History of ancient India

The civilization of ancient India until the beginning of the twentieth century was relatively little studied by archaeologists and historians, it was believed that the main centers of civilization of the ancient world lay in the Middle East, between the Tigris and Euphrates, and in ancient Egypt. Everything changed thanks to the finds of the English archaeologist James Breasted, who was the first to discover in India traces of the ancient Harappan civilization, or Proto-Indian, as it is also called. And it turned out that the ancient Indian civilization is as ancient as the ancient Egyptian, that the culture of ancient India was no less developed than in ancient Sumer or. About ancient India, its history, culture, religion, art, our today's article.

History of ancient India

As we have already said, the most ancient Indian civilization, called the Harappan or proto-Indian civilization, was discovered by archaeologists at the beginning of the last twentieth century. Before the astonished eyes of scientists, a vibrant culture appeared, with developed cities, houses equipped with running water (this is at a time when people in Europe still lived in caves in places), developed crafts, trade and art. The ancient Indian city of Harappa was the first to be excavated, which gave the name to this civilization, then Mohenjo-Daro and many other ancient settlements of that time.

The territory of ancient India of that ancient period is located along the valley of the Indus River and its tributaries, and, as if with a necklace, covered the eastern coast of the Arabian Sea in the territory of modern India and Pakistan.

The origin of ancient India is still the subject of debate among historians and archaeologists. There is no agreement between them about whether the ancient proto-Indian civilization had local roots, or whether it was brought from neighboring Mesopotamia, with which, by the way, intensive trade was conducted.

One way or another, but most scientists believe that the proto-Indian civilization was formed from local early agricultural cultures that existed in the fertile Indus River valley. And archaeological finds support this point of view, since archaeologists have discovered many ancient agricultural settlements in the Indus Valley, which date back to the 6th-4th millennia BC. e.

The fertile Indus Valley, favorable climate, large deposits of silicon, providing raw materials for the manufacture of materials, all this contributed to the fact that these lands soon became one of the first cradles of the most ancient civilization of mankind.

Unfortunately, we cannot say much about the earliest page of ancient Indian history, since no written sources have come down to us from this period, the only way we can judge the life of the ancient Indians is archaeological finds. For this reason, we can say a lot about the culture of ancient India, about how their life and economy were, but we know practically nothing, for example, which kings ruled ancient India, what laws were there, whether they fought wars, and so on.

Decline of Indian Civilization

The reasons for the decline and decline of the ancient proto-Indian civilization also remain a historical mystery. But what we can tell from archaeological sources is that the crisis did not happen quickly, but gradually. The ancient cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro gradually emptied, buildings were abandoned, handicraft production was reduced, and trade fell into decay. Metal was used less and less.

There are several hypotheses regarding the reasons for this decline, one of them says that all this was caused by changes in ecology, a change in the course of the Indus River due to a strong earthquake that caused floods, a change in the direction of the monsoons, previously unknown diseases and epidemics, severe drought.

And the last straw that caused the fall of the Harappan civilization was the invasion of nomadic tribes - the Aryans, who came to India from the Central Asian steppes. Due to internal troubles, the Harappan cities could not resist the newcomers, and were soon conquered by them. Gradually, the Aryans mixed with the local population, and their mixture formed the modern Indian people.

Culture of ancient India

The Harappan culture of ancient India was very advanced, as for that time, which is what it says, at least the presence of highly developed cities that had straight streets. The houses were built of mud bricks and were even equipped with running water. Among the houses of the ancient Indian city there were necessarily public granaries, in the city itself there were quarters of various artisans. In particular, the ancient Indians were skilled potters, their artistically painted pottery was in demand far beyond the borders of India itself.

In the surrounding villages, barley and wheat were grown, sheep and goats were bred. A little later, they began to plant date palms, sow rye, grow rice and cotton.

Art of ancient India

The ancient Indians were very creative people, but they achieved the greatest success in architecture and sculpture. True, unfortunately, much more late works of Indian art have survived to our times than from the most ancient period of India, the Harappan civilization.

As for the comparatively later Indian art, it is very strongly influenced by the religion of ancient India, both Buddhism and Hinduism. Images of Buddha and many Indian deities have been preserved to this day on many ancient Indian temples and wall paintings.

The erotic motif is also very strong in Indian art, the most striking example of which is the Indian temple of Khajuraho, where the Kama Sutra is depicted in stones in the most direct sense.

This is yet the most innocent image from the Khajuraho temple.

In general, the Hindus had a peculiar attitude towards sex, for them it was not something shameful, but, on the contrary, almost a spiritual practice, hence the proximity of eroticism and religion in Indian culture.

Religion of ancient India

India became the homeland for one of the three world religions - Buddhism, although, paradoxically, Buddhism itself did not accept, remaining true to its original religion - Hinduism. Buddhism, having originated in India, spread to all surrounding countries.

Hinduism, the traditional religion of India, has deep roots, as it comes to us from the ancient times of Indian history, in fact, it is a mixture of the beliefs of the ancient Indians of the Harappan civilization and the Aryan aliens. Mixing with the local population, the Aryans thoroughly mixed the religion of ancient India.

Hinduism is based on belief in many different gods, and there are so many gods in Hinduism that even the Hindus themselves cannot name their exact number. So every Indian village can have its own local patron god. And the gods of ancient India are divided into two large groups: suras and asuras, which in some Indian myths oppose each other, in some myths asuras are not gods at all, but more demons opposing divine suras. In this divine confrontation between the Hindu gods, one can see echoes of the real confrontation between the two cultures, the Aryan and the Harappan (proto-Indian).

And, nevertheless, in the divine diversity of the gods of Hinduism, several more main gods can be distinguished, which are revered by all Hindus, these are:

• Brahma is the creator god, according to Hinduism, it is Brahma who is the creator of all things.
• Shiva is the destroyer god. If Brahma is such a divine pencil, then Shiva is an eraser responsible for destruction, including the destruction of everything bad.
• Vishnu, the supreme god-observer, the very word "Vishnu" is translated from Sanskrit as "comprehensive." It is the guardian of the universe and all things. He also watches over his "divine colleagues" Brahma and Shiva, so that one of them does not overdo it in his creation, and the second - in his destruction.

• In addition to Hinduism and Buddhism, India is home to a huge number of different philosophical and religious teachings. Therefore, India is sometimes called the "land of a thousand religions."
• It was from ancient India that chess, yoga, tea came to us (according to legend, an Indian monk meditated under a tea tree, a bowl of water lay next to him, and a leaf accidentally fell from the tree into the bowl, after tasting the bowl of water and tea leaf, the monk came to amazement at a delicious drink, and so tea was born).
• Among the sciences in ancient India, mathematics received special development, and the ancient Indian mathematicians were the first to invent the decimal number system, the number 0, the rules for extracting square and cube roots, and also calculated the number "Pi" with great accuracy.
• No less skillful were the ancient Indian astronomers, who were able to determine the phases of the moon without a telescope.
• India is one of the origins of writing, Indian Sanskrit, which was written by Indian scholars and priests - Brahmins, became especially popular. However, the development of writing in ancient India began already in the post-Harappan period, with the arrival of the Aryans.

ancient india video

And in conclusion, an interesting documentary about ancient India from the Discovery channel.

ancient indian civilization

Feature of Indian civilization

Cities and settlements

Problems of ethnogenesis

Main occupations of the population

Language and writing

Decline of the Harappan cities

Formation of states in the Ganges valley

Development of the Ganges Valley

Emergence of the state

The social structure of the Indo-Aryans

Communal - caste system

Northern India in the middle of the 1st millennium BC

Mughal Empire

The British in India (XVIII - mid-XIX century)

Conclusion

The study of ancient India is of great interest for the study of not only India itself, but also the historical process as a whole, because it allows us, using the example of one of the largest countries of the East, to trace both the general patterns of this process and the specific features of the historical development of this country, to determine the contribution made by it to treasure trove of world civilization.

Achievements in archeology, history, linguistics and literary criticism make it possible to take a fresh approach to assessing many historical events and cultural facts of the past, to revise some traditional ideas.

The ancient civilization of India differs from the civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia and Greece in that its traditions have been continuously preserved to the present day. Before archaeological excavations, the peasants of Egypt or Iraq knew nothing about the culture of their ancestors, and their Greek counterparts, most likely, had only a vague idea of ​​​​the glory of Athens in the time of Pericles. The situation was different in India. The first Europeans who visited this country met residents who were aware of the antiquity of their culture, even exaggerating it and declaring that it had not undergone major changes over the millennia. In the legends that are known to the average Indian to this day, the names of mythical leaders who lived a thousand years before our era are mentioned, and the orthodox brahmins still repeat hymns composed even earlier during daily prayers. In fact, India is the country with the oldest continuous cultural traditions in the world.

The earliest centers of urban culture and the first proto-states in North India, primarily in indus valley, arose in the III millennium BC. It is from the III millennium BC. e. civilization - if civilization is understood as an organized system of government over a relatively large area - almost simultaneously began to develop in the valleys of the rivers Nile, Euphrates and Indus. Very little is known about the nature of the earliest societies of India, due to the fact that Indian writing harappans and mohenjo-daro has not yet been deciphered, and because the well-known Sanskrit texts Aryans the Ganges valleys are devoted mainly to religious and philosophical problems and almost do not touch on politics, history, social structure and economic relations. Science is still not quite clear even the question of how primary Indian civilization is - in the sense that it clearly received many important cultural impulses for its initial development from outside. At the same time, not only the originality and comparative remoteness of India from other centers of world culture, but also the conditions in which it developed, give grounds in the final analysis to consider this civilization to be primary, both in terms of independence and independence of its development, and in terms of more from the point of view of the uniqueness of its appearance and character, the uniqueness of some of its initial structural principles.

