been f found in South h India which is Cont temporary wit h t he Early Indus valley Civilization ion. T these sites wereCharacterized as Neolith hic sites by Bruce Foot at sin Karnataka such as Piccalilli, Tuner, Fugal, Kodiak, palaver. Ash mounds have been found and They have given t he evidence t hat cat t le were herded t here.

This along with Views of some to her scholars indicate that this was a"Dravidian Civilization ion".However, Merger dates back t o 7000 BC and as early as 5000 BC, tradeLinks with Arabian Sea coast and wit h central Asia has been abolished. SoIn the light of t these evidences it has been made clear t hat Found at ion of Indus Valley civilization ion was laid in t he Neolithic period.

Before we move t o t he each sit e and set t element s of t he civilization ion let’s have a look at some basic common f eat uses of t he urban centers of the Civilization. These eat uses vary little room place t o place. The first common feature is Indus script on seals. This script has not Been deciphered yet, so not much informant ion is available about the Social life customs etc.

The second most import ant feature is own planning. The main features Of own planning were use of baked as well as sundried bricks, well Planned at right roads and a system of drainage.A fortified citadel at most of the cities. The number of the citadels Varies.Houses with kitchens and wells, or water reservoirs.Use of standard weight s and measurement throughout t he civilizationion.Presence of wheel made pottery. The Practice of burying the dead.

Salient Features of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro are 500 kames apart from each other. These, alongwith Dholavira, are called the nucleus cities of the civilization. Harappa, the First discovered sit e of t his civilization ion was onBank of river Ravi, while Mohenjo-Daro was onBanks of Indus River. Each of them has two Prominent mounds where excavations took Place. Notable findings at Harappa are rows of Granaries, Citadels, Furnaces and a crucible to Melt the bronze. Notable findings at Moreno-Daro are the magnum opus Great Bath, uniform Buildings and weights, hidden drains and other Hallmarks of the civilization. This is the site where most Unicorn seals have been found. Mohenjo- Daro is also sometimes known as largest urban Centre of the civilization.

Great Bath The most famous building found at Mohenjo- Daro is a great bath. It is a 6x12 meter Specimen of beautiful brick work. The water for the bath was provided from a well in an adjacent room. The floor was made up of bricks. Floor and outer walls were bituminized So that there is no leakage of water. There are open porches on four sides of the bath.

There is use of Burnt bricks, Mortar and Gypsum in the Great bath but NO use of stone is there.The largest building found at Mohenjo- Daro is a granary. Then, there was also a pillared hall for social gatherings. The other notable findings at Mohenjo- Daro are instruments of Cotton weaving, Bronze figurine of dancing girl, evidence of violence and killing, seal of the mother goddess, the figurine of beard man, the seal of Proto Shiva, a seal in which a man is sacrificing a woman with his knife.

Observations about other sites third important centre of the civilization is Dholavira in the Rann of Kutch area. The sit e is relatively newly discovered and here the Historians found at analyzing signboard with Indus script.Dholavira is different from Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro on the account that its drainage system is much moreElaborated then these two cities.

While the two cities had two mounds each, leading to conclusion that there were two citadels, Dholavira had three citadels. Each of these three citadels of Dholavira was improved than Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro and had an inner enclosure as well.The Dholavira is the largest Indus Valley Site in Independent India. The second largest is Rakhigarhi near Hisser in Haryana. Near Hussar, there is no site called Banawali where Barley was a common crop in Indus valley Times.The westernmost site Suktagendor is located near present borders of Iran and it was an import ant coast al / port t own. Another important port town was Lothal. One more coastal city was Bamako, which is located near Karachi in Pakistan. The presence of horse has been doubtful in Indus Valley Civilization.The site where t he historians were able to collect some bones of Horse is Surkotada in Bhuj area of Gujarat .

The Kalibangan site in the Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan has given evidence of both Pre- harappan and harappan civilization. Here the historians have found a ploughed field and bones of camel . The peculiar type of circular and Rect angular graves are another feature of Kalibangan. In terms of town planning,Kalibangan was not as developed as Harappa, Mohenjo- Daro and Dholavira Because here we neither find use of baked bricks nor a drainage system. A different kind of town planning we found at Lethal; this city was divided into 6 Sections and each section had a wide platform of earthen bricks. Lethal and Rangpur are two sites where historians found rice husk. The magnum opus of Lothal is an artificial dock. Lothal's dock—the world's earliest known, connected the city to an ancient course of the Sabarmati river on the trade route between Harappan cities in Sindh and the peninsula of Saurashtra when the surrounding Kutch desert of today was a part of the Arabian Sea.

It was a vital and thriving trade centre in ancient times, with its trade of beads, gems and valuable ornaments reaching the far corners of West Asia and Africa.A bead making factory has also been found in Lothal. A seal from Iran has been found which indicates its link with overseas countries.Then, Lothal is different from other sites of Indus Valley Civiliz ation in terms of townplanning that it has entry to the houses on the main street while in other sites have shown lateral entry.The only city in the Indus Valley civilization which does not have a citadel was Chinju Dare, located some 130 kilometers south of Mohenjo- Daro.Alamagirpur was the eastern boundary of the Indus Valley Civilization . The evidences say that this site developed in mature Harappan phase. KotDiji and Amri were pre- harappan sites.

The above information has been summarized below: Dholavira : Signboard, 3 citadels with improved inner enclosure Suit agenda, Lothal and Balakot : Coastal Cities and Port Towns Surkotda : Horse Bones Kalimantan: Ploughed Field, Bones of Camel, Circular and Rectangular Graves, Neit her Baked Bricks nor a Drainage syst em. Lot hal: 6 sect ions in cit y, Art if icial dockyard, Ent ry f rom t he main st reetinst ead of lat eral ent ry t hat was common, The vase depicting a thirsty crow as been f ound at Lot hal. Lot hal and Rangpur: Rice Husk

Social Life at Indus Valley Civilization Language Regarding t he language of t he Indus Valley Civilizat ion, we don't have a great deal of knowledge because t he Harappa script has not been deciphered. T he script was writ t en f rom right t o lef t ( ←←← ) and t his is somet hing on which almost all scholars agree. Here are some more guess works done: The language might be prot o-Sanskrit or prot o-Dravidian, nobody knows. T he harappan inscript ions are on Seals, copper t ablet s, bone, ivory but NOT on Bricks .

Religion Most prominent religious f igures of t he Indus Valley Civilizat ion are Unicorn,Pashupat inat h, Seven mot hers ( sapta matrika ) and compound creat ures. The later three are now inculcated in Hindu religion. The mother goddess was dominant shows that t he society was predominantly matriarchal. There was a division of labour and society was diversified and stratified. The people were scholars, artisans, traders, warriors and businessmen. Protoshiva or Pashupati The Pashupat i is t he only possibly male deity of Indus Valley Civilization, as depicted on various seals. This deity is surrounded by 4 wild animals and this gives an indication that it is Pashupat inathoraproto type of Lord Shiva. The deity is surrounded by 4 animals viz. an elephant , a tiger, a buffalo and a rhinoceros. Apart from this there 2 deer's beneath t he seat of t he deit y. The headdress of the deity has two horns. It wears as number of bangles and has a pect oral round t he neck, and an inscript ion of seven let t ers appears at t he t op. This represent at ion has at least t hree concept which are usually associated with Shiva viz., that is Trimukha (t hree-f aced) Pashupat i (Lord of animals) Yogisvara or Mahayogi.The f irst t wo aspect s are apparent f rom t he seal it self . The deity is sitting cross-legged in a Padmasana posture with eyes turned towards the tip of those which evidence t he Yogisvara aspect of t he deity. The deity is always nude save for a cincture round the waist .

Linga Worship St one symbols of bot h male and f emale sex organs f ound at Indus Valley Civilizat ion gives in indicat ion t hat Phallus or Linga worship was in practice.

Tree Worship and other rituals T he peepal t ree has been depicted on many seals which gives a sense that it might be a sacred tree. Humped bull was a venerat ed animal and there are evidences of snake worship and snake charmers. No temples, No special places of worship, no castes. T he people had a sense of art s and crafts and it is proved by t he t oys, f igurines, bangles, st one st at ues, metal statues, et c.The people were expert in making seals.

T alisman On a seal is depict ed a six-rayed mot if which may signif y t he sun. Swastiks and cross signs were harbingers of good luck. A shell inlay, shaped like a heart ,was probably used as a T alisman in t he Indus Valley.

Food: T he evidences of bot h veg and nonveg lif e have been f ound at Indus Valley Civilization. There are evidences of cultivation of Wheat , Barley, Rice, Date,melon, lemon et c. people were cat t le herders and used milk and milk product s.There are evidences t hat people made sweet s. Half burnt bones give evidence of nonveg life.

Dress: A figure of a bearded man has been f ound in Mohenjo-Daro which indicated that t hey used sewn clot hing's. T he clot h used t o cover t he t orso in t he upper part of t he body in such as way that it kept right hand Free. There areevidences that t hey people took interest in cosmetics and had greatest hetic sense. Men kept long hair and kept bread or also shaven beard. The people of Indus valley civilization were aware of Bronze mirrors, Ivory Combs,ant imony rods but NOT hair dyes.

Sports and Entertainments: T he large number of t erracot t a f igurines and t oys such as cart , bull, elephant ,monkeys, chario s; whistles etc. indicate that the children entertained themselves. There are no clear evidences of Music in t he civilization; however,the finding of a dance girl bronze f igurine gives some insight about t he social entertainment .

Tools, arms and weapons: They are made up of Copper and Bronze. They were unaware of the use of Iron.

Science & T echnology T he Harappan civilizat ion was t he womb of mat hemat ics f rom where both the concept of numbers and the numerical system originated . T he numerical system developed by the Harappan included symbols f or most numbers and several innovations f or mat hemat ical manipulat ions such as addition and multiplication. T he Harappan numerical syst em is decimal and addit ive mult iplicat ive in usage. T here are symbols f or numerical f or 4 t o 100, 1000 and t heir derivat ives. T he numerical syst em which was f irst used by t he Harappan lat er f ound it s way int o ot her ancient civilizat ion. T hese people are known t o have const ruct ed t he world's f irst t idal port at Lot hal at t he head of t he gulf company. T hey possessed a high degree of knowledge relating to the ebb and f low of tides and carried on brisk overseas t rade wit h ot her civilizat ions.T hey were also conversant wit h t he medical sciences and used various herbs and drugs t o t reat diseases. T he people of Indus valley Civilizat ion practiced T rephination which is kind of medical int ervent ion making a burr hole in t he skull t o t reat migraines and ment al disorders. T he evidences of T rephinat ion have been f ound at Lot hal, Kalibangan and Burzahom but not at Harappa or most ot her sit es.

Burial Practice Surkot da and Dholavira are t wo sit es of Indus Valley Civilizat ion where t he burial pract ice resembled t he megalit hic burial pract ice. Burzhahom is Neolit hic sit e and here pract ice of burying dogs wit h t he mast ers was common.

