Historical Vedic religion information

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The historical Vedic religion, also known as Vedicism and Vedism, constituted the religious ideas and practices prevalent amongst the Indo-Aryan peoples of the northwest Indian subcontinent (Punjab and the western Ganges plain) during the Vedic period (1500–500 BCE).^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] These ideas and practices are found in the Vedic texts, and some Vedic rituals are still practiced today.^[7]^[8]^[9] The Vedic religion is one of the major traditions which shaped Hinduism, though present-day Hinduism is significantly different from the historical Vedic religion.^[5]^[10]^{[note 1]}

The Vedic religion developed in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent during the early Vedic period (1500–1100 BCE), but has roots in the Eurasian Steppe Sintashta culture (2200–1800 BCE), the subsequent Central Asian Andronovo culture (2000–900 BCE),^[11]^[a] and the Indus Valley Civilisation (2600–1900 BCE).^[12] It was a composite of the religion of the Central Asian Indo-Aryans, itself "a syncretic mixture of old Central Asian and new Indo-European elements",^[13] which borrowed "distinctive religious beliefs and practices"^[14] from the Bactria–Margiana culture;^[14] and the remnants of the Harappan culture of the Indus Valley.^[15]

During the late Vedic period (1100–500 BCE) Brahmanism developed out of the Vedic religion, as an ideology of the Kuru-Panchala realm which expanded into a wider area after the demise of the Kuru-Pancala realm. Brahmanism was one of the major influences that shaped contemporary Hinduism, when it was synthesized with the non-Vedic Indo-Aryan religious heritage of the eastern Ganges plain (which also gave rise to Buddhism and Jainism), and with local religious traditions.^[1]^[2]^[16]^[17]^[b]

Specific rituals and sacrifices of the Vedic religion include, among others: the Soma rituals; Fire rituals involving oblations (havir); and the Ashvamedha (horse sacrifice).^[18]^[19] The rites of grave burials as well as cremation are seen since the Rigvedic period.^[20] Deities emphasized in the Vedic religion include Dyaus, Indra, Agni, Rudra and Varuna, and important ethical concepts include satya and ṛta.

^ ^a ^b Bronkhorst 2007.
^ ^a ^b Samuel 2010.
^ Heesterman 2005, pp. 9552–9553.
^ "Vedic religion". Encyclopedia Britannica.
^ ^a ^b Sullivan 2001, p. 9.
^ Samuel 2010, pp. 97–99, 113–118.
^ Knipe 2015, pp. 41–45, 220–223.
^ Cite error: The named reference Witzel2004 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Witzel_Kalasha was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Michaels 2004, p. 38.
^ Anthony 2007.
^ White 2003.
^ Anthony 2007, p. 462.
^ ^a ^b Beckwith 2011, p. 32.
^ White 2003, p. 28.
^ "Vedic religion". Encyclopedia Britannica. It [Vedic religion] takes its name from the collections of sacred texts known as the Vedas. Vedism is the oldest stratum of religious activity in India for which there exist written materials. It was one of the major traditions that shaped Hinduism.
^ Witzel 1995.
^ Cite error: The named reference Prasoon was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Griffith, Ralph Thomas Hotchkin (1987) [1899]. The Texts of the White Yajurveda. Translated with a popular commentary (Reprint ed.). Benaras: E. J. Lazarus and Co. ISBN 81-215-0047-8.
^ Stephanie Jamison (2015). The Rigveda — Earliest Religious Poetry of India. Oxford University Press. pp. 1393, 1399. ISBN 978-0190633394.

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Historical Vedic religion information

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Historical Vedic religion

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