The emergence of civilization. Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro

Modern archeology suggests that the settlement of India by Neolithic farmers mainly came from the north, through Iran and Afghanistan. VI - IV millennia BC the first Neolithic settlements in the foothills of the Indus Valley date back, and approximately the 24th century. BC. - majestic monuments of developed urban culture, known from excavations in Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.

More than four thousand years ago, a highly developed urban culture was created in the Indus basin, which was not inferior to such centers of world civilization as Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt, and in a number of respects surpassed them. The discovery and study of the Harappan culture (named after the excavation site in Harappa, Montgomery district, modern Pakistan) was of extremely great scientific importance.

After these discoveries, it was no longer possible to assert, as many scientists used to do, that India "never knew a civilization marked by the widespread use of bronze", that it was separated by a solid wall from other states of the ancient East and was sharply inferior to them in terms of development.

It is difficult to say how much the Sumerian culture influenced the emergence of the centers of Indian civilization, but the very fact of influence from the more developed Mesopotamia is undeniable. Until relatively recently, the Harappan civilization was sometimes declared a provincial variant of the Sumerian.

Excavations in the Indus Valley convincingly showed the antiquity, originality and autochthonous nature of Indian culture, which had developed long before the appearance of the Indo-Aryan tribes in the country. This dealt a blow to the theories, the authors of which linked the origin of civilization in the country with the arrival of the Aryans.

Distribution area and chronology

Settlements of the Harappan culture, discovered at first only in the Indus Valley, are now known over a vast territory - more than 1100 km from north to south and 1600 km from west to east. In terms of territory, the Harappan civilization significantly surpassed the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia. Among the numerous cities and settlements, the two main cities are best explored - Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, as well as Chanhu-Daro, Kalibangan, Banawali, Surkodata and Lothal. There are inscriptions on the seals of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa that have not yet been deciphered. The interpretation of this letter is one of the most important archaeological problems in the Indus Valley. The distribution area of ​​this culture did not remain unchanged: the Harappans moved south and east, penetrating into more and more new areas. Scientists distinguish several zones within the range of its distribution - eastern, northern, central, southern, western and southeastern - with features characteristic of each zone.

Thus, the "developed Harappan period" is usually dated to 2200 - 2100 AD. before. AD, which makes it possible to transfer its initial stages several centuries ago - conditionally to 2500 - 2400. before. AD

The character of this civilization is so uniform that over the whole area of ​​its distribution even bricks for buildings are usually of the same size and shape.

Cities and settlements

The large cities consisted of two main parts: the citadel, an artificial elongated platform 30 to 50 feet high and about 400x200 yards in area, where, in all likelihood, the local authorities, and possibly the priestly elite, were located. It was protected by battlements, public buildings were erected on it. Below the citadel was the city proper, covering an area of ​​at least a square mile. The main streets, some up to 30 feet wide, were perfectly straight. They divided the city into large blocks, within which a network of narrow lanes wound. The houses, often two or more stories high, although of varying sizes, were all built according to the same plan: several rooms were arranged around a rectangular courtyard. The entrance usually led from a side alley, and the windows did not face the street, which, therefore, was apparently a monotonous alternation of dull brick walls. Brick-built city buildings (houses, palaces, granaries), pools with a well-established sewage system, and even shipyard-type structures connected by a canal to the river - all this not only indicates a high level of urban planning and, consequently, the entire urban civilization, but suggests the existence developed crafts, including bronze casting, as well as trade relations with neighbors, primarily with the Sumerian Mesopotamia, although there is no doubt that the inhabitants of the Indian cities did not show an inclination to borrow the technical achievements of a more developed culture. Excavations testify to a well-established water supply system, and the sewerage system, carefully designed, was perhaps the most advanced in the ancient East. Even the Roman civilization did not have such a plumbing system.

Large houses had their own wells, on the streets - wells for public use. On the streets of the cities there were shops and workshops of artisans, various public buildings, in particular the city market. Careful planning and improvement of cities, the presence of public buildings may indicate the existence of a centralized government. The regular layout of the streets and the strict uniformity throughout the Harappan culture of such details as units of weights and measures, the size of bricks, and even the layout of large cities suggest one centralized state rather than many free communities.

Perhaps the most striking feature of this culture is its extreme conservatism. In Mohenjo-Daro, nine layers of buildings were excavated. As the level of the ground rose due to periodic floods, new houses were built almost exactly on the site of the old ones, with very slight deviations in the plan of the foundation; for at least a millennium, the layout of the streets of the city remained unchanged.

The writing of the Indian cities did not change at all throughout their history.

The cities of the Indus Valley were, unlike the Mesopotamian ones, very short-lived. They flourished quickly and brightly, and just as quickly, for a hitherto unknown reason, fell into decay and disappeared from the face of the earth. Approximately the period of their life is limited to five or six centuries, from the end of the XXIV to the XVIII century. before. AD some evidence suggests that the decline of the centers of Indian urban culture began long before their disappearance and that it was associated with increasing disruption of normal life, a weakening of order and administration, and possibly a change in the course of the Indus and the flooding of cities.

One of the oldest centers of civilization development was located in the Indus Valley, where already in the 4th-3rd millennium BC. an advanced civilization arose.

The ancient Indian civilization was formed in conditions of relative geographical isolation. The nature of India is extremely rich and varied. There are few soils unsuitable for agriculture in India. India has many minerals, including various types of stone, iron ore, and non-ferrous metals. Favorable natural conditions for life and economic activity were combined with a high concentration of population in this region. The ethnic composition was not homogeneous. Perhaps the indigenous people of India were the Dravidians.

By the middle of the III millennium BC. in the Indai Valley in the upper part of the Ganga Valley, the Harappa cultural and historical complex is being formed. A high level of development is indicated by the quarterly planning of cities, monumental architecture, the presence of writing, systems of weights and measures, and works of art. The largest cities are Harappai Mohenjo-Daro. The basis of the economy was agriculture, they were also engaged in gardening. From 1800 BC over the course of six centuries, the Harappan civilization began to slowly fade away. The reasons for the regression of civilization are still not known.

Approximately around 1800 BC in the Indus Valley appeared new semi-nomadic tribes - the Aryans. They spoke a language belonging to the Indo-European language family. As a result of migration and mutual contacts, settlement and economic development of the Ganges valley took place (mid II to mid I millennium BC). Iron metallurgy began to develop.

The first half of the 1st millennium BC. called the Vedic era. The Vedas (knowledge) are the oldest Indian religious works, including collections of religious hymns, interpretations of sacred texts, descriptions of rituals, sacrificial and magical formulas.

A unique feature of the Vedic civilization is the division of society into four varnas: Brahmins - representatives of priestly families, Kshatriyas - military nobility, Vaishyas - ordinary free community members, Shudras - unequal members of society. Each varna was closed, belonging was determined by birth. The transition from one varna to another was prohibited.

By the middle of the 1st millennium BC. in the Ganges valley, the transformation of tribal self-government bodies into state ones was completed. A sacred hereditary royal power took shape. In the administration of the state, the rajah relied on priests and warriors.

In the second half of the 1st millennium BC. Magadha becomes the strongest state of North India, and its capital Pataliputra is the largest and richest city. In 327 BC, Alexander the Great subjugated part of India, but in 325 BC. refused to continue the eastern campaign. From the end of the 4th century BC. the Mauryan dynasty reigned on the throne, during which the first all-Indian state, the Mauryan Empire, was created, and Buddhism took shape in the field of ideology. At the head of the Mauryan state was a king (raja), whose power was unlimited and had the character of a typical despotism.

The civilization of the time of the Mauryan Empire was distinguished by a large number of populous, rich and relatively comfortable cities. The craft is developing rapidly. However, agriculture remained the main occupation. Artificial irrigation developed, new lands were developed, and rice became the most profitable crop for cultivation.

The spiritual foundation of the multi-tribal empire of the Mauryas was the new religion of the state - Buddhism, which becomes a mass religion, as it was addressed to any person. The ruler Ashoka accepted Buddhism and contributed to its spread in every possible way. After Ashok's death in 323 B.C. the Mauryan empire began to disintegrate into separatestates, and around 180 BC. The Mauryan dynasty was overthrown.

From the 2nd century BC. the center of civilizational development of Hindustan shifted to the North-Western regions. In the 1st century AD Kushans appeared in the northwestern regions of Hindustan, a people who came here from China. The Kushans included North-Western India in their great empire, which flourished under King Kanishka (2nd century AD). During the Kushan era, Buddhism began to develop into a world religion. There are two directions - Mahayana (Big vehicle or wide path) and Hinayana (Small vehicle or narrow path).

In the IV century. in the valley of the Ganges, a large empire arose, led by the Gupta dynasty. The first great ruler of the new empire was Chandragupta I, who in 320 assumed the imperial title of ruler of the great kings. There is a complex of religious beliefs, which is called Hinduism.

The civilization reached its peak during the reign of Chandragupta II (335-380), whom the ancient Indian tradition calls Vikramaditya (Sun of Power). The years of his reign were years of peace, stability and prosperity, the golden age of civilization, expressed in the highest flowering of art, literature and religion. The Golden Age lasted from the 4th to the 5th centuries, and then came the time of internal strife and renewed military incursions, but already new conquerors of the Hephthalites Huns. The largest empire of antiquity collapsed, and its end completed the history of ancient Indian civilization.