Why Indus Valley Civilization is known as “T erracotta Civilization”? Because most of t he it ems f ound t here are of t erra cot t a such as ut ensils,t oys et c. Indus Valley Civilizat ion is also known as T erracot t a civilizat ion.T hese people are known t o have used t he ornament al terracot t a ut ensils,decorat ed wit h human f igures, birds and animals and geomet rical pat t ern.Some ut ensils have been decorat ed wit h lines, angles, and circles; some have been decorat ed wit h birds, animals, leaves and f lowers. T hese t erra cot t aut ensils are smoot h and shining and it has amazed what kind of base or varnish was used by t hose art ist s t hat even af t er t housands of years t he shine is st ill t here. T he base is generally red wit h decorat ive lines in black.

Administration & Economy of Indus Valley Civilization Administration in Indus Valley Civilization

Cit ies are t he symbols of t he Indus Valley civilizat ion charact erized by t he densit y of populat ion, close int egrat ion bet ween economic and social processes, t ech-economic development s, caref ul planning f or expansion and promot ion of t rade and commerce, providing opport unit ies and scope of work t o art isans and craf t smen et c. T his was a sort of urban revolut ion, which could not have been possible wit hout t he st rong cent ral aut horit y, specialized economic organizat ion and socio-cult ural unit y. T he size and archit ect ural complexit y of all large Harappancit ies mean somet hing in t erms of a sociocult ural development . T he lay-out of t he st reet s, t he presence of a largescaledrainage syst em wit h it s requirement f or const ant t ending, t hemonument al cit adels, all can be t aken as an indication of tendencies toward a strong central government .Anot her f eat ure of Harappan urbanizat ion was t he elaborat e craf t specializat ion and t he cont act s wit h ot her reasonably dist ant part s of asia.But t he great est challenge t o t he archaeologist s is t heir f ailure t o get any idea of t he Harappan urban inst it ut ions. For example, we almost know not hing about t he f orm of t he st at e and t he economic inst it ut ions. Marit ime commerce wit h Mesopot amia was a part t o t heir lif e, but t he knowledge of inner working of t hese complex Harappan urban economic inst it ut ions complet ely eludes us.

Economy in Indus Valley Civilization T he economy of Indus Valley Civilizat ion was based upon agricult ure as well as t rade. Commerce was import ant and t here were links f rom overseas places.

Agriculture in Indus Valley Civilization T he agricult ure was in f lourishing condit ion which was due t o t imely and good rains. T hey sowed many crops including t he rice, wheat , cot t on, barley et c.Ot her crops were dat es, melon, pea et c. Predominantly Rainf ed Crops as Irrigat ion was based upon t he rainwat er but also t he sources of irrigat ions were available. Wheat and barley were the most important Harappan Crops. In Harappa, 3 principle variet ies of Wheat were sown; t hree variet ies of barleys were also sown. T he cult ivat ion of lent ils, must ard, linseed, Sesamum has been f ound. T he Finger millet , Ragi, Bajra, Jawar were cult ivat ed and it seems t hat t hey dif f used f rom Af rica.

Animal Husbandry in Indus Valley Civilization

T he humped bull was domest icat ed animal, ot her were buf f alo, pigs,elephant s, donkeys, goat s and sheep's. Only Surkot ada has given an evidence of domest icat ion of Horse. Generally Horse is absent in t he civilizat ion.T he goat s, cows and Sheep were commonly domest icat ed in t he mat ureharappan phase but t he evidences of Buf f alo have not been f ound in t hatmuch quant it y.

T ransportation in Indus Valley Civilization T he cart s and chariot s were means of t ransport . For sea t rade big boat swere t here t o serve t he purpose.

Foreign Af f airs in Indus Valley Civilization It has been est ablished t hat t his civilizat ion had relat ionships wit hMesopot amia civilizat ion. In various cit ies of Mesopot amia, t he harappan seals have been f ound which prove t hese relat ionships. T he descript ion of

Meluha in t he Mesopot amian lit erat ure ref ers t o India . T he Mesopotamian records mention the word Meluha for Indus region . T he ancient name of t he river Indus was Meluha. Sindhu is Sanskrit name, given by Hindus (Aryans), who invaded India.

Consumer Af f airs in Indus Valley Civilization

T he weight s and measurement s were calibrat ed t o a considerable extent .T he measures were st andardized and perhaps t here is binary syst em in use.A scale made up of Elephant t usk has been f ound at Mohenjo-Daro and Lot hal.

Finance, Business and Industry in Indus Valley Civilization

T here was use of many kinds of met als including Gold, Silver, Copper, Lapis Lazuli , T urquoise, Amet hyst , Alabast er, jade et c. It has been guessed t hat among t he precious st ones in t he Harappan civilizat ion; Jade came f rom Cent ral Asia, T urquoise came f rom Iran , Amet hyst came f rom Maharasht ra and Lapis lazuli came f rom Af ghanist an.A Jewellery hoard has been f ound at Allahdino, an Indus valley Sit e near congregat ion of Indus river and Arabian sea. It has a necklace of 36 carnelian beads, Bronze spacer beads and a coper bead covered wit h Gold f oil and 20 Gold lumps.T he t rade was mult if acet ed. It was operat ed on int raregional as well as int erregional basis and had a guild syst em coupled wit h nomadic t rade. T here are no evidences of monet ary exchange.Well developed st oneware indust ry. T he manuf act uring of t he st one bangles was most prevalent in Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. Harappan civilizat ion had an Economic Zone. T his economic zone was along t he bank of t he Sirhind river.

Metallurgy in Indus Valley Civilization

T hese people were aware of Gold, Silver, Copper, Brass, Bronze and T in but did not know much about Iron.Copper was t he most widely used metal.Ganeshwar in Sikar Dist rict of Rajast han is supposed t o be t he supplier of Copper t o t he cit ies of Indus Valley; however, t he largest hoard of Copper came f rom Gungeria.

Pottery A large variet y of pot t ery, bot h plain and decorat ed, has been f ound.Harappanwares were shaped on a pot t er's wheel. T he pot t ers wheels, being made of wood, have not survived.The kilns in which the pot were baked have been uneart hed. T he heat ing was skilf ully cont rolled as most of the pottery was carefully fired. Once the vessel was shaped on the wheels, the ochre was painted over it Then the designs were paint ed on t his red surf ace wit h a brush in black.T he black colour was derived f rom magnif erous haemat it e.T he designs include a series of int ersect ing circles (a pat t ern exclusively found in Indus cult ure), t ree placed in met opes, mot if resembling a large comb, chessboard pat t ern, t riangles, solar device, et c. f igures of animals,birds, snake or f ish occur rarely. Animals are shown wit h grass and birds on trees. No human figure is depict ed on t he pot t ery f rom Mohenjodaro but a f ew pot t ery pieces discovered f rom Harappa port ray a man and a child.At lot hal a vase a paint ing probably depict ing t he f olk t ale t he t hirst y crow and on anot her jar f rom t he same sit e he has ident if ied t he depict ion of the olk tale t he cunning f ox.

Seals in Indus Valley Civilization T he seals were used t hroughout t he lengt h and breadt h of t his civilizat ion.Made of st eat it e, t hese seals range in size f rom 1cm t o 5cm. t wo main t ypes are seen First , square wit h a carved animal and inscript ion Second, rect angular wit h an inscript ion only.T he square seals have a small perf orat ed boss at t he back while t he rect angular ones have a hole on t he back of t he seal it self .T he seals were very popular; more t han 1200 seals have been f ound at Mohenjodaro alone. T he most remarkable one is t he Pashupat i seal depict ing shiva seat ed on a st ool f lanked by an elephant , t iger, Rhinoceros and buf f alo.Below t he st ool are t wo ant elopes or goat s.On one seal a goddess st ands nude bet ween t he branches of a pipal t ree,bef ore which kneels a worshipper. Behind t he worshipper st ands a human faced goat and below are seven devot ees engaged in a dance.A scene very of t en repeated on seals shows a man holding back t wo roaring t igers wit h his out -st ret ched arms. T his is similar t o t he Sumerian Gilgamesh and his lions. T he animal most f requent ly encount ered on Indus seals is a humpless bull, shown in prof ile wit h it s horns superimposed on each ot her and point ing forward. For t his f eat ure it has generally been called a unicorn.

Decline of Indus Valley Civilization There are various theories of collaps e of the Harappan civiliz ation. The main theories are: Environmental Chang es :It declined becaus e of the chang e in the cours e of the rivers and becaus e the rivers dried up.The decline theory of environment deg radation was g iven by J ohn Mars hall. The dog ma s ays that cutting of fores ts for ag ricultural and timber for fuel may have res ulted in the barren land and s ilting of rivers . Another vers ion of the s ame s tory s ays that it declined and decayed becaus e of the F loods in the rivers . It has been pos tulated that in Saras wati reg ion,the civiliz ation declined mainly becaus e of the s hifting of the river channels . However, the decline was not s udden and took s everal hundred years .

Aryan Invas ion : There is a theory that is bas ed upon a Shloka in Rig Veda (VI.27.5). This Shloka s ays :In aid of Abhyavartin Cayamana, Indra des troyed the s eed of Varas ikha.At Hariyupiyah he s mote the vang uard of the Vrcivans , and the rear fled freig hted.This s loka mentions Hari-yupiah which has been linked to Harappa. F urther it has been arg ued by the s cholars that s ettlements in Baluchis tan reg ion were put under fire by the barbaric Aryans and invaders . There are found around 6 g roups of human s keletons in Mohenjo-Daro which g ives an indication that the civiliz ation was s ubject to the foreig n invas ions . However, Wheeler s ays : It is not s us ceptible to proof and no s erious value.The harappan civiliz ation g ot dis appeared in 1300 BC and the vacuum created was filled by numerous civiliz ations .

Comparison of the Harappa and Vedic Civilizations T he sources of inf ormat ion of t he Harappan civilizat ion are mainly archaeological, while t he Vedic cult ure is most ly known f rom t he lit erary sources.Harappans are said t o have been t he original inhabit ant s of India while t he Aryans are believed t o have come t o India f rom cent ral Asia.T he Harappan civilizat ion was urban in nat ure, Vedic cult ure was ruraland past oral. At best t he Rig Vedic Aryans lived in f ort if ied placesprot ect ed by mud walls; and t hese cannot be regarded as t owns in t he Harappan sense.In t he Indus civilizat ion t rade, int ernal and ext ernal, craf t s as well as indust ries were t he main sources of economy, Vedic Economy wasinit ially post oral and lat er became based upon agricult ure and cat t le rearing.

T he agricult ural operat ions, including t he ploughing of f ields, were bet t erknown t o t he lat er-Vedic people.Indus people did not know t he use of iron. It was purely a copper-bronze cult ure, while t he Vedic cult ure in it s lat er phase is replet e wit h ref erences t o iron.T he horse, which played a decisive role in t he Aryan syst em of warf are,was not known t o t he Indus people. A f ew bones of horse and t erracot t a f igure of a horse-like animal have been uneart hed f rom surkot ada.Indus people were basically peace loving. T heir arms (swords, daggers, arrow-heads, spears) were primit ive in nat ure. Aryans were warlike people and were conversant wit h all kinds of t radit ional arms and armour and had devised a f ull-f ledged science of war.Aryans worshiped Varuna, Indra, adit i and a large number of ot her deit ies which st ood f or t he principal phenomena of nat ure. T hey perf ormed sacrif ices and of f ered milk, ghee, et c. t o t heir gods. The Harappans worshipped Pashupat i, mot her goddess, animals , snake and nat ure. T he f ire-alt ars were discovered f rom only one Harappan sit e at Kalibangan.T he Harappans pract iced eart h burials whereas t he Aryans pract iced cremat ion.

