Beginnings/Indus Valley

(before 2000 BCE)

These early texts were centralized around sacrifice

and the sharing of it with others and the gods.
Sacrifices were not only limited to animals, and was
anything offered to the sacred fire. Some of these
vedic rituals were very complex, and these sacrifices
went to the many gods who ruled the three separate,
domains of the universe: earth, atmosphere and sky.

Medieval Period (500 CE1500 CE)

During the medieval period there is a rise of devotion
(bhakti) to the major gods: Vishnu, Shiva and Devi. The
fall of the Gupta empire led to the adoption of different
traditions in each region. This increased devotion led to
the construction of many great temples that served as
hubs for religious and political power. Works of
literature developed in Sanskrit and Tamil, where saints
recorded their teachings in poems. Teachers (gurus) that
followed gathered these works, and formed new theories
and ideas infusing their own ideals (sampradaya). This
led to many important new philosophers in the separate

Hinduism originated in India sometime around 2000

traditions. The Tantras grew popular in this time period,

BCE. It is not one sole religion; instead it encompasses a

and they superseded the Veda.

multitude of religions consisting of common components

but having no consolidated structure. Remains of
religious activity have been found in the Indus Valley;

The Epic, Puranic and Classical

Age (500 BCE500 CE)

however, it is unclear whether or not these are from

early forms of Hinduism.

The Pre-Modern Period

(15001757 CE)

The Vedic Period (c.1500c.500 BCE)

During the Vedic Period, historians believe that either
Indus Valley groups invaded India and recorded their
religion along with elements from indigenous tribes in
the Veda, or that the culture that developed in the Indus
Valley overtime was Aryan culture. In both cases this
lead to development of Hinduisms traditions.
Historians primarily gained insight on this period

Dharma, which is the idea of an overriding law that

Muslims took control of parts of India during the 16th

keeps order to the universe, was manifested in this era.

century. While the Mughal emperor Akbar was willing to

People began to focus more on the worship of deities in

let the conquered peoples practice Hinduism, his great

from the Neolithic period. The Vedic Period generally

temples, and fire sacrifice became less common.

grandson Aurangzeb was not. Many temples were

refers to time when the Vedas were composed.

Three traditions were also born out of this era:

destroyed during his reign.The Sant tradition is started in

Vaishnavism (Vishnu), Shaivism (Shiva), and Shaktism

the north during this time period, which combined aspects

(Devi).

of bhakti, meditation or yoga, and Islamic mysticism.

through its language and archeology. The language of

the vedic culture was vedic Sanskrit. Historians have
interestingly found archeological continuities in India