Indian culture is several millenniums old, like an ancient tree with many roots and branches that share a common trunk of values. Among its earliest roots are the Vedas — the Ṛig, Yajur, Sāma and Atharva Vedas — thousands of hymns composed by rishis and rishikas in early Sanskrit and passed down orally with great accuracy (UNESCO recognised Vedic chanting in 2008). Vedic society was organised in janas (clans). The Upaniṣhads introduced ideas such as rebirth, karma, ātman (the Self) and brahman (the one divine essence), forming the Vedanta and Yoga schools, the foundations of Hinduism. Other schools rejected the authority of the Vedas: Buddhism, founded by Siddhārtha Gautama (the Buddha), taught that ignorance and attachment cause suffering and stressed ahimsa and inner discipline; Jainism, taught by Mahāvīra, stressed ahimsa, anekāntavāda (many-sidedness of truth) and aparigraha (non-possession). Though different, these schools shared concepts like dharma, karma and rebirth. India also has rich folk and tribal traditions, transmitted orally, which have interacted with the major schools for millenniums, exchanging deities, legends and rituals, and regarding nature as sacred while often holding a concept of a supreme being.
The Vedas and Vedic cultureThe Upaniṣhads, brahman and ātmanBuddhism and the BuddhaJainism and MahāvīraFolk and tribal roots of Indian culture
Key terms
Veda
India's most ancient texts — four collections of hymns (Ṛig, Yajur, Sāma, Atharva) passed down orally.
Upaniṣhad
A group of texts that built on Vedic ideas and introduced concepts like rebirth, karma, ātman and brahman.
Ahimsa
Non-violence or ‘non-hurting’; a central value in Buddhism, Jainism and Indian culture, including in thought.
Buddha
The title (‘the awakened one’) of Siddhārtha Gautama, founder of Buddhism, who taught the end of suffering.
Mahāvīra
The title (‘great hero’) of Prince Vardhamāna, the teacher who spread Jainism.
Tribe
A close-knit community of families sharing common descent, culture and language, often holding no private property.
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