Harappan pot t ery called black or red pot t ery was wheel made and verydist inct ive in nat ure. T he dist inct ive Aryan pot t ery is known as PGW(paint ed grey ware).T he Harappans were short st at ured, black in complexion, Aryans were t all, well-built and handsome.T he Harappans at e all birds and animals including cow and calf . T hey ate wheat , barley and bread. T he Aryans pref erred Barley, milk and it s product s, specially ghee or but t er and enjoyed Soma drink.Cot t on was t he basic f abric of t he Harappans while t he Aryans put on woollen garment s t oo.Vedic Sanskrit is t he mot her of all non-Dravidian languages , Indus script st ill remains undeciphered.It was quit e clear t hat Indus people were lit erat e whereas t he Vedic people were illit erat e (In t erms of writ ing) because t here is not a singleword f or writ ing in any of t he Vedic t ext s.

Basics of Vedic Literature T he Vedas are said t o have been passed on f rom one generat ion t o t he next through verbal transmission and are, t heref ore, also known as Shrut i (t o hear) or revelat ion. T he t erm Vedic lit erat ure means t he f our Vedas in t heir Samhit a and t he allied lit erat ure based on or derived f rom t he Vedas. We classif y t he Vedic lit erat ure int o t he f ollowing cat egories:T he f our Vedas i.e. t he Rig, Sama, Yajur and At harva and t heir Samhit as.T he Brahmanas at t ached t o each Samhit a.

T he Aranyakas.

T he Upanishads.

T he basic material or mantra text of each of the Vedas is called"Samhit a". Some post Vedic t ext s are also known as "Samhit as" such as Asht avakra Git a, Bhrigu Samhit a, Brahma Samhit a, Deva Samhit a, Garga Samhit a, Kashyap Samhit a, Shiva Samhit a and Yogayajnavalkya Samhit a.

Shruti and Smriti T he Vedic lit erat ure is broadly divided int o t wo cat egories viz. Shrut i and Smrit i.Shrut i is "t hat which has been heard" and is canonical, consist ing of revelat ion and unquest ionable t rut h, and is considered et ernal. Shrut i describes t he sacred t ext s comprising t he cent ral canon of Hinduism viz. Vedas,

Brahmanas, Aranyakas, & Upanishads .

Smirit i lit erally means " that which is remembered, supplementary and may change

over time ". It is aut horit at ive only t o t he ext ent t hat it conf orms t o t he bedrock

of Shrut i and it is entire body of the post Vedic Classical Sanskrit

literature . It comprises Vedanga, Shad darsana, Puranas, Itihasa, Upveda,

T antras, Agamas, Upangas .

T here is anot her post Vedic class of Sanskrit lit erat ure called Epics which

includes Ramayana and Mahabhart a.

It 's wort h not e t hat , there is not a distinct divide between Shruti and Smriti. Both

Shruti and Smriti can be represented as a continuum, with some texts more

canonical than others.

Click Here to Read about Shruti Literature

Click Here to Read about Smriti Literature

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Veda 2011- 05- 05 03:05:34 GKToday

T he f our Vedas come under t he Shrut i cat egory and are considered sacred script ures. Lat er t ext s like t he various shast ras and t he it ihaasas f orm Smrut i.

Rig-Veda

Rig-Veda is known as t he oldest religious t ext in t he world. It is also known as

"First t est ament " of mankind. It was composed around 1700 BC. Last hymns were composed bet ween 1500-1200 BC. It 's a collect ion of hymns by a number of priest f amilies. It is organized in 10 books which are called Mandalas. T he f irst and 10th Mandalas are t he youngest and t he longest books. Second t o

Sevent h Mandalas are oldest part s of Rig-Veda but t he short est books. 8th and 9th books are of mixed ages.

Rig-Veda is neit her a hist orical nor a heroic poem but is mainly a collect ion of hymns by a number of priest ly f amilies. T hese were recit ed at t he t ime of sacrif icial rit es and ot her rit uals wit h ut most devot ion. T he Rig-Veda cont ains

1017 (1028, including 11 hymns of t he Valakhilya recession) hymns (Sukt a) and is divided int o t en mandalas. T he f irst and t he t ent h Mandalas are said t o have been added lat er as t heir language dif f ers slight ly f rom t he ot her eight

Mandalas.

Yajurveda

"Yajus" means "sacrif icial f ormula" and Yajurveda is t he book of sacrif icial prayers. It cont ains t he rituals of the Yajnas . It is est imat ed t o have been composed bet ween 1,400 and 1000 BC.

It prescribes t he rit uals f or perf orming dif f erent sacrif ices. It was t he manual of t he Adhvaryus . Adhvarus wre the people prepared the ground and the altar, offered the sacrificial victims and poured out the libations .

T here are t wo dist ant f orms of t his Veda. In t he oldest , t he inst ruct ions about rit uals are mingled wit h t he verses f rom t he Rig-Veda. T he chief recession of t his is t hat t aught by a school of t eachers called t he T ait t t iriyans. T his was called Black Yajurveda.

At a lat er dat e ot her scholars called t he Vajasaneyins separat ed t he explanat ory mat t er f rom t he verses t o be recit ed and hence were called whit e

(Shukla) Yajur-Veda, t he ot her being called t he black (Krishna) Yajur- Veda.

T his implies t hat t he Krishna Yajurveda includes t he Brahmana prose discussions wit hin t he Samhit a (no Brahman) while t he Shukla Yajurveda has separat ely a Brahmana t ext , t he Shat apat ha Brahmana.

World's oldest prose lit erat ure of t he Indo-Europeans is cont ained in

Yajurveda.

Sam Veda:

"Saman" means melody and it cont ains t he Ryt hmic compilat ion of Hymns f or

Rigveda. It ranks next in sanct it y and lit urgical import ance t o t he Rigveda. It cont ains 1549 hymns which are meant t o be sung at t he soma sacrif ice by a special class of Brahmans called "Udgat ris". It has t hree shakhas or recensions:

Kaut huma : Panchvish Brahmana t he Jaiminiya : jaiminiya Brahmana

Rāvāyanīya : Shadvish Brahmana

T here are t wo Aranyakas : Chadogya Aranyaka and jaiminiya Aranyaka.

Chadogya Aranyaka has Chadogya Upnishad and Jaiminiya Aranyaka has

Jaiminiya Upnishad. Gandharveveda is Samveda's Upveda is is a t echnical t reat ise on Music, Dance and Drama. It is also called Nat ya Shasht ra.

Atharva Veda:

At harva-Veda is ent irely dif f erent f rom t he ot her t hree Vedas and is chronologt ically t he last of t he f our. It is import ant and int erest ing as it describes t he popular beliefs and superstitions of the humble folk. Atharvaveda contains the magic spells, incorporates much of early traditions of healing and magic that are paralleled in other Indo-European literatures.

For a very long t ime it was not included in t he cat egory of t he

Vedas.'At harvan' was a legendary Rishi and is considered t o have sung t he

At harvaveda. He is also said t o have f irst inst it ut ed t he f ire-sacrif ice or yagna.

At harvaveda was mainly composed by t wo groups of rishis known as t he

At harvanas and t he Angirasa, hence it s oldest name is Āt harvā ṅgirasa.

T here are t wo surviving recensions or Shakhas known as Śaunakīya (AVS) and

Paippalāda (AVP).

Gopat h Brahmana is t he Brahmana of Yajurveda.

T here are t hree Unishads viz. Prasna, Mundaka and Mandukya.

Sat yamev Jayat e, India's Mot t o comes f rom Mundaka Upanishad.

Articles from General Knowledge Today

Aranyakas

2013- 05- 22 19:05:05 GKToday

T he Aranyakas were writ t en in Forest s and are concluding part s of t he

Brahmans. Aranyakas don't lay much emphasis on rites, ritual and sacrifices but have philosophy and mysticism . So t hey have moral science and philosophy. It also provides t he det ails of t he rishis who lived in jungles. Aranyakas were writ t en mainly f or t he hermit s and st udent s living in t he

jungles. Please not e t hat Aranyakas are t he concluding port ion of t he

Brahmanas or t heir appendices. T hey lay emphasis not on sacrif ices but on

medit at ion. T hey are in f act , opposed t o sacrif ices and many of t he early

rit uals. T heir st ress is on moral values. T hey f orm a bridge bet ween way of

work (karma marga) which was t he sole concern of t he Brahmanas and t he

way of knowledge (gyan marga) which t he Upanishads advocat ed.

T he Aitareya Aranyaka is appended t o t he Ait areya Brahmana of t he

Rig-Veda. T he Sankhyayana or Kaushit aki Aranyaka is t he concluding

port ion of t he Kaushit aki Brahmana of t he Rig-Veda.

In t he black YajurVeda, t he T ait t riya Aranyaka is only a cont inuat ion of

t he T ait t t riya Brahamana. In t he whit e YajurVeda, t he 14t h book of t he

Sat apat ha Brahmana is in name only an Aranyaka- t he Brihdarnayaka.

For t he SamaVeda, t he only Aranyakas are t he f irst Aranyaka-like

sect ions of t he Chhandogya Upanishad, which belongs t o t he

T andyamaha Brahmana, and t he Jaimniya Upanishad Brahmana, which

is not hing but an Aranyaka of t he Jaiminiya or T alavakara school of t he

SamaVeda and comprises t he well Known Kena (or T alvakra) Upanishad.