The formation of civilization in India took place rather slowly due to considerable isolation. Economic life and material culture developed here at a slow pace. The varn system slowed down and weakened economic life, as it ruled out a flexible division of labor. The division of navarna also played a negative role in the progress of knowledge. Thus, the great achievements of the Brahmins in mathematics and astronomy remained secret knowledge for a long time. Loose and unstable statehood as a distinctive feature of ancient Indian civilization is also due to the varna system.

The peculiarity of civilization manifested itself most clearly in spiritual culture. An early form of religion in Ancient India was Brahminism, which was expressed in a very complex set of beliefs of a very archaic type, the cult of the Sun, sacred fire, the god of thunder, etc. This religion combined remnants of totemism and the cult of ancestors. In the VI century. BC. Buddhism appeared, which recognized much of Brahmanism, but gave this heritage new features. He proclaimed that life is evil and suffering, which can be avoided only through personal self-improvement and compliance with the most important moral precepts.

Quite late, alphabetic writing appeared, and first of all, the works of oral folk art, songs and hymns of the Veda, the epic poems Mahabharata and Ramayana were recorded. Indian civilization has given the world a very complex and original art.

In India, such areas of knowledge as mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and linguistics developed. Indian mathematicians invented the numbers we use today, calling them Arabic. The Indians were the first to use zero, they also knew the beginnings of algebra: raising to a power, extracting a root, solving quadratic equations. The ancient Indian civilization left a significant mark in the development of medicine, which was necessary in the framework of ideas about the improvement of the soul and body (yoga).

The achievements of the Ancient Indian civilization, combining both innovative elements and significant traditionalism, have become an integral component of world civilizational development.

Varna system

The development of slavery led to a deepening of class contradictions, to the economic and social strengthening of the ruling class - the slave-owning aristocracy. The tribal aristocracy, consisting of priests, elders and tribal leaders, separated from the community members, is opposed to the common people united in communities (visas). So, in the Rigveda it says: "Communities (visas) bow before the leader (rajan), who is preceded by a brahman (priest)." Wars, the enslavement of the natives, and internal stratification of property create the prerequisites for the final formation of slavery and the two most ancient antagonistic classes: slave owners and slaves. The desire to strengthen the ancient slave system led to the emergence of a special social system, which had as its goal to establish relationships between the tribal aristocracy of priests and warriors, on the one hand, and the masses. free population, on the other hand, as well as the relationship between the conquerors and the conquered population. These relationships were reduced mainly to the domination of the slave-owning aristocracy, which exploited the forced labor of slaves and impoverished, ruined members of free communities. Serving the class interests of the slave owners, the typically Indian social system of varnas divided the whole society into four main closed social groups, a kind of class. This social system was recorded in the collections of customary and priestly law (dharmashastra), in particular in the laws of Apastamba and the laws of Manu. This system, partly theoretical, however, grew out of real social life, reflected very real socio-economic conditions and had a strong influence on the design of the class system of ancient India. It contributed to that relative stagnation of social relations which is so typical of the history of ancient India.

The word "varna" is of Indian origin and means "color", "way", "essence", "caste". Varnas were ancient social groups that united people in certain areas connected by a common profession, common religious rites and standing on the same rung of the social ladder. The division of people into varnas dates back to the time of the decomposition of the tribal system, when the tribal aristocracy stood out and became more and more strengthened. Therefore, in the later laws of Manu, instead of the word "varna", the word "jati" is sometimes used, meaning birth, clan, position, caste. The beginnings of this ancient caste system appear already in the period of the compilation of the Vedas, since four main castes are mentioned in the Rig Veda. Ancient legends, preserved in the Mahabharata, attribute the appearance of varnas to the ancient golden age, when "all people were free from worries", when merchants "did not sell goods by partial weight" and when virtue "never dried up." These later ideas, dating back to the time of class society and the slave state, reflect the desire of the ruling class to use the most ancient forms of social stratification in their interests. In order to formalize this social stratification, a system of four main varnas appears in customary and priestly law, which was supposed to sanction and strengthen the ancient class system based on the exploitation of slaves and the oppression of the broad free masses of the population. The doctrine of the origin, meaning, rights and obligations of the ancient varnas, from which a significantly modified and complicated caste system subsequently grew, was preserved in many ancient Indian books, in particular in the laws of Manu and in the collection of laws of Apastamba. The main varnas were considered: 1) the varna of priests (Brahmins), 2) the varna of warriors (Kshatriyas), 3) the varna of farmers, artisans and merchants (Vaishyas), and 4) the varna of Shudras (the lower classes of the oppressed and disenfranchised poor, who were almost in the position of slaves, and also actual slaves). The religious ideology of ancient India developed a special system of religious beliefs that substantiated this ancient caste system and the privileges of the three highest varnas. People belonging to the first three varnas were called "twice-born" (dvijati) or "twice-born Aryans" (dvijati arias).

An ancient legend, preserved in a late text of the Rigveda and in the laws of Manu, describes the supernatural origin of the varnas, and some articles of the ancient laws substantiate the claims of the higher varnas to dominance and privileges, as well as the duty of the Shudras to obey them unlimitedly. According to this legend, the first Brahmins were created from the mouth of the first man (Purusha). Therefore, their main occupation was the study of sacred books, teaching people and performing religious rites, since only they, according to ancient religious tradition, belonged to holiness and truth. The first kshatriyas were created from the hands of Purusha. Therefore, the kshatriyas must fight and rule, because they have strength and courage. People of the third varna (vaishya) were created from the thighs of Purusha. They are prescribed to engage in agriculture, crafts and trade. Thus they are provided with profit and wealth. And representatives of the last of the four castes, the Shudras, were created from the legs of Purusha, crawling in the mud. Therefore, "Shudras are ordered to serve the other three varnas."

In ancient Indian religious books, the three highest varnas are sharply opposed to the fourth varna of the Shudras. In an ancient legend about the creation of the world, first the three varnas of Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas created by God are listed, and then it is said that the people (praja) and cattle were then born.

The slave owners, who looked at the oppressed masses of the working people as working cattle, believed that the Shudras were outside of religion; therefore, the lower varna of the Shudras, unlike the three higher varnas, did not have its own deity. A sharp line separated the three highest castes from the fourth caste, the virtually enslaved Shudras. However, all varnas were closed estates. Almost insurmountable barriers separated these ancient social groups from each other. Marriages between people from different castes were considered unacceptable. The laws of Apastamba say: “If a man approaches a woman who was previously married or is not legally married to him, or belongs to another varna, then they both commit a sin. As a result of this sin, their son also becomes a sinner.” According to the laws of Manu, the son of a Brahmin woman and a Shudra fell into a very low social group, the Chandala, and was called "the lowest of people." The law put these unfortunate people in the position of despised outcasts. According to the laws of Manu, “the dwellings of the Chandalas should be outside the villages, they should have special utensils, and their property should be dogs and donkeys. Their dress must be the dress of the dead, they must eat their food from broken dishes, black iron is their adornment, and they must always move from place to place. A person who performs religious duties should not seek intercourse with them; their affairs should be between them and their marriages with those like them. Their food must be served to them by others in broken dishes; at night they should not walk around the villages and cities.

Thus, the laws forbade mixing between varnas in order to strengthen the social order based on the exploitation of the laboring masses. This was reflected even in the artistic epic of ancient India. The Mahabharata says that the "mixing of varnas" is the result of reigning lawlessness. Greek writers such as Arrian pointed out that intermarriage between "separate groups" of the population was not allowed in India and that the ancient Indians had no right to move from one group to another.

The ancient system of religious and everyday traditions, formalized in the collections of Brahmin laws, was supposed to inspire the masses with the idea of ​​a deep abyss lying between slave owners and slaves, between rich and poor, between exploiters and exploited, between full-fledged and disenfranchised. The law demanded not only unconditional obedience to the higher castes, but also deep respect for them. So, in the laws of Apastamba it is said that "each previous (varna) is higher by birth than the next" and that "honor should be given to those who belong to the highest caste." The law severely punished those who hit or insulted people from the highest varna. “Which member of a lower caste will harm (a man of three) higher castes, it is this member that should be cut off. This is the order of Manu. Whoever raises his hand or stick must have his hand cut off; whoever kicks his foot in anger must have his foot cut off.”

A particularly high position was occupied by the Brahmins, who were considered the guardians of traditions and religious revelation. They had to study the sacred books of the Vedas and teach the religion of the people of the three higher varnas, as well as perform religious rites. According to Brahmin laws, the Brahman was considered the highest among other people and was even compared with God. Ancient laws established that everything in the world belonged to the Brahmins and the Brahmin had the right to demand for himself everything he wanted.

The class slave law, drawing a sharp line between the three highest varnas and shudras, first of all emphasized the impassable line between brahmins and shudras. So, for example, communication with the Shudras defiled any representative of the highest varna, but especially the Brahmin. Therefore, the laws of Manu say that a brahmin “should not give a sudra any advice, or leftovers (of his table), or food brought to the gods; he must not teach him the sacred law.” Moreover, a sudra had no right to carry the body of a dead brahmin to the fire, because a living sudra could defile the body of a brahmin with his touch. The killer of a brahmin should be subjected to the most severe and painful execution, while the killer of a sudra was subjected to a simple purification, as after killing an animal.

