Religion

Etymology
Main article: Names of India
According to the Oxford English Dictionary (third edition 2009), the name "India" is derived from the
Classical Latin India, a reference to South Asia and an uncertain region to its east; and in turn derived
successively from: Hellenistic Greek India ( Ἰνδία); ancient Greek Indos ( Ἰνδός); Old Persian Hindush, an
eastern province of the Achaemenid empire; and ultimately its cognate, the Sanskrit Sindhu, or "river,"
specifically the Indus River and, by implication, its well-settled southern basin.[61][62] The ancient
Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi (Ἰνδοί), which translates as "The people of the Indus".[63]
The term Bharat (Bhārat; pronounced [ˈbʱaːɾət] (About this soundlisten)), mentioned in both Indian epic
poetry and the Constitution of India,[64][65] is used in its variations by many Indian languages. A
modern rendering of the historical name Bharatavarsha, which applied originally to northern India,[66]
[67] Bharat gained increased currency from the mid-19th century as a native name for India.[64][68]
Hindustan ([ɦɪndʊˈstaːn] (About this soundlisten)) is a Middle Persian name for India, introduced during
the Mughal Empire and used widely since. Its meaning has varied, referring to a region encompassing
present-day northern India and Pakistan or to India in its near entirety.[64][68][69]
History
Main articles: History of India and History of the Republic of India
Ancient India
A 19th-century manuscript of the Rigveda, composed orally, 1500–1200 BCE;[70] the manuscript uses a
14th-century script style.
An illustration from an early-modern manuscript of the Sanskrit epic Ramayana, composed in story-
telling fashion c. 400 BCE – c. 300 CE.[71]
By 55,000 years ago, the first modern humans, or Homo sapiens, had arrived on the Indian subcontinent
from Africa, where they had earlier evolved.[72][73][74] The earliest known modern human remains in
South Asia date to about 30,000 years ago.[75] After 6500 BCE, evidence for domestication of food crops
and animals, construction of permanent structures, and storage of agricultural surplus appeared in
Mehrgarh and other sites in what is now Balochistan, Pakistan.[76] These gradually developed into the
Indus Valley Civilisation,[77][76] the first urban culture in South Asia,[78] which flourished during 2500–
1900 BCE in what is now Pakistan and western India.[79] Centred around cities such as Mohenjo-daro,
Harappa, Dholavira, and Kalibangan, and relying on varied forms of subsistence, the civilisation engaged
robustly in crafts production and wide-ranging trade.[78]
During the period 2000–500 BCE, many regions of the subcontinent transitioned from the Chalcolithic
cultures to the Iron Age ones.[80] The Vedas, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism,[81] were
composed during this period,[82] and historians have analysed these to posit a Vedic culture in the
Punjab region and the upper Gangetic Plain.[80] Most historians also consider this period to have
encompassed several waves of Indo-Aryan migration into the subcontinent from the north-west.[81] The
caste system, which created a hierarchy of priests, warriors, and free peasants, but which excluded
indigenous peoples by labelling their occupations impure, arose during this period.[83] On the Deccan
Plateau, archaeological evidence from this period suggests the existence of a chiefdom stage of political
organisation.[80] In South India, a progression to sedentary life is indicated by the large number of
megalithic monuments dating from this period,[84] as well as by nearby traces of agriculture, irrigation
tanks, and craft traditions.[84]
A map of Ashoka's empire, c. 250 BCE
The map of India, c. 350 CE
Cave 26 of the rock-cut Ajanta Caves, 5th century CE
In the late Vedic period, around the 6th century BCE, the small states and chiefdoms of the Ganges Plain
and the north-western regions had consolidated into 16 major oligarchies and monarchies that were
known as the mahajanapadas.[85][86] The emerging urbanisation gave rise to non-Vedic religious
movements, two of which became independent religions. Jainism came into prominence during the life
of its exemplar, Mahavira.[87] Buddhism, based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha, attracted
followers from all social classes excepting the middle class; chronicling the life of the Buddha was central
to the beginnings of recorded history in India.[88][89][90] In an age of increasing urban wealth, both
religions held up renunciation as an ideal,[91] and both established long-lasting monastic traditions.
Politically, by the 3rd century BCE, the kingdom of Magadha had annexed or reduced other states to
emerge as the Mauryan Empire.[92] The empire was once thought to have controlled most of the
subcontinent except the far south, but its core regions are now thought to have been separated by large
autonomous areas.[93][94] The Mauryan kings are known as much for their empire-building and
determined management of public life as for Ashoka's renunciation of militarism and far-flung advocacy
of the Buddhist dhamma.[95][96]
The Sangam literature of the Tamil language reveals that, between 200 BCE and 200 CE, the southern
peninsula was ruled by the Cheras, the Cholas, and the Pandyas, dynasties that traded extensively with
the Roman Empire and with West and South-East Asia.[97][98] In North India, Hinduism asserted
patriarchal control within the family, leading to increased subordination of women.[99][92] By the 4th
and 5th centuries, the Gupta Empire had created a complex system of administration and taxation in the
greater Ganges Plain; this system became a model for later Indian kingdoms.[100][101] Under the
Guptas, a renewed Hinduism based on devotion, rather than the management of ritual, began to assert
itself.[102] This renewal was reflected in a flowering of sculpture and architecture, which found patrons
among an urban elite.[101] Classical Sanskrit literature flowered as well, and Indian science, astronomy,
medicine, and mathematics made significant advances.[101]
Medieval India

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Etymology

Main article: Names of India

Main articles: History of India and History of the Republic of India

A map of Ashoka's empire, c. 250 BCE

The map of India, c. 350 CE

Cave 26 of the rock-cut Ajanta Caves, 5th century CE

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