T here are no Aranyakas of Atharvaveda

Articles from General Knowledge Today Upanishad 2011- 05- 05 04:05:57 GKToday T he word Upanishad means to sit down near someone and denot es a st udent sit t ing near his guru t o learn. Event ually t he word began t o be used f or t he secret knowledge impart ed by t he guru t o his select ed pupils. A number of t reat ises were prepared, f irst orally and t hen in writ ing, and were called by t he same name of Upanishad. T oday Upanishads specif y philosophical knowledge and spirit ual learning. T he main motto of the Upanishads is "Knowledge Awards Salvation" Upanishads are called Vedant a (t he end of t he Veda) f irst ly, because t hey denot e t he last phase of t he Vedic period and secondly, because t hey reveal t he f inal aim of t he Veda. T he Oldest Upanishads are Brhadaranyaka and Chandogya Upanishads which dat e as back as t he f irst millennium BC. Lat est were composed in t he medieval and early modern period. T he lat est Upnishad is Mukt ikā Upnishad and was recorded by Dara Shikoh.It dat es t o 1656. Dara Shikoh was son of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and is known t o have t ranslat ed f if t y Upanishads int o Persian. T here are 108 Upanishads and t hey are also called Vedanga. "Upa" means nearby and "sada" means sit . So Upanishads cont ain t he knowledge impart ed by t he gurus t o t heir disciples. T here are 108 Upanishad. 11 are predominant and they are called "Mukhya Upanishads ". T hey are as f ollows: [t able id=41 /] Aitareya Upanishad Ait areya Upanishad should be not ed f or one of t he 4 Mahavakyas viz. "Prajanam Brahama " or "Consciousness is Brahman". T he Four Mahavakyas of Vedas are as f ollows: Prajnanam Brahma - "Consciousness is Brahman" (Ait areya Upanishad of t he Rig Veda) Ayam Atma Brahma - "T his Self (At man) is Brahman" (Mandukya Upanishad of t he At harva Veda) Tat Tvam Asi - "T hou art T hat " (Chandogya Upanishad of t he Sama Veda) Aham Brahmasmi - "I am Brahman" (Brhadaranyaka Upanishad of t he Yajurveda) Bṛhadāra ṇyaka Upanishad It is cont ained in t he Shat pat h Brahman. It cont ains t he f ollowing Famous Shloka: असतो मा स� गमय तमसो मा � योि◌तग � मय म�ृ योर ् मा अमतंृ गमय ॐ शांि◌त शांि◌त शांि◌त ब दार � यक उपनषद ◌् 1.3.28. T he meaning of t he above Shloka is : Lead Us Fro m the Unreal To the Real, Lead Us Fro m Darkness To Light, Lead Us Fro m Death To Immo rtality, OM , Let There Be Peace Peace Peace T aittirīya Upanaishad T his Upanishada is associat ed wit h t he T ait t iriya school of t he Yajurveda. T he T ait t iriya Upanishad describes t he various degrees of happiness enjoyed by t he dif f erent beings in creat ion Chāndogya Upanishad T his Upanishad is associat ed wit h t he Kaut huma Shakha of t he Samaveda. Along wit h Brhadaranyaka Upanishad, t he Chandogyopanishad is an ancient source of principal f undament als of Vedant a philosophy. Kena Upanisahda "Ken" lit erally means 'by whom'. It belongs t o t he T alavakara Brahmana of Sama Veda and is t heref ore also ref erred t o as T alavakara Upanishad. Īsa Upanishad It is one of t he lat est Mukhya Upanishads, dat ing approximat ely t o Mauryan t imes. Śvetāśvatara Upanishad Upanishads are sources of serious philosophical t hought ; however, t his Upanishad dif f ers f rom ot her Upanishads by explaining t he same principles in a very simple, easy-going and poetic way. Kathopnishad It was translated by Max Müller in 1879. It was rendered in verse by Edwin Arnold as "The Secret of Death". The central story is immortality and covers the story of encounter of Nachiketa, son of sage Vajasravasa, with Yama, God of death. Muktika Upnishad T his Upanishad deals wit h t he Para Vidya and Apara Vidya. T he Para Vidya is knowledge t hat leads t o Self Realizat ion , Apara Vidya deals wit h everyt hing else or t he mat erial knowledge. Mundaka Upanishad is not able as t he source of t he phrase Sat yameva jayat e (3.1.6) Māandūkya Mandukya is t he Short est Upnishad. It cont ains t welve verses expounding t he myst ic syllable Aum, t he t hree psychological st at es of waking, dreaming and sleeping, and t he t ranscendent f ourt h st at e of illuminat ion. Praśna Six pupils int erest ed in knowing divinit y or Brahman come t o sage Pippalada and request s him t o clarif y t heir spirit ual doubt s. T heref ore, t his Upnishad is in Quest ion Answer f ormat . Articles from General Knowledge Today

Upanishad

2011- 05- 05 04:05:57 GKToday

T he word Upanishad means to sit down near someone and denot es a st udent

sit t ing near his guru t o learn. Event ually t he word began t o be used f or t he

secret knowledge impart ed by t he guru t o his select ed pupils. A number of

t reat ises were prepared, f irst orally and t hen in writ ing, and were called by t he

same name of Upanishad. T oday Upanishads specif y philosophical knowledge and spirit ual learning.

T he main motto of the Upanishads is "Knowledge Awards Salvation"

Upanishads are called Vedant a (t he end of t he Veda) f irst ly, because t hey denot e t he last phase of t he Vedic period and secondly, because t hey reveal t he f inal aim of t he Veda.

T he Oldest Upanishads are Brhadaranyaka and Chandogya Upanishads which dat e as back as t he f irst millennium BC. Lat est were composed in t he medieval and early modern period. T he lat est Upnishad is Mukt ikā Upnishad and was recorded by Dara Shikoh.It dat es t o 1656. Dara Shikoh was son of

Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and is known t o have t ranslat ed f if t y Upanishads int o Persian. T here are 108 Upanishads and t hey are also called Vedanga.

"Upa" means nearby and "sada" means sit . So Upanishads cont ain t he knowledge impart ed by t he gurus t o t heir disciples.

T here are 108 Upanishad. 11 are predominant and they are called "Mukhya

Upanishads ". T hey are as f ollows:

[t able id=41 /]

Aitareya Upanishad

Ait areya Upanishad should be not ed f or one of t he 4 Mahavakyas viz. "Prajanam Brahama " or "Consciousness is Brahman". T he Four Mahavakyas of

Vedas are as f ollows:

Prajnanam Brahma - "Consciousness is Brahman" (Ait areya Upanishad of t he Rig Veda)

Ayam Atma Brahma - "T his Self (At man) is Brahman" (Mandukya

Upanishad of t he At harva Veda)

Tat Tvam Asi - "T hou art T hat " (Chandogya Upanishad of t he Sama

Veda)

Aham Brahmasmi - "I am Brahman" (Brhadaranyaka Upanishad of t he

Yajurveda)

Bṛhadāra ṇyaka Upanishad

It is cont ained in t he Shat pat h Brahman. It cont ains t he f ollowing Famous

Shloka:

असतो मा स� गमय

तमसो मा � योि◌तग � मय

म�ृ योर ् मा अमतंृ गमय

ॐ शांि◌त शांि◌त शांि◌त

ब दार � यक उपनषद ◌् 1.3.28.

T he meaning of t he above Shloka is : Lead Us Fro m the Unreal To the Real, Lead Us

Fro m Darkness To Light, Lead Us Fro m Death To Immo rtality, OM , Let There Be Peace Peace Peace

T aittirīya Upanaishad

T his Upanishada is associat ed wit h t he T ait t iriya school of t he Yajurveda. T he

T ait t iriya Upanishad describes t he various degrees of happiness enjoyed by t he dif f erent beings in creat ion

Chāndogya Upanishad

T his Upanishad is associat ed wit h t he Kaut huma Shakha of t he Samaveda.

Along wit h Brhadaranyaka Upanishad, t he Chandogyopanishad is an ancient source of principal f undament als of Vedant a philosophy.

Kena Upanisahda

"Ken" lit erally means 'by whom'. It belongs t o t he T alavakara Brahmana of

Sama Veda and is t heref ore also ref erred t o as T alavakara Upanishad.

Īsa Upanishad

It is one of t he lat est Mukhya Upanishads, dat ing approximat ely t o Mauryan t imes.

Śvetāśvatara Upanishad

Upanishads are sources of serious philosophical t hought ; however, t his

Upanishad dif f ers f rom ot her Upanishads by explaining t he same principles in a very simple, easy-going and poetic way.

Kathopnishad It was translated by Max Müller in 1879. It was rendered in verse by Edwin Arnold as

"The Secret of Death". The central story is immortality and covers the story of

encounter of Nachiketa, son of sage Vajasravasa, with Yama, God of death.

Muktika Upnishad

T his Upanishad deals wit h t he Para Vidya and Apara Vidya. T he Para Vidya is

knowledge t hat leads t o Self Realizat ion , Apara Vidya deals wit h everyt hing

else or t he mat erial knowledge. Mundaka Upanishad is not able as t he source

of t he phrase Sat yameva jayat e (3.1.6)

Māandūkya

Mandukya is t he Short est Upnishad. It cont ains t welve verses expounding t he

myst ic syllable Aum, t he t hree psychological st at es of waking, dreaming and

sleeping, and t he t ranscendent f ourt h st at e of illuminat ion.

Praśna

Six pupils int erest ed in knowing divinit y or Brahman come t o sage Pippalada

and request s him t o clarif y t heir spirit ual doubt s. T heref ore, t his Upnishad is in

Quest ion Answer f ormat .

Articles from General Knowledge Today Vedanga 2011- 05- 05 04:05:47 GKToday Vedangas are six auxiliary disciplines associat ed wit h t he st udy and underst anding of t he Vedas. T hey are as f ollows: Shiksha (Phonetics) It s aim is t he t eaching of t he correct pronunciation of t he Vedic hymns and mant ras. T he oldest phonet ic t ext books are t he Prat ishakyas (prāt iśākhya), describing pronunciat ion, int onat ion of Sanskrit , as well as t he Sanskrit rules of sandhi (word combinat ion), specif ic t o individual schools or Shakhas of t he Vedas. Kalpa (Ritual Canon) It cont ains t he sacrif icial pract ice and syst emat ic sut ras. T here are t hree kinds of Sut ras part of Kalpa: Śrautasūtras , which are based on t he Shrut i, and t each t he perf ormance of t he great sacrif ices, requiring t hree or f ive sacrif icial f ires Smartasūtras, or rules based on t he Smrit i or t radit ion. T he Smart asūt ras have t wo classes viz. Grhyasut ras, or domest ic rules : T hey are basically t reat ing t he rit es of passage, such as marriage, birt h, namegiving, et c., connect ed wit h simple of f erings int o t he domest ic f ire. Dharmasutras or customs and social duties: T he Dharmasūt ras are t he f irst f our t ext s of t he Dharmasast ra t radit ion and t hey f ocus on t he idea of dharma, t he principal guide by which Hindus st rive t o live t heir lives. T he Dharmasūt ras are writ t en in concise prose, leaving much up to the educated reader to interpret.The most important of these texts are the sutras of Āpastamba, Gautama, Baudhāyana, and Vasi ṣṭ ha. T he Dharmasūt ras can be called t he guidebooks of dharma as t hey cont ain t he rules of conduct and rit es as pract iced in t he Vedic schools. T hey discuss about t he dut ies of people at dif f erent st ages of lif e like st udent hood, householdership, ret irement and renunciat ion. T hese st ages are also called āśramas. T hey also discuss about t he rit es and dut ies of kings, judicial mat t ers, and even personal pract ices like t he regulat ions in diet , of f enses and expiat ions, daily oblat ions, and f unerary pract ice. Vyakaran (Grammar) Vyakaran includes t he A ṣṭ ādhyāyī, of Panini. Most of t he work of very early Indian grammarians ranging t o 8t h cent ury BC is lost . T here are 4 part s of Panini's Grammar: Śivasūtra: Co ntains pho no lo gy (no tatio ns fo r pho nemes specified in 14 lines) Aṣṭ adhyāyī: Co ntains mo rpho lo gy (co nstructio n rules fo r co mplexes) Dhātupā ṭha:Co ntains list o f ro o ts (classes o f verbal ro o ts) Ga ṇapā ṭha: Co ntains list o f classes o f primitive no minal stems Nirukta (explanation) It is t radit ionally at t ribut ed t o Yāska, an ancient Sanskrit grammarian. It deals wit h et ymology, part icularly of obscure words, especially t hose occurring in t he Veda Chhanda (Vedic meter) It measures and divides Vedic Mant ras by number of padas in a verse, which is called Padas. Number of padas divides each verse, hymn, or mant ra and number of syllables divides each pada. T here is a dist inct t axonomy on t his basis. For example a Gayat ri Chhanda has 3 padas of 8 syllables cont aining 24 syllables in each st anza. Similarly, Anu ṣṭ up has 4 padas of 8 syllables cont aining 32 syllables in each st anza. Anust up is t he t ypical shloka of classical Sanskrit poet ry Jyotisha (Astrology) It describes rules f or t racking t he mot ions of t he sun and t he moon and t he f oundat ion of Vedic Jyot ish.