The aim of the Vari system was to strengthen the dominant position of the conquering Aryans over the subjugated native Dasyu population, and on the other hand, to consolidate the dominant position of the tribal and slave-owning aristocracy, primarily the Brahmin priests, and then the Kshatriya warriors. This was all the more necessary, since significant masses of the conquered natives were to a certain extent included in the general system of social relations, and sometimes representatives of the higher varnas actually found themselves in a difficult economic situation and needed support and assistance from customary law, slave laws and religious tradition. So, for example, the laws of Manu provided for the possibility of insolvent debtors turning into debt bondage. “Even by (personal) labor, the debtor can work off (the debt) to his creditor if he is of the same or lower caste. But if (the debtor) is of the highest caste, then he must pay the debt gradually. Thus, while providing for the possibility of enslaving an insolvent debtor, the legislator at the same time protected the interests of both the upper strata of the population and the entire system of varnas as a whole, prohibiting the enslavement of a person of the highest varna.

In the ancient class society of India, based on slave labor exploitation, Brahmin law protected private property. The laws of Manu contain articles (ch. 8, st. 320-322) punishing theft, and for theft, a fine, corporal punishment, and even amputation of a hand were usually relied on.

The presence of class stratification in this ancient slave-owning society caused the emergence of the most ancient slave-owning state, the apparatus of power that the slave-owners needed to suppress the slaves and the poor, to strengthen their power.

Emergence of Buddhism

Buddhism is one of the most ancient religions in the world. Its origin took place in opposition to the then dominant Brahminism in the middle of the first millennium BC in the northern part of India. In the philosophy of ancient India, Buddhism occupied and occupies a key place, closely intertwined with it.

If we consider the emergence of Buddhism briefly, then, according to a separate category of scientists, certain changes in the life of the Indian people contributed to this phenomenon. Approximately in the middle of the VI century BC. Indian society was overtaken by a cultural and economic crisis. Those tribal and traditional ties that existed before that time began to gradually undergo changes. It is very important that it was during that period that the formation of class relations took place. There were many ascetics roaming the expanses of India, who formed their own vision of the world, which they shared with other people. So, in opposition to the foundations of that time, Buddhism appeared, which earned recognition among the people.

A large number of scholars believe that the founder of Buddhism was a real person named Siddhartha Gautama , known as Buddha Shakyamuni . He was born in 560 BC. in a wealthy family of the king of the Shakya tribe. From childhood, he knew neither disappointment nor need, he was surrounded by boundless luxury. And so Siddhartha lived his youth, being ignorant of the existence of disease, old age and death. The real shock for him was that he once encountered an old man, a sick man and a funeral procession while walking outside the palace. This influenced him so much that at the age of 29 he joins a group of wandering hermits. So he begins the search for the truth of being. Gautama tries to understand the nature of human troubles and tries to find ways to eliminate them. Realizing that an endless series of reincarnations is inevitable if one does not get rid of suffering, he tried to find answers to his questions from the sages.

After spending 6 years wandering, he tested different techniques, practiced yoga, but came to the conclusion that such methods of enlightenment cannot be achieved. He considered reflection and prayer as effective methods. It was while he was spending time meditating under the Bodhi tree that he experienced enlightenment through which he found the answer to his question. After his discovery, he spent a few more days at the site of a sudden insight, and then went to the valley. And they began to call him Buddha ("enlightened"). There he began to preach the doctrine to people. The very first sermon took place in Benares.

One of the main goals of Buddhism is the path to nirvana. Nirvana is a state of awareness of one's soul, achieved through self-denial, rejection of the comfortable conditions of the external environment. The Buddha, after spending a long time in meditation and deep reflection, mastered the method of controlling his own consciousness. In the process, he came to the conclusion that people are very attached to worldly goods, overly worried about the opinions of other people. Because of this, the human soul not only does not develop, but also degrades. Having reached nirvana, you can lose this addiction.

India in the "Vedic" period

According to Western science, this stage in the history of India began in the first half of the 1st millennium BC. and continued until about the 7th-6th centuries. BC. According to the ideas of the Hindus themselves, the religion of the Vedas originated much earlier: 6 thousand years ago (or even 100 thousand years ago - as E. P. Blavatsky writes). The Vedic period takes its name from the Vedas, which were the main sacred text and religious authority of the Hindus not only of the Vedic period, but to this day. Sometimes this period of the Indian religion is called Vedism, it represents a synthesis of the teachings of the Aryan tribes, who came to India according to official data in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC, and according to the Indian pandits, around the 5th millennium BC. with avatar Rama. The basis of the scripture is the eternal struggle between good and evil, the creative and destructive principles of Nature - the devas and asuras.

The gods were called deva (“shining”, “bright”, this word is related to our word “day”). Many of them are associated with the principle of the sun and light in its various manifestations and embody the power of order and harmony. No less powerful creatures at war with the gods were called asuras, from the word asu (special magical life force). These are ancient deities of a chthonic, dark nature, often described as serpentine.

“One gets the impression,” writes M. Eliade, “that everything possible has been done in the Vedic teachings to establish a kind of dual perspective; although in the immediate reality given to us, gods and asuras have a different nature and are doomed to fight against each other, while they - before the creation of the world or before the world took its present form - were consubstantial with each other.

The largest number of hymns is dedicated to the king of the gods Indra, the god of thunder. Armed with a vajra thunder club, he travels across the sky in a chariot drawn by mighty horses, it is ruled by the god Vayu (“Wind”), and is accompanied by a squad of Maruts - deities of the storm. The main feat of Indra, which forms the basis of Vedic mythology, is the fight against Vritra and the same snake-like demons. This Vedic hymn is essentially a creation myth.

Vritra (“Obstacle”) appears in it in the form of a huge snake or dragon lying on a mountain. Indra, acting as a demiurge, with a lightning strike releases water and the sun from the belly of the dragon - the most important elements and elements of the cosmos. He organizes a cosmos suitable for human life, thanks to him the potential and unmanifested world becomes the real world: light and darkness, up and down, life and death arise in it - in a word, duality. Another deity Varuna appears in the hymns as the omnipotent rita - the world law of the rotation of the Universe, the law of justice (a kind of forerunner of Dharma and Karma), the harmonious self-organization of the world, cosmic morality. This law is the basis of the world and sets the Universe in motion, ensures the maintenance of order in space and in human life, the conjugation of the life of society and man with the rhythms of the cosmos. For example, any important moment of beginning in the life of the Vedic Aryans was seen as a repetition of the cosmogonic creation myth (the myth of Indra and Vritra).

In the later books of the Rigveda, other cosmogonic hymns are given, in which questions are asked about the beginning of the world, about the "foothold", about what forest and tree "hewn heaven and earth" from, what was on the other side of the "gods and demons And what was the first embryo in which all living things were contained. One of the hymns says that the whole diverse world originated from Purusha - the first person whom the gods sacrificed, dismembering him. Varnas arose from its parts. Brahmins - priests arose from his mouth, his hands became kshatriyas - warriors, rulers, vaishyas - farmers were created from his thighs, sudras were created from his feet, who were supposed to serve the highest varnas.

Another cosmogonic myth tells about Dyaus-pitara (Sky-Father) and Prithivi (Earth-Mother). Before creation, they were merged together. The Creator God separated them and placed air space between them, creating three planes of the universe: sky, air and earth. This usual cosmogonic scheme is common to other mythologies as well. In the post-Vedic period, the cult of Dyaus practically died out.

It should be noted that in the Vedas it is not always possible to accurately determine the belonging of the gods to one of the three spheres of the threefold representation of the world.

VEDA

“The Vedas (Skt. "Revelation") are the sacred writings of the Hindus, from the root of the view, "know", or "divine knowledge". They are the most ancient, as well as the most sacred, of all Sanskrit works. The "Vedas" were first transmitted orally for thousands of years and then were collected on the shores of Lake Manasa-Sarovara (Lake Manasarovar) on the other side of the Himalayas, in Tibet. When did it happen? Whereas their religious teachers, such as Swami Dayananda Saraswati, reckon their antiquity at many tens of centuries, our modern Orientalists give them, in their present form, an antiquity of no more than between 1000 and 2000 BC. BC Yet, in their final form, as compiled by the Veda-Vyasa, the Brahmins themselves unanimously date them to 3100 BC, the time when Vyasa himself lived... Their antiquity is sufficiently proved by the fact that they are written in such an ancient form. Sanskrit, so different from the present that there is no other similar work in literature. Only the most learned of the Pandit Brahmins can read the Vedas in the original.

The Vedas were finalized and compiled fourteen centuries before our era; but this has nothing to do with their antiquity... When we analyze these hymns... they are of deep interest as the history of the human mind, since they belong to a much older period than the poems of Homer and Hesiod. *

The Vedas are of great importance: firstly, they lead us to the origins of the ancient Aryan religion, secondly, they give us the keys to understanding India, thirdly, they give us an understanding of the basic ideas of the esoteric doctrine and all Aryan religions. They contain the knowledge of the ancient Indians about the gods, man and sacrifice, connecting the earthly and divine worlds. They reflected a person's ideas about the world around him, the cosmos, ritual, social structure, ethical values ​​and morality. Some of the concepts used in the Vedas later pass into the philosophy and worldview of Brahmanism - the concept of the tripartite structure of the world, the concept of Maya, Rita - the world law that governs the Universe, the concept of sacrifice, the path, etc.

As the Indian scientist R.N. Dandekar, “The Vedas are that music of infinity that sounds from eternity. The ancient sages heard it and passed it on to their descendants as the most precious inheritance. The Vedas are shruti in the sense that it is "the rhythm of the infinite heard by the soul."

