“Shaped like
an egg, divided vertically into empty space, earth and netherworlds” this is
how Puranas describe the universe. Earth itself is a flat disk, consisting of
seven varshas arranged in concentric circles alternating with seas of salt
water, molasses, wine, butter, curd, milk and fresh water. In the middle is the
jambudvipa, whose southern most part is known as bharatvarsha. This
bharatvarsha is separated into nine divisions by sea. The mountains, rivers and
locations described by the composers of the puranas were very much aware of the
geography of the subcontinent, some of which can be identified even today.
The major landmark in the subcontinent is the Indus or Sindhu River, which originates in the Tibetan plateau. The words India, Hindu and Hindustan originate from the river. The river flows 3200 km southwest across the fertile plains before meeting the Arabian Sea. Due to the fertile plains, civilizations rose up around the area, which is now known as Indus valley civilisation.
The discovery of the Indus valley civilisation was the result of Archaeological Survey of India in the British Raj. It was Sir John Hubert Marshall’s excavation campaign in 1921–22, that helped discover one of the oldest civilisations in the world that was contemporary with ancient Egypt or Mesopotamia.
Indus Valley Civilisation is around 3000 BCE old. During its mature phase (2600–1900 BCE) the civilisation had a flourishing and varied industry. Around 1800 BCE signs of decline started, leading to cities being abandoned by 1700 BCE. It was proposed that the decline of the Indus Civilization was caused by the invasion of an Indo-European tribe from Central Asia called the "Aryans". These claims are drawn from linguistic, genetic, archaeological, literary and cultural sources. The Aryans who later settled around the Indus valley are also known as the Rigvedic people, due to their compilation of vedic hymns known as Rig-Veda.
The Rig-Veda is a sacred collection of thousands of Vedic hymns in different seers. Rig-Veda is believed by the western scholars to be composed around 1200 BCE and after. According to the astronomical references in the hymns, yogis and scholars date the Rig-Veda as before 4000 BCE. This conflicts with the mainstream academic notion that believes The Indo Aryan invasion. These ideas are still cherished by the western indologists but some are changing too. But if we consider the astronomical references in hymns as the yogis and scholar says, then the Aryans could be indigenous people known to us as the Indus valley civilisation.
The Aryan invasion theory was put forward by the western scholars to explain the presence of two speech families in India, Indo-European languages in the north and Dravidian languages in the south. The Deva-Dasyu conflicts in the rigvedic hymns were interpreted as the war between the Dravidians and the invading Aryans. The theory about the invasion was an uncertain assumption but later it was turned in to a proved fact. Earlier the Aryans were considered to be a superior and advanced civilisation, but soon with the discoveries of Harappa and Mohenjodaro, they were termed as barbarians who destroyed such a splendid urban civilisation built by the Dravidians. The puranas provide a proper outlook to the indications in the vedic literature, which these scholars have ignored or used selectively for their own scheme.
It is possible that the Indo Aryans lived in the Indus valley and the neighboring countries long before the European Aryan speakers in central asia. If true, this can put an end to the Aryan invasion theory proposed by some of the European scholars.
Read about the Indian Subcontinent
The major landmark in the subcontinent is the Indus or Sindhu River, which originates in the Tibetan plateau. The words India, Hindu and Hindustan originate from the river. The river flows 3200 km southwest across the fertile plains before meeting the Arabian Sea. Due to the fertile plains, civilizations rose up around the area, which is now known as Indus valley civilisation.
The discovery of the Indus valley civilisation was the result of Archaeological Survey of India in the British Raj. It was Sir John Hubert Marshall’s excavation campaign in 1921–22, that helped discover one of the oldest civilisations in the world that was contemporary with ancient Egypt or Mesopotamia.
Indus Valley Civilisation is around 3000 BCE old. During its mature phase (2600–1900 BCE) the civilisation had a flourishing and varied industry. Around 1800 BCE signs of decline started, leading to cities being abandoned by 1700 BCE. It was proposed that the decline of the Indus Civilization was caused by the invasion of an Indo-European tribe from Central Asia called the "Aryans". These claims are drawn from linguistic, genetic, archaeological, literary and cultural sources. The Aryans who later settled around the Indus valley are also known as the Rigvedic people, due to their compilation of vedic hymns known as Rig-Veda.
The Rig-Veda is a sacred collection of thousands of Vedic hymns in different seers. Rig-Veda is believed by the western scholars to be composed around 1200 BCE and after. According to the astronomical references in the hymns, yogis and scholars date the Rig-Veda as before 4000 BCE. This conflicts with the mainstream academic notion that believes The Indo Aryan invasion. These ideas are still cherished by the western indologists but some are changing too. But if we consider the astronomical references in hymns as the yogis and scholar says, then the Aryans could be indigenous people known to us as the Indus valley civilisation.
The Aryan invasion theory was put forward by the western scholars to explain the presence of two speech families in India, Indo-European languages in the north and Dravidian languages in the south. The Deva-Dasyu conflicts in the rigvedic hymns were interpreted as the war between the Dravidians and the invading Aryans. The theory about the invasion was an uncertain assumption but later it was turned in to a proved fact. Earlier the Aryans were considered to be a superior and advanced civilisation, but soon with the discoveries of Harappa and Mohenjodaro, they were termed as barbarians who destroyed such a splendid urban civilisation built by the Dravidians. The puranas provide a proper outlook to the indications in the vedic literature, which these scholars have ignored or used selectively for their own scheme.
It is possible that the Indo Aryans lived in the Indus valley and the neighboring countries long before the European Aryan speakers in central asia. If true, this can put an end to the Aryan invasion theory proposed by some of the European scholars.
Read about the Indian Subcontinent