Articles from General Knowledge Today Shatdarshana 2011- 05- 05 04:05:38 GKToday Hindu philosophy is t radit ionally divided int o six āst ika (ort hodox) schools of t hought , or darśanam , which accept t he Vedas as supreme revealed script ures. T he āst ika schools are: 1. Samkhya , an at heist ic and st rongly dualist t heoret ical exposit ion of consciousness and mat t er. 2. Yoga , a school emphasizing medit at ion, cont emplat ion and liberat ion. 3. Nyaya or logic, explores sources of knowledge (Nyāya Sūt ras). 4. Vaisheshika , an empiricist school of at omism. 5. Mimā ṃsā , an ant i-ascet ic and ant i-myst icist school of ort hopraxy. 6. Vedanta , t he last segment of knowledge in t he Vedas, or t he 'Jnan' (knowledge) 'Kanda' (sect ion). Vedant a came t o be t he dominant current of Hinduism in t he post -medieval period. Of t he hist orical division int o six darsanas, only t wo schools, Vedant a and Yoga, survive. T he basic inf ormat ion about t hem is as f ollows: [t able id=43 /] Nyaya: Lit erally means recursion. It is based on t ext s known as t he Nyaya Sut ras, which were writ t en by Aks apada Gautama f rom around t he 2nd cent ury AD. Nyaya Sut ras say t hat t here are f our means of at t aining valid knowledge: percept ion, inf erence, comparison, and verbal t est imony. Click here t o read more about Nyaya Philosophy. Vaisheshika It was proposed by Maharis hi Kanaad. It post ulat es t hat all object s in t he physical universe are reducible t o a f init e number of at oms. T he school deals in det ail wit h "Padart h" or Mat t er. Read More Here Samkya Samkya or Samkhya means Enumerat ion. T he f ounder of t he Sankya school of Philosophy was Maharis hi Kapil. T he school denies t he "exist ence of God" and post ulat ed t hat t here are t wo realit ies Purusha and Prakrit i. Purusha is t he consciousness and Prakrit i is t he phenomenal realm of mat t er. Read More Here. Yoga Founder of t his school of Philosophy was Pat anjali. Yuj means "cont rol" and Yoga also mean t o "add". Rāja Yoga, Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakt i Yoga, and Hat ha Yoga are it s main branches. T he Yogasut ras of Pat anjali which mainly post ulat e t he Raj Yoga , dat e back t o Mauryan Period while Hat hayoga was int roduced by Yogi Swat marama. T he major dif f erence bet ween Raj Yoga and Hat hayoga is t hat Raja Yoga aims at cont rolling all t hought -waves or ment al modif icat ions, while a Hat ha Yogi st art s his Sadhana, or spirit ual pract ice, wit h Asanas (post ures) and Pranayama. So Raj Yoga st art s f rom Mind and Hat hyoga st art s f rom Body. Read more here Mimansa Mimans a m eans invest igat ion or enquiry. T he primary enquiry is int o t he nat ure of dharma based on close t heology of t he Vedas. it has t wo divisions, Poorva Mimansa and Ut t ar Mimansa. Ut t ar Mimansa is t reat ed as anot her vedang a "Vedanta ". T he poorva Mimansa was post ulat ed by Jamini. T he ideology of Poorva Mimansa was t o count eract t he challenge by Buddhism and vedant a which marginalized t he Vedic sacrif ices. T his school got moment um in Gupt a period and reached it s climax in 7-8t h cent ury. Sabara and Kumaril Bhat t a were t wo main int erpret at ors. It was one of t he major f orces t o decline Buddhism in India , but lat er it self was eclipsed by Vedant a. Read more here Vedanta: Vedant a means Veda end or t he purpose or goal of t he Vedas. It was given by Badrayana or maharishi Vyasa who is one of t he 7 chiranjivis and wrot e "Mahabharta ". Read more here

Articles from General Knowledge Today Vaisheshika Philosophy 2013- 05- 22 20:05:28 GKToday Vaisheshsika is a kind of At omism. It was proposed by Maharishi Kanaad. It post ulat es t hat all object s in t he physical universe are reducible t o a f init e number of at oms. T he school deals in det ail wit h "Padart h" or Mat t er. Vaisheshika syst em developed independent ly f rom t he Nyaya, but t he t wo event ually merged because of t heir closely relat ed t heories. In it s classical f orm, however, t he Vaishesika school dif f ered f rom t he Nyaya in one crucial respect : where Nyaya accept ed f our sources of valid knowledge, t he Vaishesika accepted only perception and inf erence . Vaisheshika is also dif f erent f rom t he Modern At omic T heory because Vaisheshika says t hat t he behaviour of t he at oms is guided by t he Supreme being. T he Vaisheshika School classif ied t he mat t er or padartha int o six cat egories: Dravya (substance): T here are nine subst ances viz. p ṛt hvī (eart h), ap (wat er), t ejas (f ire), vāyu (air), ākaśa (et her), kāla (t ime), dik (space), āt man (self ) and manas (mind). T he f irst f ive are called bhūtas (Panchabhutas) t he subst ances having some specif ic qualit ies so t hat t hey could be perceived by one or t he ot her ext ernal senses. Gu ṇa (quality): T here are 17 Gunas or qualit ies of mat t er . The Gunas are diferent from Dravya. While a Dravya is capable of existing independently by itself, a gu ṇa(quality) cannot exist so . T he 17 Gunas are rūpa (colour), rasa (t ast e), gandha (smell), sparśa (t ouch), saṁkhyā (number), parimā ṇa (size/dimension/quant it y), p ṛt hakt va (individualit y), sa ṁyoga (conjunct ion/accompaniment s), vibhāga (disjunct ion), parat va (priorit y), aparat va (post eriorit y), buddhi (knowledge), sukha (pleasure), du ḥkha (pain), icchā (desire), dve ṣa (aversion) and prayat na (ef f ort ). T o t hese Praśast apāda added anot her Gunas such as gurut va (gravit y), dravat va (f luidit y), sneha (viscosit y), dharma (merit ), adharma (demerit ), śabda (sound) and sa ṁkāsra (f acult y). (By reading this you can imagine the knowledge level of our sages 5000 years ago J ) Karma (activity): Act ivit y is a f eat ure of t he some of t he Dravyas. Ākāśa (et her), kāla (t ime), dik (space) and āt man (self ), t hough subst ances, are devoid of karma (act ivit y) Sāmānya (generality): When a propert y is f ound common t o many subst ances, it is called sāmānya. Viśe ṣa (particularity) : By means of viśe ṣa, we are able t o perceive subst ances as dif f erent f rom one anot her. As t he ult imat e at oms are innumerable so are t he viśe ṣas Samavāya (inherence): Samavaya is basically cause and t he ef f ect by t wo subst ances. Acording t o Praśast apāda, it is t he relat ionship exist ing bet ween t he subst ances t hat are inseparable, st anding t o one anot her in t he relat ion of t he cont ainer and t he cont ained One more cat egory was lat er added called abhāva (non-exist ence). Here, t he f irst t hree cat egories are def ined as artha (which can perceive) and they have real objective existence . T he last t hree cat egories are def ined as budhyapek ṣam (product of intellectual discrimination) and they are logical categories.

Articles from General Knowledge Today Yoga Philosophy 2013- 05- 22 20:05:05 GKToday Yuj means "cont rol" and Yoga also mean t o "add". T his philosophy is very close t o Samkhya and can be easily dist inguished as Yoga= Samkhya + Divinit y. T hus, yoga school accept s t he samkhya psychology and met aphysics, but is more t heist ic t han t he samkhya, because it also includes the divine entity t o t he samkhya's element s of realit y. Pat anjali is widely regarded as t he compiler of t he f ormal yoga philosophy. T he yoga phislosophy of Pat anjali is also known as Raja Yoga . T he ot her branches include Karma Yoga , Jnana Yoga , Bhakti Yoga , and Hatha Yoga . Raja Yoga is a syst em f or cont rol of t he mind. As per Pat anjali Yoga is def ined as योग : ि◌च �� -वि◌ृ �� ि◌नरोध :, which means t hat Yoga is t he inhibition of the modif ications of the mind . Swami Vivekananda t ranslat ed t he sut ra as "Yoga is restraining the mind-stuff from taking various forms" . Hindu philosophy dist inguishes seven major branches of Yoga: Rāja Yoga (Classical Yoga), a syst em of yoga codif ied by Pat añjali and classif ied as one of t he six āst ika ("ort hodox") schools of Hindu philosophy. Jnana yoga , (buddhi-yoga) cent red on t he f acult y of discernment and 'virt ually ident ical wit h t he spirit ual pat h of Vedānt a'. Karma-yoga , in which t he world of everyday work becomes t he t ool by which self is t ranscended. Bhakti-Yoga t he pat h of devot ed service t o God. Tantra-yoga f ocused on t he t echniques and psycho-physical t eachings cont ained wit hin a body of t ext s called t ant ras. Mantra-yoga , one of t he most ancient f orms of yoga in which t he psycho-acoust ical propert ies of t he spoken word are used t o concent rat e t he mind. Hatha yoga , a syst em of physical purif icat ion designed t o reint egrat e and re-balance t he mind and body in preparat ion f or Raja-yoga (f irst described by Yogi Swat marama). Ashtanga Yoga T he Yogasut ras of Pat anjali lat er became t he basis of Ashtanga Yoga . T his eight -limbed concept derived f rom Pat anajali's Yogasut ra is a core charact erist ic of pract ically every Raja yoga variat ion t hat is pract iced t oday. T hese eight limbs are as f ollows: Five Yama: Yama ref ers t o t he f ive "abst ent ions". T hese abst ent ions are Ahimsa (non-violence) Sat ya (T rut h, non-lying) Ast eya (non-covet ousness) Brahmacharya (non-sensualit y, celibacy) Aparigraha (non-possessiveness). Five Niyama: T he Niyama ref ers t o f ive "observances". T hese are Shaucha(purit y) Sant osha(cont ent ment ) T apas (aust erit y) Svadhyaya (st udy of t he Vedic script ures t o know about God and t he soul), and Ishvara-Pranidhana (surrender t o God). Asana: Asana means t o be seat ed. Pat anjali's Sut ras ref ers t o t he seat ed posit ion used f or medit at ion. Pranayama ("Suspending Breat h"): Prāna, breat h, "āyāma", t o rest rain or st op. Also int erpret ed as cont rol of t he lif e f orce. Prat yahara ("Abst ract ion"): Wit hdrawal of t he mind or senses f rom an object or event . Dharana ("Concent rat ion"): Fixing t he at t ent ion on a single object . Dhyana ("Medit at ion"): Int ense cont emplat ion of t he nat ure of t he object of medit at ion. Samadhi ("Liberat ion"): merging consciousness wit h t he object of medit at ion. Hathayoga Versus Rajayoga T he Yogasut ras of Pat anjali which mainly post ulat e t he Raj Yoga, dat e back t o Mauryan Period while Hat hayoga was int roduced by Yogi Swat marama. The major difference between Raj Yoga and Hathayoga is that Raja Yoga aims at controlling all thought-waves or mental modifications, while a Hatha Yogi starts his Sadhana, or spiritual practice, with Asanas (postures) and Pranayama. So Raj Yoga starts from Mind and Hathyoga starts from Body.