The Vedas were created gradually, in stages, so at the moment we know four main books.

"Rig Veda"- "Veda of hymns", or the main Veda.

It is a kind of Bible of mankind, from which all religious traditions originated. This Veda is the main source of knowledge about the ancient Indian deities (it talks about 333 or 330 million gods). The Rig Veda was written down between 1500 and 1000 BC. BC, but existed much earlier. The Rig Veda consists of 1028 hymns collected in 10 mandala books.

At the first, very early stage of Indian culture, it was very important to awaken in a person a sense of mysticism, a sacred relationship to the gods, to identify and explain the basic principles and forces operating in Nature, therefore the Rig Veda is composed of hymns. This book was composed in a language that was called “Vedic”, and after processing by learned priests, it was called Sanskrit.

"Samaveda"- "Veda of tunes."

"Yajurveda"- "Veda of sacrificial formulas".

"Atharvaveda"- "Veda of Magic Spells".

"Atharvaveda" (the latest) was originally associated with the priests of the cult of fire, experts in magic. They laid the foundations of the domestic ritual, which to this day plays an important role in Hinduism. The Fifth Veda is the Puranas. Attributed to Vyasa, author of the Mahabharata.

In addition to the Vedas, other texts that directly rely on them and develop their individual aspects belong to the shruti tradition:

Each Veda - Samhita adjoins:

Brahmins- contain comments on the rules, rituals.

Aranyaki- reflections for those who live in the forests.

Upanishads(lit. "to sit at the feet of the Teacher") - texts of an ethical, philosophical and ritual nature.

Brahmins were mainly intended for Brahmin priests. Their main task was to reveal and explain a certain order of sacrifice.

Aranyaki- these are teachings dedicated to hermits, aranyaki in translation means "forest books". For the three higher varnas of the Hindus, there were four necessary stages of development; the first stage is the student, when they began to study the Vedas under the guidance of a teacher; the second step - "family man", as the main priest of the family, who conducts the main rituals, is responsible for its development; the third stage in the life of a brahmin is a “hermit”, going to the forests for reflection (just for this part, aranyakas were devoted, i.e. teachings about spiritual enlightenment for novice hermits, instructions on what sacrifice, contemplation, reflection, unity are with God, etc.).

Upanishads were intended for the fourth stage of development of the "twice-born" - renunciation for those who wished to become ascetics. The Upanishads contain a set of philosophical ideas of Vedism. There are 108 Upanishads, but the main ones are 13. They arose (according to official data) in the period of the 8th-6th centuries. BC. AT Upanishads and brahmins certain constellations of stars are mentioned in precisely specified positions, which makes it possible to date the creation of the epic to about 20,000 BC. Actually, the Upanishads became the basis of one of the philosophical schools of Brahmanism - Vedanta(lit. "end of the Vedas"). The Upanishads are the art of attaining the Divine, they are the instructions of the Brahmins to the Kshatriya kings in wisdom.

AT Upanishads the main philosophical concepts appear: Brahman(a single, inexpressible and incomprehensible Deity) and Atman (the spiritual principle of man, emanating from Brahman and identical to it), the unity of the Deity and the world, the concept of "I", prana (subtle life energy), Karma (the law of cause and effect), samsara (reincarnation, the cycle of life and death) and moksha (liberation from the wheel of samsara).

- one of the greatest and most mysterious in the East.

On its basis, an Indo-Buddhist type of culture was formed, which is distinguished by originality and originality and exists to this day, and not only in India.

Civilization on the Hindustan Peninsula arose later than the Sumerian and Egyptian. By the middle of the III millennium BC. refers to the emergence of a cultural-historical complex, which received the name "Indian civilization" in science. Its heyday is associated with the "culture of Harappa", named after the first and largest of the discovered cities of this civilization.

The most important achievement in the history of India from the middle of II to the middle of I millennium BC. there was the development and settlement of the Ganges valley, as well as the spread of the Indo-Aryan tribes (Aryans) - the creators of the famous Vedas. The period of the first half of the 1st millennium BC, to which the Vedas belong, is often called Vedic, because if for the 3rd-2nd millennium BC. almost the only source of our knowledge about Ancient India is the data of archeology, then for the end of the II - the first half of the I millennium BC. such a source is the Vedas, containing information about culture, economics, and religious beliefs.

The culture of India reached a powerful flowering at the end of the 1st millennium BC. during the Mauryan dynasty (322–185 BC), when, after repulsing the onslaught of the troops of Alexander the Great, almost the entire territory of India was united into a single state. However, later the Kushans conquered the north of India, and the last major unification of the country takes place in the 4th-5th centuries. AD during the reign of the Gupta dynasty. The era of the Guptas is the pinnacle of the development of the culture of ancient India.

Thus, the history of Ancient India covers a huge period - from the emergence of the first states and the resettlement of the Indo-Aryan tribes (Vedic period: II-mid-I millennium BC) to the creation and subsequent decline of powerful states - the Maurya, Kushan and Gunt empires (the era empires II-V centuries AD).

The level of development of material civilization. In terms of size, Ancient India was many times larger than all other ancient Eastern states and was distinguished by a wide variety of natural conditions and a climate favorable for agriculture. In a large part of the territory, the amount of precipitation reached 700 mm per year and made it possible to grow even cotton and moisture-loving crops such as rice, sugarcane and jute without artificial irrigation.

In addition to agriculture, handicrafts and trade were widely developed. This is indicated by a large number of weights found during excavations. India was probably the first country to master cotton weaving. Cotton fabrics have been an export item for India for several millennia.

Archaeological excavations show that the ancient Indian cities reached large sizes, the population could reach up to 100 thousand. The cities were built, most likely, according to the plan, the streets were parallel and intersected at right angles. The architecture of the building is quite simple, but well-maintained. Thus, the city sewerage system in Mohenjo-Daro is one of the most advanced in the Ancient East. At the houses there were special sedimentation tanks, from where water was discharged outside the city through underground channels lined with bricks. In the cities there were administrative buildings: the ruler's house, an indoor market, religious buildings, etc. Differences in the level of improvement of residential buildings, as well as the difference between rich and poor burials, indicate significant social stratification. A well-established city life, which could only be led by a strong administration, speaks of the existence of a powerful state with a developed administrative apparatus.

The state and the genesis of social ties. By the middle of the 1st millennium BC. several dozen states are formed on the territory of India, most of which are monarchical or oligarchic republics. At the head was the king (raja) - the supreme manager of state property, primarily land. He also commanded the army and was considered the main defender of dharma (the rules of a virtuous life). The power of the king was inherited and had a sacred character, but was not despotic. Even in the era of the Mauryan Empire, there was a Rajasabha council under the king, which included large dignitaries and noble citizens. Class division was a feature of all ancient Eastern societies, but in ancient India it was distinguished by its particular rigidity and strength. This found its expression in the division of society into varnas - estates that have a caste character. There were four varnas in total: brahmins - members of priestly families, kshatriyas - warriors, vaishyas - ordinary free community members, shudras - belonging to the lower stratum of society. Belonging to the varnas was determined by birth and was inherited. Marriages between members of different varnas were not considered legal, especially if a man belonged to a lower varna and a woman to a higher one. A feature of the caste division of society in Ancient India was the opposition of the first three highest varnas to the fourth, which consisted of strangers, captives, as well as community members who lost their land and the help of relatives. The Shudras were subjected to a number of restrictions in the religious cult (they were forbidden to read the Vedas and even listen to them), as well as in public life.

The caste division of society was a system of social and non-economic coercion that ensured the preservation of the privileges of the highest varnas, class solidarity and organizational structure with all possible fluctuations in the correlation of forces during political changes in conditions of ethnic diversity.

Characteristic of the social system of India was the existence throughout the entire period of antiquity of a numerous stratum of the communal peasantry. It was a layer of free workers. In the most developed parts of India, land was private property, although the community controlled its use. The peculiarity of the community as a production team was that, in addition to farmers, it included blacksmiths, carpenters, watchmen, etc. This made the community an independent economic organism, little connected with the political life of its state. However, for all its strength, the community did not remain unchanged. Under the influence of private ownership aspirations, in the presence of cheap labor in the person of workers who had lost their economic independence (karmakars), the community gradually turned into a collective of small slave owners and adapted to new conditions in which, despite the preservation of the class-caste division, it is increasingly important for the assessment The social significance of a person was his actual position and wealth.

worldview and religious beliefs. Like other peoples of antiquity, the Indians believed that the life of nature and man depends on the gods (devas) - beings similar to people, but superior to them in power. There were three main deities: Indra - the god of thunder, a raja among the gods; Agni - the god of fire, the keeper of the house, the mediator between people and gods; Surya is the god of the Sun, the enemy of darkness and cold. Along with the devas, other deities were recognized - asuras, who played a smaller role. For example, the god of the moon - Soma, was simultaneously considered the deity of the drink of the same name, which gives the gods longevity and power.

In the Vedic religion, one of the fundamental was the doctrine of karma. According to the ideas of the ancient Indians, the body is mortal, the soul is eternal, after death it moves to another body, depending on the behavior of a person in a past life. The concept of karma ("action") means not only behavior, but also the reward with which it is one. The soul of a virtuous person is reborn among higher people, and of a sinful person among lower ones. The main path to good karma is strict observance of the ritual and one's place in the varna system, since this system of divine origin is presented in detail in the Vedas - a collection of religious hymns and rituals.

