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Late Vedic Period
Between roughly 900 and 500 BCE, the Indian subcontinent underwent a deepening of Vedic culture after its eastward move to the Gangetic plain, as Bra…
Timeline
- c. -900–-850Eastern Gangetic plain · IndiaAryan tribes migrated eastward from the Sarasvati river basin into the Gangetic plain, forming new settlement centers and ritual bases; late Vedic texts reflect this geographic and cultural shift.
- c. -800–-600Northern India · IndiaBrahmin priests monopolized ritual and scriptural interpretation, the caste (varna) and sub-caste (jati) systems became further entrenched in social life, and kingship proclaimed its legitimacy through large-scale fire sacrifices such as the horse sacrifice.
- c. -600–-500Gangetic plain · IndiaIn the final phase of the late Vedic period, social reflection on ritual and caste order intensified, Upanishadic philosophy and shramana thought arose, providing the intellectual soil for the rivalry of the sixteen great kingdoms and the birth of Buddhism and Jainism.
Sources
- The Cambridge History of India, Volume I: Ancient India — E. J. Rapson et al. (1922)
- A History of India, Volume 1 — Romila Thapar (1966)