Articles from General Knowledge Today Palaeolithic Age Prehistory of India 2011- 05- 04 14:05:10 GKToday Palaeolit hic Age spanned f rom 100000 years ago t ill 10000 years ago. It is divided int o 3 ages viz. Lower Palaeolit hic age which spans t ill 100000 years ago. Middle Palaeolit hic which spans f rom 100000 years ago t ill 40000 years and upper Palaeolit hic which spans f rom 40,000 years t o 10000 years ago. Palaeolit hic t ools were club, sharpened st one, chopper, hand axe, scraper, spear, Bow and arrow, harpoon, needle, scrat ch awl et c. T he t ools made were generally of hard rock quart zit e so t he Palaeolit hic man was called Quart zit e Man. T he t erm Palaeolit hic was coined by archaeologist John Lubbock in 1865. It lit erally means "Old St one Age." It was marked by t he hunt ing gat hering nat ure. Most Palaeolit hic sit es in India developed in t he Pleist ocene period. Lower Palaeolithic Era T he earliest human set t lement s in sout h Asia have been ident if ied wit h an abundance of st one t ool assemblages. T he oldest known t ools used by human beings were t he simple cores and f lakes, and t hey have been report ed f rom t he Siwalik Hills at Riwat , near Rawalpindi in Pakist an. T hese t ools dat e back t o as old as t wo million years. However, t he earliest reliable st one t ool assemblages belong t o t wo dist inct cult ural and t echnological t radit ions viz. t he Sohanian Cult ure and t he Acheulian cult ure, which we st udy under t he lower Palaeolit hic cult ures. So hanian cult ure T he name is derived f rom t he Sohan river, a t ribut ary of Indus. T he sit es of Sohanian cult ure were f ound in t he Siwalik Hills in Nort h-west India and Pakist an. T he art ef act s of t hese st ages were f ound in t hree river t erraces which were correlat ed wit h t he phases of t he f our-f old Pleist ocene glaciat ion. T hese st ages have been named T 1, T 2 and T 3. T he animal remains f rom t his deposit included horse, buf f alo, st raight -t usked elephant and hippopot amus, suggest ing an environment charact erized by perennial wat er sources, t ree veget at ion and grass st eppes. T he t ools included t he pebble choppers, blades et c. Acheulian cult ure Acheulian cult ure, named af t er French sit e of St . Acheul, was t he first effective colonization of the Indian subcontinent and is almost synonymous wit h t he lower Palaeolit hic set t lement s in India. T he Acheulian cult ure was a hunt er- gat herer cult ure t hat adapt ed t o a variet y of climat es including but not limit ing t o west ern Rajast han, Mewar plain, Saurasht ra, Gujarat , Cent ral India, Deccan plat eau, Chot a Nagpur plat eau and t he East ern Ghat s, nort h of t he Cauvery river. Read more about Acheulian Culture here. Middle Palaeolithic Era T he Acheulian cult ure was slowly t ransf ormed int o t he middle Palaeolit hic by shedding some of t he t ool t ypes and by incorporat ing new f orms and new t echniques of making t hem. In some parts of the world, the middle Palaeolithic culture is associated with the Neanderthal man (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis), however, no physical remains of Neanderthal man have been found in India. But , what has been f ound in India are t he st one t ools very similar t o t hose f ound wit h t his hominid species in Europe and ot her regions. The first general observation about the Middle Palaeolithic era is that in comparison to the lower Palaeolithic era, the distribution of sites is sparse . T he reason f or t his is t hat t he middle Palaeolit hic cult ure developed during t he upper Pleist ocene, a period of int ense cold and glaciat ion in t he nort hern lat it udes. In t hose t imes, t he areas bordering glaciat ed regions experienced st rong aridit y. However, generally, t he middle Palaeolit hic populat ions occupied t he same regions and habit at s as t he preceding Acheulian populat ions. T o o ls o f middle Palaeo lit hic Era Middle Palaeolit hic t ools were primarily made on f lakes and blades made by f inely t rimming t he edges. Some of t hem were used f or manuf act uring t he wooden t ools and weapons and also f or processing animal hide. T here are lit t le hint s of use of wooden shaf t s. In comparison t o t he lower Palaeolit hic era, t he t ools in middle Palaeolit hic became smaller, t hinner and light er. T hen, t here was also a signif icant change in t he choice of raw mat erial f or making t ools. While quart zit e, quart z and basalt cont inued t o be used, in many areas t hey were replaced or supplement ed by fine-grained siliceous rocks like chert and jasper . T ool Fact ory sit es at chert out crops occur at many places in cent ral India and Rajast han. Impo rt ant Middle Palaeo lit hic Sit es in India Luni valley, around Didwana, Budha Pushkar in Rajast han Valleys of t he Belan, Son river, Narmada river and t heir t ribut aries in cent ral India Some sparse sit es in Chot a Nagpur plat ea, Deccan plat eau and East ern Ghat s Upper Palaeolithic Era Upper Palaeolit hic cult ure developed during t he lat er part of t he upper Pleist ocene. T he Upper Palaeolit hic period has recorded a rich panorama of f ossils in t he peninsular rivers of India. One import ant discovery is of t he ostrich egg shells at over 40 sit es in Rajast han, Madhya Pradesh and Maharasht ra, which shows t hat ost rich, a bird adapt ed t o arid climat e, was widely dist ribut ed in west ern India during t he lat er part of t he upper Pleist ocene.T here were very import ant changes in t he Palaeolit hicenvironment which had it s own impact on t he dist ribut ion and living ways of t he humans. Some of t hem were as f ollows: T here was ext remely cold and arid climat e in t he high alt it ude and nort hern lat it udes. T here was ext ensive f ormat ion of desert s in Nort h west India T he drainage pat t ern of west ern India became almost def unct and river courses shif t ed "west wards". Veget at ion cover over most of t he count ry t hinned out during t his period. Coast al areas of sout h-east ern T amil Nadu, Saurasht ra and Kut ch developed quart z and carbonat e dunes as a result of t he lowering of t he sea level. During t erminal Pleist ocene sout h-west erly monsoons became weak and t he sea level decreased by scores of met res. Due t o t he harsh and arid climat e, t he veget at ion was sparse t hough t he f aunal f ossils show presence of grasslands. T he human populat ion f aced rust icat ed f ood resources and t hat is t he reason t hat t he number of Upper Palaeolit hic sit es is very limit ed in t he arid and semi-arid regions. T he most opulent archaeological evidence of t his period comes f rom t he Belan and Son valleys in t he nort hern Vindhyas , Chot a Nagpur plat eau in Bihar , upland Maharasht ra, Orissa and f rom t he East ern Ghat s in Andhra Pradesh. T ools of Upper Palaeolithic Era T he t ools of Upper Palaeolit hic Era are essent ially charact erized by blade and t hey show a marked regional diversit y wit h respect t o t he ref inement of t echniques and st andardizat ion of f inished t ool f orms. T he middle Palaeolit hic t radit ion cont inued but in t his period we see t he parallel-sided blades st ruck f rom st andardized prismat ic cores. Furt her, t he prot ot ypes of t raps, snares and net s were probably used during t he upper Palaeolit hic t imes. T he bored st ones and grinding slabs have also been f ound giving hint s t o advancement s in t he t echnology of t ool product ion. T he bored st ones are st ill used by f ishermen as net sinkers in riverine f ishing and marine f ishing. T he Upper Palaeolit hic set t lement s also show a dist inct t rend of being associat ed wit h permanent sources of wat ers. T he use of grinding st ones might have been f or processing plant f oods such as wild rice. T he earliest f orm of art is f ound in t he f orm of ost rich egg shell pieces engraved wit h cross-hat ched designs f rom t he upper Palaeolit hic period. Bhimbetka Rock Shelters Bhimbet ka rock shelt ers are locat ed in Raisen Dist rict of Madhya Pradesh, 45 km sout h of Bhopal at t he sout hern edge of t he Vindhyachal hills. T hese served as shelt ers f or Palaeolit hic age man f or more t han 1 lakh years. T his is t he most exclusive Palaeolit hic sit e in India which cont ains t he rock carvings and paint ings. T hese paint ings belong t o t he Palaeolit hic, Mesolit hic ages, Chalcolit hic, early-hist oric and even medieval t imes. Bhimbet ka is a World herit age Sit e. Please not e t hat it was earlier considered t o be a Buddhist sit e and was lat er recognized as Palaeolit hic sit e by Vishnu Shridhar Wakankar who is now also called "f at her of rock art in India ". Bhimbet ka Rock shelt ers were included in t he world herit age list in 1970 Important Palaeolithic sites in India: Lingsugur in Raichur dist rict , Karnat aka was t he f irst sit e t o be discovered f rom India. Lidder river Pahalgam , Kashmir Sohan valley Punjab, Banks of River Beas, Bangagnga Sirsa Haryana, Chit t orgarh and Kot a, Rajast han, River Wagoon, Kadamali basins Rajast han. River Sabaramat i and Mahi basins (Rajast han & Gujarat ), Basins of river t apt i, Godavari, Bhima and Krishna Koregaon, Chandoli and shikarpur (Maharasht ra), River Raro (Jharkhand), River Suvarnrekha (Orissa), Ghat prabha River Basin (Karnat aka). Pahalgam , Jammu & Kashmir Belan Valley, Allahabad Sinsgi T alav, Didwana , Nagaur Rajast han Hunsgi, Gulbarga in karnat aka. At t irampakkam in T amilnadu