Along with the Vedas, there were other sacred texts containing information necessary to understand the relationship between gods and people. These are the epic poems Mahabharata and Ramayana. They were a peculiar form of religious and mythological understanding of the world and contained many myths and legends about the origin of the universe, man, the emergence of varnas, the state.

In later literature, especially in the Upanishads, commentaries of the Vedas, there are attempts to rethink religious beliefs, to bring them into a single religious system - Brahmanism. The Upanishads are looking for an answer to the question of what is the beginning, from which all things are born, by what they are supported and where they return. This initial principle is Brahman - an intuitively comprehended reality, and any infinitely changeable picture of the world is Maya, the self-expression of Brahman. Man as a separate person must strive for liberation from the slavery of the sensual and individual in order to merge with the universal and original.

Thus, starting with understanding the relationship between gods and people, the ancient Indians came to reasoning about the relationship between natural and supernatural, spiritual and material, i.e. reached a certain level of abstract thinking, which should inevitably lead to the emergence of religious and philosophical schools, affecting various aspects of a person's worldview attitude to the world, various ways of understanding the world. These schools include: Sankhya, Vedanta, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa.

However, these philosophical teachings, built on the basis of Brahmanism, recognizing the authority of the Vedas, did not correspond to the new conditions of a developing society. A revision of traditional ideas was brewing, and the middle of the 1st millennium BC. was marked in India by spiritual fermentation, the appearance of wandering sages, ascetics preaching a new doctrine, a new path to salvation. In disputes and clashes between various teachings, Buddhism stood out. Its creator is considered to be Siddhartha Gautama (623-544 BC), a Kshatriya from the Shakya tribe who lived on the border of modern Nepal and India. At the age of 29, Gautama became an ascetic and after 7 years began his preaching activity. He had many disciples and followers who called him Buddha (buddha), which means "enlightened". Behind his teachings, the name "Buddhism" was established, and behind the believers - "Buddhists".

Gautama's first sermon was called "The Turning of the Wheel of the Law" and was addressed to a small group of ascetics. It spoke about the existence of two paths - the path of self-satisfaction and the path of self-torture (austerity). Gautama chose the middle path, which gives insight, knowledge and leads to higher knowledge, enlightenment, nirvana. Nirvana was understood as the highest state of the human spirit, freed from all earthly passions and attachments. All Buddhists were charged with fulfilling five commandments: do not kill the living, do not steal, do not commit adultery, do not lie, do not drink intoxicating drinks. Members of the monastic community (sanghas) must follow the following commandments: eat no more than once a day at the appointed time, do not participate in amusements, do not use jewelry and incense, do not sleep on a comfortable bed, do not accept gold and silver.

Buddhism turned out to be acceptable for various strata and different peoples, in particular, it became widespread in the 1st century BC. AD in China, Tibet, Japan. However, in India, Buddhism did not supplant other cults and gave way to Hinduism, a new form of Brahmanism. The victory of Hinduism testified to the most important cultural orientations in the spiritual life of India in the first centuries of the new era. Instead of the traditional hierarchy of gods, a trinity of three main deities appears - Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. In everyday rituals and rituals, “personal gods” come to the fore - Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti (Shiva’s wife), supporting a person and helping him in various areas of life, therefore Hinduism is divided into Vishnuism, Shaivism, Shaktism, which do not exclude each other, but coexist peacefully.

For the Hindu-Buddhist system of values, the picture of the world is characterized by the fusion of religion, philosophy and scientific knowledge. It is imbued with religious and philosophical reflection on the inner world of man, the reality and unreality of his existence, the search for truth and its significance for a righteous life, death and immortality. Indian scientists, thinkers were not interested in the logical foundations of building scientific knowledge, theorizing, they were more interested in the secrets of the universe and practical issues of calculation, measurement, calendaring, etc. Therefore, such areas of knowledge as astronomy, mathematics and medicine enjoyed special honor in ancient India.

An outstanding achievement of ancient Indian science was the creation of a decimal system of calculation and the sign "zero". Appearance around 200 BC zero in one of the sacred books is associated not only with the development of mathematics, but also with the introduction of the concept of "emptiness". This concept was introduced by one of the greatest philosophers of antiquity, Nagarjuna, who came up with the concept of "general relativity" or "emptiness". A number of the most important mathematical and astronomical ideas are associated with the activities of the famous scientist Aryabhata, who was the first in India to put forward the theory of the Earth's motion around its axis, and also proposed an original linear control solution close to modern mathematical methods.

Even in ancient times, the science of longevity (Ayurveda) originated in India, on which Tibetan medicine is based today. Indian doctors studied the properties of herbs, the influence of climate on a person, considerable attention was paid to hygiene, diet, and various psychotechnics.

However, the religious and philosophical shell of scientific research did not contribute to the formation of a systematic study of natural processes, natural patterns.

Art culture. Under the influence of religious, philosophical, moral values, an artistic culture was also formed in ancient India. Indian art cannot be understood without knowing the relevant religious and philosophical foundations, the values ​​of Brahmanism, Buddhism and Hinduism.

The remarkable works of ancient Indian literature - the epic poems "Mahabharata" and "Ramayana" - reflected the religious and mythological feeling that was the specifics of the figurative thinking of the Indian people in antiquity. At the center of the Mahabharata is worship of God and his omnipotence. The poem "Ramayana" is a hymn to divine harmony, love, mercy and compassion.

An outstanding place in the literature of India is occupied by the work of the greatest poet of the Gupta era, Kalidasa, who lived at the end of the 4th century. BC. All his works - poems, plays, lyrical cycles - are closely connected with folklore and ancient Indian theater.

The origins of ancient Indian theater are the sacred hymns and narratives contained in the Vedas, and later the numerous legends about Krishna. Stage art is in many ways close in its principles to painting and sculpture. Such is the classical dance with its inherent set of characteristic postures, movements and gestures.

The advent of Buddhism entailed the extensive construction of temples, monastic dwellings, and various forms of ancient Indian cult art. Among them is a stupa in Bharkhut (II millennium BC) - a memorial monument in honor of the deeds of the Buddha, which is a grandiose hemispherical earthen hill, lined with stone and placed on a high drum. The Buddha himself until about the 1st-5th centuries. AD was not depicted, but was replaced by symbols, for example, “the wheel of the Law”, “the tree of enlightenment”, etc.

The highest achievement and completion of the art of ancient India are the paintings of Buddhist cloisters (viharas) carved into the rocks of Ajanta. The oldest of them date back to the 1st century. AD In the cave temples of Ajanta, an organic synthesis of architecture, sculpture and painting was carried out. Colorful, realistic images - gods, people, animals - are imbued with poetry and love for nature, the perfection of sensual images and plasticity.

Indian culture, bright and original, created by many tribes and peoples, has become an integral part of the treasury of world culture and occupies a worthy place among the cultures of the peoples of the world, exerting a significant influence on them. Thus, Buddhism organically became part of the Chinese and Japanese cultures.

The relevance of the work lies in the fact that the study of ancient India is of great interest for the study of not only India itself, but also the historical process as a whole, because it allows, using the example of one of the largest countries in the East, to trace both the general patterns of this process and the specific features of the historical development of this country. , to determine the contribution made by it to the treasury of world civilization.

Achievements in archeology, history, linguistics and literary criticism make it possible to take a fresh approach to assessing many historical events and cultural facts of the past, to revise some traditional ideas.

ancient civilization of india differs from the civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia and Greece in that its traditions have been continuously preserved to the present day. In fact, India is the country with the oldest continuous cultural traditions in the world.

In the III-II millennium BC. BC, and possibly even earlier, in the Indus Valley there was one of the greatest civilizations of antiquity. Science learned about this little-known culture of ancient India much later than about other civilizations - in the 20s. XX century, - and it turned out to be not easy to enter it into world history: she asked researchers too many difficult and insoluble questions. It is customary to call it Proto-Indian, or Indus - after the name of the Indus River, the main waterway of this territory, or Harappa - after the name of one of the main excavation sites in Harappa, Montgomery County, Pakistan.

At the same time, not only the originality and comparative remoteness of India from other centers of world culture, but also the conditions in which it developed, give grounds in the final analysis to consider this civilization to be primary, both in terms of independence and independence of its development, and in terms of more from the point of view of the uniqueness of its appearance and character, the uniqueness of some of its initial structural principles.

The purpose of the work is to consider the civilization of ancient India.

The goal is achieved by solving the following tasks:

Explore the rise of civilization. Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro;

Reveal the formation of states in the Ganges valley;

Describe the community-caste system;

Consider northern India in the middle of the 1st millennium BC;

The object of the work is Ancient Indian civilization.

Subject of work - feature of Indian civilization.

The methodological basis of this study was the general scientific dialectical method and individual private scientific methods.

1. The emergence of civilization. Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro

One of the most difficult questions in the study of the Harappan civilization is the question of its origin. Various points of view were expressed - about the Sumerian basis of the Harappan culture, about its creation by the Indo-Aryan tribes, in connection with which the Harappan civilization was considered as Vedic. The well-known archaeologist R. Heine-Geldern even wrote that civilization on the Indus arose suddenly, since no traces of previous development were allegedly found. In recent years, important new materials have been collected on the local origin of this culture. Unfortunately, groundwater has so far prevented archaeologists from following the lowest slopes at Mohenjo-Daro.

Archaeological excavations in Balochistan and Sind showed that here in the IV - III millennium BC. e. there were agricultural cultures that have much in common with the early Harappan culture and with which the Harappan settlements maintained contact for a long time. In Sind, agricultural cultures appear later, which suggests the penetration of some tribes here from the regions of Balochistan and southern Afghanistan.