Articles from General Knowledge Today Introduction to Prehistory 2011- 05- 04 08:05:55 GKToday T he past of humankind has been divided int o t wo broad cat egories viz. Prehistoric and historic . Prehist oric period belongs t o t he t ime bef ore t he emergence of writ ing and t he hist oric period t o t he t ime f ollowing it . It has been so f are believed t hat Modern Humans originat ed in Af rica and have lived on our planet f or around 150,000 years. In recent t imes, t here have been some challenges t o t his t heory. T he ant hropologist s have long t heorized t hat humans emerged f rom Af rica and int o East and Sout heast Asia around 60,000 years ago; t here has been a signif icant lack of f ossil evidence t o support t hese claims. T he earliest skull f ossil evidence in t he region had dat ed back 16,000 years and was f ound in t he early 20th cent ury . In August 2012 , a new skull was found that dates back to 46,000 to 63,000 years. This discovery has bolstered the genetic studies that point to modern humans inhabiting Laos and the surrounding environs at that time, according to a report of the anthropological discovery published in the latest edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The skull has been found in Tam Pa Ling , " the Cave of the Monkeys" in northern Laos . It helps fill in this mysterious gap in the fossil record . Advent of writing But , man learnt writ ing only about 5000-8000 years ago. Writ ing most likely began as a consequence of polit ical expansion in ancient cult ures, which needed reliable means f or t ransmit t ing inf ormat ion, maint aining f inancial account s, keeping hist orical records, and similar act ivit ies. It has been concluded t hat around t he 4th millennium BC, t he complexit y of t rade and administ rat ion out grew t he power of human memory, and writ ing became a more dependable met hod of recording and present ing t ransact ions in a permanent f orm. T he earliest record of human writ ing may be t he Dispilio T ablet , dat ed t o t he 6th millennium BC. So, we humans have not learnt writ ing f or a long t ime, even t oday 10-12 % of the Human Population is illiterate . So, writ t en hist ory gives us account of only 0.1% of human hist ory. T hen, bef ore t he invent ion of print ing t echnology in t he medieval period, writ t en document s were f ew and f ar bet ween, and many of t hem have been lost due t o being writ t en on perishable mat erials like t ree bark, palm leaf , papyrus and clot h. T his means t hat t he st ory of humankind has t o be reconst ruct ed largely wit h t he help of non-lit erary or archaeological sources. T hese sources comprise object s – t ools, weapons, ornament s, st ruct ures and art ist ic creat ions which were produced and used by humans and which have survived t he ravages of t ime. Archaeology & Ethnoarcheology Like ot her creat ures, we humans also had t o adapt ourselves t o t he environment , but unlike ot her beings, we have done so wit h t he aid of t echnology and mat erial cult ure (mat erial object s like t ools, weapons, ut ensils, houses, clot hes, ornament s, et c). Since, t he component s of environment such as landscape, climat e, f lora and f auna also t ends t o change over t ime, archaeologist s have t o reconst ruct past environment s as well. Moreover, t he biological remains of men have cont ribut ed t o t he underst anding of not only his biological evolut ion but also cult ural evolut ion. Archaeology, t hus, is a mult idisciplinary st udy involving disciplines like geology, palaeont ology, palaeobot any, biological ant hropology and archaeological chemist ry. T hen, t he cult ural changes t ake place at an uneven pace in dif f erent regions. In many part s of t he world, f or example in India, prehist oric ways of lif e have survived more or less unchanged int o modern t imes. T he discipline, under which we st udy t he non-indust rialized societ ies, especially t hose pract ising hunting-gathering, fishing, primitive cultivation and pastoralism, is known as et hnoarchaeology. T his st udy cont ribut es t o int erpret ing t he archaeological record. Origin of Man T he origin of man begins in t he Miocene period, around t went y million years ago, when t he great apes, f rom whom t he humans evolved, f lourished in large areas of t he Old World. Prot o humans appeared in t he Pliocene period, around f ive million years ago, and t heir cult ural evolut ion largely t ook place during t he Pleist ocene period, which began about t wo million years ago. While biologically humans dif f er f rom t he ot her apes in t heir upright post ure, abilit y t o walk on t wo f eet or hind limbs, ext remely versat ile hand, and an unusually powerf ul brain, cult urally t hey dif f er in t heir abilit y t o manuf act ure and use t ools. Prehistoric Period: Classif ication T he prehist oric period is divided int o t hree ages, namely t he st one, bronze and iron ages. T hese ages, besides being t echnological st ages, also have economic and social implicat ions. T he St one Age is divided int o t hree periods, viz. Palaeolit hic , Mesolit hic and Neolit hic . T he suf f ix lit hic indicat es t hat t echnology in t hese periods was primarily based on st one. Economically the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods represent the hunting-gathering stage while the Neolithic represents the stage of food production, i.e. plant cultivation and animal husbandry. Concept: Absolute and Relative Chronology Chronology of t he past can be eit her relat ive or absolut e. Relat ive chronology dat es prehist oric event s in relat ion t o ot her event s and geological deposit s. T he relat ive chronology t ells us if a part icular event is earlier or lat er t han anot her event . On t he ot her hand, t he Absolut e chronology dat es event s and phenomena in solar calendar years. T he t echniques such as Radiocarbon, K/Ar, f ission t racks, t hermoluminescence, T H230/U234 and dendrochronology are t he t echniques of absolut e chronology. Out of t hen, t he dendrochronology is applicable only t o a period of a f ew t housand years and only in t he f ew areas where old wood samples have been preserved. T hen, t he radiocarbon dat ing can dat e event s up t o sixt y t housand years old. T he ot her met hods can, however, dat e event s belonging t o t he ent ire prehist oric period. However, t heir applicat ion is dependent on t he availabilit y of suit able mat erials such as volcanic ash and rock at archaeological sit es.

Articles from General Knowledge Today Mesolithic Age in India 2011- 05- 04 14:05:41 GKToday T he t ransit ion f rom t he Palaeolit hic period t o Mesolit hic period is marked by t ransit ion f rom Pleist ocene period t o Holocene and f avourable changes in t he climat e. T he climat e became warmer and humid and t here was expansion of f lora and f auna cont ribut ed by increased rainf all. T his led t o availabilit y of new resources t o humans and t hus t he human beings moved t o new areas. T his period is marked wit h increased populat ion, t hough core economy of t his period cont inued t o be based on hunt ing and gat hering. Most important Change T he early period of Mesolit hic age marks t he hunt ing, f ishing and f ood gat hering which t urn t o hunt ing, f ishing, f ood gat hering as well as domest icat ing t he animals. One more important fact about the Mesolithic era in India is that the first human colonization of the Ganga plains took place during this period. There are more than two hundred Mesolithic sites found in Allahabad, Pratapgarh, Jaunpur, Mirzapur and Varanasi districts of Uttar Pradesh. This era also marks the dramatically increased settlement in deltaic region of Bengal, the areas around Mumbai and other places of western coast of India. T ools of Mesolithic Era T he t ools are Mesolit hic Era are smaller in size and bet t er in f inishing (more geomet ric) t han t he Palaeolit hic age and are called Microliths . T hese microlit hs are t iny t ools of one t o f ive cent imet res lengt h, made by blunt ing one or more sides wit h st eep ret ouch. T he main t ool t ypes are backed blades, obliquely t runcat ed blades, point s, crescent s, t riangles and t rapezes. Some of t he microlit hs were used as component s of spearheads, arrowheads, knives, sickles, harpoons and daggers. T hey were f it t ed int o grooves in bone, wood and reed shaf t s and joined t oget her by nat ural adhesives like gum and resin. Hunt ing-gat hering way of lif e was slowly replaced by f ood product ion f rom about 6000 B.C. T hus we see t hat t he use of t he bow and arrow f or hunt ing had become common in t his period, which is evident f rom many rock paint ings. T he Bored st ones, which had already appeared during t he upper Palaeolit hic, became common during t his, and t he Neolit hic and Chalcolit hic periods. T hese are believed t o have been used as weight s in digging st icks and as net sinkers. Similarly, shallow querns and grinding st ones also occur at several sit es. T hese new t echnological element s led t o enhanced ef f iciency in hunt ing, collect ion and processing of wild plant f oods. Changes in Lif e- Mesolithic Era Fro m No madism t o Sedent ary set t lement s T here were some more int erest ing changes in lif est yle of t he Mesolit hic era humans. T he f avourable climat e, bet t er rainf alls, warm at mosphere and increased f ood securit y led t o reduct ion in nomadism t o seasonally sedent ary set t lement . First Dispo sal o f dead and making o f Graves T he sedent ary set t lement s lead t o beginning of t he t radit ion of various ways of int ent ional disposal of t he dead. The first evidence of intentional disposal of the dead comes from Mesolithic Era . Mesolit hic human burials have been f ound at Bagor in Rajast han, Langhnaj in Gujarat , Bhimbet ka in Madhya Pradesh et c. T he dead were buried in graves bot h in ext ended and crouched posit ion. In some cases t wo individuals were buried in a single grave. T he dead were occasionally provided wit h grave of f erings which include chunks of meat , grinding st ones, st one, bone and ant ler ornament s, and pieces of haemat it e. Emerging art s T he Mesolit hic man was a lover of art , evident f rom t he paint ings in several t housand rock shelt ers in t he Vindhyan sandst one hills in cent ral India. T he paint ings have been f ound in bot h inhabit ed and uninhabit ed shelt ers. T he paint ings are made most ly in red and whit e pigment s, made f orm t he nodules f ound in rocks and eart h. T he subject mat t er of t he paint ings are most ly wild animals and hunt ing scenes, t hough t here are some relat ed t o human social and religious lif e such as sex and child birt h. Fo o d Pro duct io n T he hunt ing-gat hering way of lif e was slowly replaced by f ood product ion f rom about 6000 B.C. T he core economic act ivit ies were now included hunt ing, f owling, f ishing and wild plant f ood gat hering. The first animals to be domesticated were dog, cattle, sheep and goat and the first plants to be cultivated were wheat and barley. T his new subsist ence economy based on f ood product ion had a last ing impact on t he evolut ion of human societ y and t he environment . In t he humid lands, ext ending f rom t he middle Ganga valley t o China and Sout heast Asia, rice cult ivat ion and domest icat ion of pig was accomplished probably around t he same t ime because rice and pig exist ed in wild f orm in t his region. T he cult ivat ion of yams and t aro also t ook place in t his region. Domest icat ed animals proved t o be usef ul not only f or meat but also f or milk, hide, agricult ural operat ions, and t ransport . Meso lit hic Era: Impo rt ant Po int s Agricult ure had not f ully developed. T he earliest evidence of domest icat ion of animals has been provided by Adamagarh in Madhya Pradesh and Bagor in Rajast han. A st udy has also suggest ed cult ivat ion of plant s around 7000-6000 years back near Sambhar lake in Ajmer Rajast han. T he Pachpadra basin and Sojat Area of Rajast han is a rich Mesolit hic sit es and lot of microlit hs have been discovered. Bagor in Rajast han is t he almost largest Mesolit hic sit e in India. Anot her major Mesolit hic sit e in Rajast han is T ilwara. In Guajarat some places on t he banks of river Sabarmat i are Mesolit hic sit es which include t he Akhaj, Valsana, Hirpur, Langhanj et c. Sarai Nahar Rai in Allahabad-Prat apgarh of Ut t ar Pradesh is a Mesolit hic sit e. Ot her sit es in Ut t ar Pradesh are Morhana Pahar and lekkahia. In Madhya Pradesh Bhimbet ka along wit h Adamgarh are major Mesolit hic sit es. In Jharkhand Chhot a nagpur plat eau is a major Mesolit hic sit e in India. In Orissa Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Sundergarh is a major Mesolit hic sit e in India. In sout h India Godavari basin is rich in microlit hs, T he rock paint ing of Mesolit hic period is f ound in Adamgarh, Bhimbet ka of Madhya Pradesh and Prat apgarh, Mirzapur of Rajast han. Apart f rom t he animals, hunt ing scenes, t he Mesolit hic sit es have also paint ing of social lif e, sexual act ivit y, child birt h, rearing of children and burial ceremony.