In the Indus Valley, Harappan settlements appear, obviously, not immediately and not simultaneously. Probably, from some one center, where urban culture first developed, there was a gradual resettlement of its creators. In this regard, of particular interest are the studies of the French archaeologist J. M. Casal of the Amri settlement, who established stratigraphy from the pre-Harappan period to the late Harappan period. Here one can trace the local development of cultures: from the time when most pottery was made by hand, without the potter's wheel, when buildings were just appearing, and the use of metals was just beginning, to more advanced phases, marked by painted ceramics and more durable, mud-brick buildings. The lower layers of the pre-Harappan period have analogies with the early agricultural cultures of Balochistan, in the later layers, ceramics of the early Harappan settlements of the Indus Valley appear. Finally, excavations have shown that the traditions typical of the Amri culture coexist with those of the Harappans.

In Harappa itself, under the city fortifications, ceramics of the Amri culture were found, and in the lower layers of Mohsnjo-Daro - ceramics of the Balochistan cultures, which obviously indicates not only close contacts of the Indian settlements with the agricultural cultures of Balochistan and Sindh, but also that the Harappan civilization has local roots. It arose on the basis of the tradition of agricultural cultures.

Excavations by Pakistani archaeologists in Kot Diji (not far from modern Khaipur) showed that in the pre-Harappan period there already existed a highly developed culture: scientists discovered the citadel and the actual residential quarters that arose, according to radiocarbon analysis, in the XXVII-XXVI centuries. to i. e. Pottery from Kot-Didji of the early period has analogies with the ceramics of the agricultural settlements of Sindh and Balochistan, and later - with Harappa. This made it possible to trace the evolution of local traditions to the actual Harappan, dating back to XXI-XX centuries. BC e. The explicit pre-Harappan period was discovered by Indian archaeologists during excavations in Kalibangan (Rajasthan), where on one hill there were settlements of the predecessors of the Harappans, and on the next - the buildings of the creators of the Harappan culture. The pottery of the pre-Harappan settlement has many features in common with the pottery of Amri and Kot-Didji. Thus, scientists were able to trace the development of the Harappan culture on the basis of more ancient local traditions.

At the same time, the Harappan civilization was a new stage, a qualitative leap in the development of the ancient cultures of Hindustan, which marked the emergence of an urban-type civilization.

Of great importance, obviously, was the Indus river system, which created favorable conditions for the development of material culture and the economy and for the creation of urban settlements, handicrafts and trade. It is no coincidence that most of all Harappan settlements were located along the banks of the Indus and its tributaries. Later, Harappan settlements appeared in the upper reaches of the Ganges and Yamuna (modern Jamna).

In the 1920s, when the scientific study of the Harappan civilization began, there was an opinion about the relatively narrow boundaries of this culture. Indeed, in the beginning, Harappan settlements were found only in the Indus Valley. Now, as a result of modern archaeological research, it became clear that the Harappan civilization was spread over a vast territory: more than 1100 km from north to south and more than 1600 km from west to east.

Excavations on the Kathiaar peninsula showed that the population gradually moved south, colonizing new territories. At present, the Harappan settlement at the mouth of the Narbad River is considered the southernmost, but it can be assumed that the Harappans penetrated even further south. They rushed to the east, subjugating more and more new areas. Archaeologists have discovered a Harappan settlement near modern-day Allahabad. This is how various variants of the Harappan culture were created, although in general it was a single culture with established traditions.

It can be assumed that some diversity within this huge civilization reflected a different ethnic basis and an unequal level of development of those areas where the creators of this civilization appeared.

Currently, many researchers conditionally date the beginning of the Harappan culture to 2300 BC. e., and the period of "sunset" - 18 AD. BC e. (1750 BC). Such a chronology indicates the existence of contacts between Mesopotamia and the settlements of the Indus Valley as early as the pre-Harappan period.

The existence of large cities, the presence of a system of urban construction planning in the country testify to the high degree of development of the Harappan civilization.

As a result of excavations, several large cities were discovered. The largest of them are Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.

Mohenjo-Daro occupied an area of ​​2.5 square meters. km., and its population, according to some scientists, could be estimated at 35 thousand people (sometimes a larger figure is given - up to 100 thousand people).

Judging by the excavations, the urban centers had a similar planning system: large towns consisted of two main parts - the citadel on the western side, where, obviously, the city authorities were located, and the so-called lower city, where the main residential buildings were concentrated. The residential part of the city usually had the shape of a rectangle. The citadel was built on a high brick platform, towering over the rest of the city. It also had to protect against floods, which were a terrible disaster for the cities of the Indus Valley. Communication between the two parts was apparently limited. For example, in Kalibangan, only two entrances were discovered during excavations, connecting the citadel with the "lower city". If necessary, these entrances could, apparently, be closed and thereby fence off the city authorities from ordinary residents. At the edge of the citadel in Harappa, a special precession road passed, along which troops moved, as well as various processions. The citadel was well fortified with powerful stacks and towers. Excavations at Kalibangan have unearthed the massive brick wall of the citadel. Inside it were buildings of a religious and, obviously, administrative nature. In the citadel of Mohenjo-Daro there was a huge pool (width 7 m, length 12 m, depth almost 2.5 m), which may have been part of a religious complex and served for special ritual ablutions. With the help of a special system, fresh water was constantly supplied to the pool from the well. Archaeologists have unearthed steps leading, it is believed, to the second floor of the structure. Not far from the pool were public barns for storing grain and a kind of assembly hall, or market, according to some scholars, which had several rows of stone bases for columns (the columns were wooden and therefore did not survive).

Residential buildings were of various sizes. Some reached three floors (the remains of stairs testify to this) and ended with flat roofs. These were the dwellings of wealthy citizens. There were no special windows in them, and light and air came through small holes that were made in the upper part of the walls. The doors of the house were wooden. For the construction of roofs, in addition to wood, compacted silt was also used. Each house had special utility rooms and a yard with a kitchen for cooking. The kitchen had special hearths, as well as large vessels for storing grain and oil. Bread was baked in special ovens. Small livestock were also kept in the yards.

The poor lived in huts and barracks. In Harappa, near the walls of the citadel, not far from the grounds for threshing grain, two rows of buildings were discovered, each of which was one tiny room. Similar dwellings were located in Mohenjo-Daro, where impoverished artisans, temporary workers and slaves lived. On the streets of the cities there were shops and workshops of artisans.

After several centuries of prosperity, the "decline" of the Harappan civilization came. Until recently, the decline of Indian centers was usually explained by external factors: the invasion of foreign tribes, identified, as a rule, with the Aryans. In the northern regions, the onset of the crisis was more rapid; in the South, far from large centers, Harappan traditions survived longer. Thus, the process proceeded differently in different regions. The weakening of trade contacts with Mesopotamia was probably also of considerable importance. Not only merchants, but also craftsmen and farmers were directly connected with this sphere of economic activity.

To date, it has been established quite firmly and definitely: the Harappan culture of the Indus Valley has disappeared, having almost no significant impact on the culture of the Indo-Aryans that came to replace it with a gap of several centuries, who practically laid the foundation for the ancient Indian center of civilization anew. The new focus was formed mainly in the Ganges valley, in areas separated from the centers of the Harappan culture by many hundreds, if not thousands of kilometers. But the Harappan civilization gave a significant impetus to the development of the material culture of the Indo-Aryans.

With the extinction of the main centers of the Harappan civilization, the developed building techniques and skills did not disappear without a trace, but indirectly affected the planning of the settlements of the new people - the Aryans, who settled at the end of the 2nd - the middle of the 1st millennium BC. in the northwestern regions of India, and then moved to the southeast, into the Ganges valley and along the river. Jumna.

2. Formation of states in the Ganges valley

North India in the 2nd millennium BC. e. Indo-Aryan languages ​​spread, the speakers of which, calling themselves Aryans, came to the country and brought elements of a different cultural tradition.

Civilization in the Indus Valley, despite the high level of development it has achieved, still remained a phenomenon of regional significance. The formation of this way of life, which gave ancient India unity with all its diversity, began at the end of the 2nd millennium BC. e. and was associated with the emergence of states in the Ganges valley. It was these areas that were destined to become the center of culture and statehood.

The main achievement of the Vedic Indians was the economic development and stable settlement of most of the Ganges valley, previously covered with jungle. Early outbreaks here (for example, Chirand in Bihar) were extremely rare. The offensive into the Ganges valley was carried out from the south, from where the agricultural tribes of the Dravidians and Munda penetrated, and from the north - the tribes of the foothills of the Himalayas. But the main direction of colonization, which culminated in the creation of permanent settlements and cities, was from northwest to southeast, from Punjab and Rajasthan.

The process of development of the Ganges valley was long and spontaneous. The Indo-Aryan tribes came into contact with the "aboriginal" population, adapted to the local conditions of life and economic activity. Judging by historical legends and myths, at that time they already considered themselves residents of India. It was very difficult to move through the territory, completely overgrown with forest, but the Indo-Aryans knew iron and were mobile. They moved along the rivers.

By the middle of the 1st millennium BC. the Ganges valley was largely developed, despite the fact that significant areas still remained under forests and swamps, especially in the lower reaches of the river. Excavations in Atranjikher, Jodhpur and in the areas adjacent to the Ganges from the west show that iron in this area is unlikely to have appeared before the 11th century. BC.; the wide distribution of tools from it was observed in the first half of the 1st millennium BC. Due to its cheapness and availability, it quickly replaced stone and copper as a material for the production of weapons and tools.