Articles from General Knowledge Today Neolithic Age in India 2011- 05- 04 14:05:21 GKToday T he Neolit hic period began around 10700 t o 9400 BC in T ell Qaramel in Nort hern Syria. In Sout h Asia t he dat e assigned t o Neolit hic period is 7000 BC and t he earliest example is Mehrgarh Cult ure. T he human set t lement s in t he Mesolit hic era got more sedent ary and t his was t he beginning of est ablishment of villages. Man now could keep cat t le, sheep and goat s and prot ect crops f rom pest s. In due course, as t he ef f iciency of agricult ural product ion improved, some f armers were able t o generat e surplus f ood. As a consequence, a sect ion of t he populat ion were f reed f rom t he t ask of f ood product ion and t heir t alent s and energies were divert ed t o t asks such as t he product ion of pot s, basket s, quarrying of st one, making of bricks, masonry and carpent ry. T his was t he beginning of t he new occupat ions such as t he oil presser, washerman, barber, musician, dancers et c. T his t ransit ion f rom hunt inggat hering t o f ood product ion is called t he Neolithic revolution . Around 6000BC, t he smelt ing of met als such as Copper began which was used f or raw mat erial t o be used in t ool product ion. Lat er, T in was mixed wit h cooper and bronze appeared which st ronger met al t han bot h t in and copper was. Use of bronze for tools led to the invention of wheel which revolutionized transport and pottery production. The Neolithic period began around 10700 to 9400 BC in Tell Qaramel in Northern Syria. In South Asia the date assigned to Neolithic period is 7000 BC and the earliest example is Mehrgarh Culture. Mehrgarh is the oldest agricultural settlement in the Indian subcontinent. Mehrgarh Culture Mehrgarh is t he oldest agricult ural set t lement in t he Indian subcont inent Agricult ure-based Neolit hic set t lement s. Despit e being t he agricult ure set t lement , it used only st one t ools, so is why placed in Neolit hic Era. It f lourished in t he sevent h millennium B.C. Mehrgarh is locat ed on t he Bolan River, a t ribut ary of t he Indus, at t he east ern edge of t he Baluchist an plat eau overlooking t he Indus plain. T he Mehrgarh cult ure has been divided int o 8 sub periods and f ollowing are import ant f eat ures of t hese sub-periods: First Perio d Earliest period of Mehrgarh is charact erized by polished st one t ools, microlit hs and bone t ools. In t his phase t he subsist ence economy consist ed of a combinat ion of hunt ing, st ock-breeding and plant cult ivat ion. T he domest icat ed animals comprise cat t le, sheep, goat and wat er buf f alo while t he cult ivat ed plant s comprise several variet ies of wheat and barley. T he houses were made of mud and mud-bricks. Mult iple rooms wit hout doors are believed t o have been used f or st oring grain. The dead were buried under the floors of the houses where people lived . Some of t he skelet ons which were buried have been f ound sprinkled wit h red ochre. Necklaces of microbeads of st eat it e along wit h beads of t urquoise, lapis lazuli and sea shell, st one axes and microlit hs have also been f ound in t he graves. In two cases, bodies of young goats were also found. T here was no pot t ery at t his st age but basket s coat ed wit h bit umen were used. Seco nd Perio d T his period has lef t evidences of handmade, basket -impressed coarse ware. T here was emergence of wheel-made pot t ery paint ed in reddish and black color wit h simple st raight and curved lines, rows of dot s and crisscrosses. Sickles made of st one bladelet s, set obliquely in wood handles wit h bit umen as t he adhesive mat erial, may have been used f or harvest ing. Met al t echnology st art ed , evident f rom t he discovery of a copper ring and a bead . T erracot t a human f igurines and bangles also appear. T hird Perio d Improved f arming around 3000 BC is evident f rom a new variet y of barley, viz. Hordeum sphaerococcum , which can be grown only in irrigat ed f ields. T he presence of cotton seeds suggests the possibility of the use of this fibre for textile manufacture . T he Vessels were now decorat ed wit h paint ings of birds and animals as also wit h geomet ric designs. Oat s and anot her variet y of wheat was added t o t he agricult ure. St one bead manuf act uring and copper smelt ing st art ed. Fourth Period Emergence of polychrome pot t ery wit h a t all goblet wit h wide mout h and a pedest al base as a new shape. Ext ensive use of t imber in t he const ruct ion of houses, of f emale t erracot t a f igurines wit h pendulous breast s and of st amped seals of t erracot t a and bone. Emergence of commercial t ransact ions. Fif t h Perio d A marked decline in polychrome decorat ion on pot t ery. Sixt h Perio d Dramat ically increase in pot t ery st yles and t he f irst evidence of pot t ery kilns. Pipal leaf and humped bull designs appear on pot t ery which ant icipat e Harappan mot if s. Prolif erat ion of t erracot t a f igurines, improved f emale f igurines. Seventh Period Richness and variet y of t erracot t a f igurines very much similar t o t he Indus Valley Civilizat ion. Medial part it ion of t he hair suggest ing t he popular pract ice among Hindu women. T erracot t a bulls wit h prominent humps and rams made in alabast er. Designs of swast ika, crucif orms and running animals on t erracot t a f igurines. Emergence of monument al archit ect ure evident f rom a large brick plat f orm. Eight h Perio d St ruct ured graves, semi-precious st one beads and a bronze shaf t -hole axe. Cigar Snapped handmade Brick st ruct ures wit h f ire places, st one blade indust ry using f lint , composit e st ickle, grinding st ones, bone t ools, Pot t ery et c. In April 2006, it was announced in t he scient if ic journal Nat ure t hat t he oldest (and f irst early Neolit hic) evidence in human hist ory f or t he drilling of t eet h in a living person was f ound in Mehrgarh. Mehrgarh is now seen as a precursor t o t he Indus Valley Civilizat ion. "Discoveries at Mehrgarh changed t he ent ire concept of t he Indus civilizat ion,"

Articles from General Knowledge Today Chalcolithic Age in India 2011- 05- 04 14:05:55 GKToday Chalcolit hic is also known as Eneolit hic period which saw t he use of t he met als among which t he Copper was f irst . It is called Chalcolit hic which means use of st one and well as copper was prevalent in t his period. T he earliest set t lement s of t he Chalcolit hic period range f rom t he Ganget ic basin t o Chhot anagpur Plat eau. T he economy of t his period was based upon agricult ure, st ock raising, hunt ing and f ishing. Limit ed number of Copper and bronze t ools have also been recovered. T he presence of paint ed pot t ery is a hall mark of t he Chalcolit hic period. T he burial pract ice was anot her st riking f eat ure and t he dead were buried in a part icular direct ion all over a part icular area. T he largest sit e of t he Chalcolit hic period is Diamabad sit uat ed on t he lef t bank of t he Pravara River. T he pot t ery ranges f rom Red ware , deep red ware t o deep brown and black, Pict ographic red and black and polished red. Some Chalcolithic Cultures: Ahara Culture: T he sit es of Ahar Cult ure were Aahar (Rajast han), balat hal, Gilund et c. T he dist inct ive f eat ure is black and red ware. Kayatha Culture: Locat ed in Chambal and it s t ribut aries, t he st urdy red slipped ware wit h chocolat e designs is main f eat ure Malwa Culture: Narmada & it s t ribut aries in Gujarat . One of t he largest Chalcolit hic set t lement s. Svalda Culture: T he well-known sit es are in Dhulia dist rict of Maharasht ra. Prabhas & Rangpur Culture: Bot h of t hem are derived f rom t he Harappa cult ure. T he polished red ware is t he hall mark of t his cult ure. Important Observations about Chalcolithic Culture T he lower Palaeolit hic sit es were not f ound on t he plains of Indus, Saraswat i, Brahmaput ra and Ganga because probably mat erial in t he f orm of st one was not available over t here. As St one was t he major indust ry of t he t ime. T hen, in nort hern India , Mesolithic sites have not been recorded. The main difference between the Lower Paleolithic and upper Paleolithic was that in Lower Paleolithic quartzite was mainly used while in upper Paleolithic crypto-crystalline silica was mainly used. In Kashmir, the people of Neolithic settelements used to b ury dogs wit h t heir mast ers . Apart from the stone tools, there is one side in India which gives evidence of Bone tools in Paleolithic Era. It is Muchchat t a Chint amanu Gavi. It s locat ed in kurnool . Cult ivat ion of cot t on was a main f eat ure of Mehrgarh as well as Indus Valley Civilizat ion. T he Earliest evidence of Rice cult ivat ion has come f rom Belan Valley T he Middle Palaeolit hic Indust ry based upon st one was locat ed in sout hern T har desert in Rajast han and it was called Luni industry . T he most common animal in t he cave paint ings of Palaeolit hic and Mesolit hic era was was deer. T he people of Gilund in Rajast han were NOT aware of bricks. T he Banana, Coconut , areca nut et c. Came f rom Sout h East Asia around 2000 BC

Articles from General Knowledge Today Discovery & Extent of Indus Valley Civilization 2011- 05- 04 15:05:32 GKToday "A long march preceded our arrival at Haripah, through jangal of the closest description.... When I joined the camp I found it in front of the village and ruinous brick castle. Behind us was a large circular mound, or eminence, and to the west was an irregular rocky height, crowned with the remains of buildings, in fragments of walls, with niches, after the eastern manner.... Tradition affirms the existence here of a city, so considerable that it extended to Chicha Watni , thirteen cosses distant , and that it was destroyed by a particular visitation of Providence, brought down by the lust and crimes of the sovereign" T his was t he f irst narrat ion of t he Harappa Civilizat ion by an Englishman Charles Masson in 1842. T he coss is around 2 miles and it has been used as a unit of lengt h in India since Vedic T imes. However, t he discovery of Charles Masson could not at t ract any archeological int erest f or many years. In 1872, Sir Alexander Cunningham published t he f irst Harappan seal. About half a cent ury lat er in 1912 more Harappan seals were discovered by J Fleet . Lat er an excavat ion campaign was carried out under Sir John Hubert Marshall and t his culminat ed in t he discovery of a Civilizat ion at Harappa by Sir John Marshall, Rai Bahadur Daya Ram Sahni and Madho Sarup Vat s, and at Mohenjo-Daro by Rakhal Das Banerjee, E. J. H. MacKay, and Sir John Marshall. Extent of the Indus Valley Civilization T he cent re of t he civilizat ion was in Sind and Punjab in undivided India, f rom t his cent re, t he civilizat ion spread t owards all direct ion. In West t he last ext ent is seaboard of Sout h Baluchist an at t he Sukt agendor which can be called it s west ern border. In east Alamagirpur in Ut t ar Pradesh (Dist rict Meerut ) can be called it s East ern Border. In Nort h it ext ended up t o Manda in Jammu & Kashmir and in sout h it ext ended up t o Bhagvat rav in Narmada Est uary of Gujarat . However, lat er at Diamabad (Dist rict Ahamed Nagar Maharasht ra) was t he sit e where f our f igurines of Bronze on t he bank of Pravara River f ound. T his pushed t he civilizat ion's ext ension in f urt her sout h. Indus civilizat ion remnant s have been discovered f rom as f ar sout h as Mumbai in Maharasht ra St at e. Observations Most set t lement s in Indus Valley Civilizat ion are on banks of rivers. As f ar as ext ension is concerned, t he Indus civilizat ion was largest of t he f our ancient urban civilizat ions of Egypt , Mesopot amia, Sout h Asia and China It covered an area of around 13 Lakh square kilomet ers. T his area is triangular in shape and no ot her ancient civilizat ion was ext ended t o such a large area. Remains of t he sit e f irst f ound at Harappa so it is also called Harappan Civilizat ion. Modern dat ing met hods keep t he civilizat ion t o be ranging f rom 2900 t o 2000BC. T he people of t his civilizat ion were def init ely in t ouch wit h t he ot her civilizat ions most prominent ly being t he Mesopot amian civilizat ion. T he dif f erence between names of Harappan Civilization and Indus Valley Civilization Bot h t he names are cot erminous. Harappa is an archaeological sit e in Punjab, Pakist an and t his was t he f irst sit e where t he remains of t he civilizat ion were f irst f ound. T hat is why it is called Harappan Civilizat ion. Since it st art ed in t he river valley of t he Indus River and largest concent rat ion of t he set t lement s has been f ound along t he course of t his river, it was called Indus Valley Civilizat ion.