The proportion of cattle breeding was quite significant. From domestic animals cows, buffaloes, sheep, goats, donkeys, camels, horses were known. The main wealth of the Indian was considered cattle, primarily bulls, which were draft power, and cows, which provided the most important food. In beliefs, gradually the cow begins to occupy a special place. Its importance in the economy was the decisive factor that led to the emergence of the cult of the cow as one of the main elements of the religious practice of Hinduism.

The Vedic Indians did not create such developed and powerful urban centers as the Harappans. Although the inhabitants of the Ganges basin sometimes founded their settlements on the site of former Harappan cities, the old traditions of building art have been largely lost. Gradually, the cities turned into centers of concentration of handicrafts, which emerged as an independent branch of the economy. They produced agricultural implements, vehicles, fabrics, utensils made of metal, stone, wood and clay, various decorations. Excavations have shown a high level of ceramic production in the ancient cities of the Ganges valley. The Vedic period is marked by an increase in exchange between individual tribes, regular trade.

The process of state formation in ancient India was long. Authorities arose gradually and grew, as a rule, from tribal governments. The states themselves were not large for a long time - they covered the territory of one tribe or union of tribes. They got their name from the name of the strongest of them. By the middle of the 1st millennium BC. in the most developed regions of the Ganges valley, the process of turning tribal self-government bodies into state ones was completed. The tribal leader - the raja at this time often acts as an autocratic ruler. The ruler usually belonged to the most noble, rich and numerous family. It is known that royal dynasties already existed in the Vedic period. Royal power was mainly hereditary, passed from father to eldest son. The popular assembly was involved in the discussion of the issue of succession to the throne only when this order, now considered normal, was violated for various reasons. Raja was the supreme manager of state property, primarily land. He commanded an army. The tsar headed the administrative apparatus, apparently, he was also the supreme judge, he himself examined some cases and could even personally punish the guilty.

The special position of the raja back in the Vedic period led to the fact that state power began to be perceived as sacred, and its bearer was declared the incarnation of one or another deity. The king relied on his relatives, who usually occupied important positions in the state apparatus, they got most of the military booty. Other powerful families were grouped around the court.

The state apparatus was not yet ramified, but a number of permanent positions had already been determined: court priest, military commander, treasurer, tax collector, etc.

3. Communal-caste system

Dating back to the ancient Indian varnas and consecrated by Hinduism, the caste system has been the basis of the social structure of India since ancient times. The word "varna" corresponds to the concepts of "type", "category", "color". Since ancient times, it has been used in India to single out and contrast the main social strata of society with each other. The traditions recorded in the Rig Veda proceed from the fact that the division of society into opposing layers is eternal, that from the mouth of the first man Purusha arose the varna of the Brahmin priests, from his hands the varna of the Kshatriyas, from the hips the varna of simple farmers and cattle breeders, i.e. ordinary vaishya community members. But from the feet of Purusha appeared the fourth and lowest varna of the poor and inferior, the varna of the Shudras. The three highest varnas, genetically related to the Indo-Aryans, were considered honorary, especially the first two of them. Representatives of all these Aryan varnas were called "twice-born", because in relation to them the rite of the second birth was performed. The rite of the second birth gave the right to learn the profession and occupations of the ancestors, after which everyone could become a householder, that is, the father of his family. The fourth varna of the Shudras arose and was formed later than the three Aryans, so that it included all those who, by birth, did not belong to the first three. The varna of the Shudras was, at least in the beginning, the varna of the disenfranchised. Shudra could not claim a high social position, sometimes even an independent household, did not have the right to study the Vedas and participate in rituals and religious practices on an equal basis with representatives of other varnas. The fate of a craftsman or servant, engaging in heavy and despised types of labor - that was his lot.

Over time, some changes took place in the position of the varnas, the essence of which was to reduce the status of the third and some increase in the status of the fourth of them. The hereditary status of the Brahmins was much more rigid: it was very difficult to lose it, even when the Brahmin ceased to be a priest and was engaged in other, much more worldly affairs, but even more difficult, it was almost impossible to regain it. The proportion of non-caste outcasts, untouchables (Harijans, as they were called later), who performed the most difficult and dirty work, greatly increased. We can assume that by the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. the two higher varnas already quite distinctly opposed the two lower ones.

The system of four varnas that has developed in this way has become a very stable basis for dividing Indian society into unshakable categories-estates. A person is born in his own varna and forever belongs to it, remains in it. In his varna, he takes a wife, his descendants remain forever in his varna, continue his work. Birth in one or another varna is the result of a person's behavior in his past births. The religious consecration of the varna system proved to be very effective. This system not only did not disintegrate over time, but, on the contrary, became more and more rigid, stronger, more branched. To be outside the system meant practically being outside society, in a certain sense outside the law, that is, in the position of a slave.

The system of many hundreds and even thousands of castes that replaced the four ancient varnas has become much more convenient under the new conditions. Caste (jati, i.e. clan) is a closed endogamous group of people, usually hereditarily employed in a certain field of activity. Those who stood outside the existing castes or were born from a mixed marriage, for the time being, were a kind of candidate for inclusion in the caste system. Tribes, sects, groups of persons of similar occupations could and did become castes. Those who were engaged in unclean professions stood out in a special group. They either belonged to the lowest castes, or generally stood outside the castes and were considered untouchable, those whose touch could defile members of other castes, especially Brahmins. The fundamental difference between the new castes and the old varnas was that the castes were corporations, that is, they had a clear internal organization. The castes included a much smaller number of members compared to the former varnas. The caste strictly guarded the interests of its members. But the main principle in the transformation of varnas into castes remained unchanged: the rule formulated by ancient Brahmanism and strictly guarded by Hinduism was that everyone belongs to his caste by birth and must remain in it all his life. And not only stay. But also choose a wife from your caste, raise children in the spirit of caste norms and customs. Whoever he becomes, no matter how rich he becomes, or, on the contrary, how he descends, a high-caste brahmin will always remain a brahmin, and an untouchable chandala will always remain untouchable.

4. Northern India in the middle of the 1st millennium BC

Economic integration, which contributed to the political consolidation of the Indians in the middle of the 1st millennium BC, was an important factor, but not the only one, and not even the most important one. A much greater role in the consolidation of the Indians as an ethnic group, and even more so the Indian civilization as a great socio-cultural integrity, was played by the processes that took place at that time in the spiritual and religious sphere and for millennia determined the appearance of the entire culture of India, the spiritual values ​​of its civilization. These processes began with the fact that the ancient Vedas began to acquire the already mentioned interpretations and commentaries, which were vigorously developed by the efforts of the priests of various Brahmin castes. On the basis of active religious searches, complex philosophical constructions arose - first of all, the Upanishads, in which the problems of being and non-being, life and death, the root causes of existence, the supreme Absolute, etc. were debated. It should be especially emphasized that all these abstract arguments were practically the exclusive property of the Brahmins, who jealously guarded their monopoly on the education, study and commentary of sacred texts.

During this period, a trend towards political consolidation was seen in North India. Small states arose, which gradually became larger and transformed into early states, the rivalry between them became more and more fierce. By the middle of the 1st millennium BC. in the Ganges valley and in its vicinity there were about 16 relatively large states, most of which had already established a hereditary monarchy and only a few practiced various forms of oligarchic or aristocratic rule with elected political leaders. The rise of political centers in the valley led to the growth and strengthening of cities, to the development of handicrafts and trade exchange. Cities, which were primarily fortified fortresses, began to play a significant role in the economy. In the sphere of agrarian relations, the state also played a very important role, which acted as the supreme manager of the land fund. The state regulated taxes and duties of the population. The main form of land ownership was the community.

Conclusion

The civilization of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro was located in the Indus Valley in the XXIII-XIX centuries BC. e. It was a highly developed society for that time. This is evidenced by the presence of writing, various crafts, and trade.

At the moment, there are endless disputes among scientists about the origin and religion of this civilization, since there are no reliable facts confirming or refuting this or that hypothesis.

Ancient India in a number of basic parameters is close to the states of the Middle Eastern antiquity. Power-property and centralized redistribution also dominated here, there were no free European markets and private property. India belongs entirely to the traditional East and has nothing to do with antiquity, although the Indo-Aryans are genetically quite close to the ancient Greeks. There is a significant difference between the Middle East and Indian regions. The difference lies in civilization, in cultural traditions, in historically conditioned forms of organization of society, in everything that is reflected in the form of caste-caste and communal systems.

Ancient Indian culture had a great impact on the culture of other countries. Since ancient times, its traditions have been intertwined with the traditions of the East. During the period of the Harappan civilization, cultural and trade relations were established with Mesopotamia, Iran, and Central Asia. A little later, cultural and economic contacts appeared with Egypt, Southeast Asia, and the Far East.

Bibliographic list

1. Antonova, K.A. History of India / K.A. Antonova. - M.: Academy, 2009. - 608s.
2. Arthur, L. Besham. The Miracle That Was India / Arthur L. Besham. - M.: Nauka, 2007. - 319 p.
3. Bongard-Levin, G.M. India in antiquity / G.M. Bongard-Levin, G.F. Ilyin.- M.: Nauka, 2005. - 637p.
4. Weinberg, B.I. History and culture of Central Asia in antiquity / B.I. Weinberg, B.Ya. Stavisky. - M.: Nauka, 2006. - 365 p.

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