Quick Fact Sheet : Vedic Civilization in India

1. Vedic Literature is known to be written between 1000 to 600 BC. Veda means to know or to get knowledge.
2. Arya means Foreigner (ary in Russian language is outsider or unknown). Aryas were originally from south Russia as per Brandastine.
3. Vedic Hymns or Types of Veda: Rig-Veda, Yajurveda, Samveda, Atharvaveda
4. Rig veda is a collection of praise of Gods or Devtas. Indra was the god of Rig-Veda.
5. Samveda is a collection of melodies
6. Atharveda describes beliefs and superstitions
7. Yajurveda is of two types : Shukla Yajurveda & Krishna Yajurveda
8. There are 6 vedangas : siksha, Kalpa, Vyakarna, Nirukt, Jyotish, Chhanda
9. Siksha vedanga is related to Phonetic Education.
10. Kalpa Vedanga is related to Rituals
11. Vyakarna Vedanga is related to Grammar
12. Nirukt Vedanga is related to Etymology
13. Chhanda is related to Metrics
14. Jyotish is related to Astrology
15. There are 4 kalpsutra : Sharutan Sutra, Grih Sutra , Dharma Sutra, and Sholva Sutra,
16. There are 4 major upvedas: Ayurveda of Rig-Veda, Dhanurveda of Yajurveda, Gandharvaveda of Sam Veda, Shilpveda is of Atharvaveda
17. Ayurveda was propounded by Brahma and it is about medicinal science Ayurveda
18. Dhanurveda was propounded by Vishvamitra and it describes art of War
19. Gandharvaveda was propounded by Narad and it describes Music
20. Shilpveda was propounded by Vishwakarma and it describes architecture
21. The Number of Puranas is 18
22. The No. of Upnishad is 108. The subjects described in Upanishads are God, soul, Birth, Matter, Rebirth, Salvation etc.
23. The period of Upanishads is supposed to be 800 to 500 BC.
24. Prominent Upanishads are as follows:
Ish, Ken, Kath, Prashn, Mundak, Mandukya, Taitteriya, Aitereya, Chhandogya, Vriahdaranyaka, Shwetaswara, Kaushitaki, Mahanarayana
25. Brahman of Rig-Veda : Aitareya, Kaushitaki
26. Brahman of Samveda : Tandya, Panchvinsa, Jaiminia
27. Brahman of Yajurveda : Taitteriya which is of Krishna Yajurveda, Satpath which is of Shukla Yajurveda
28. Brahman of Atharvaveda :Gopatha
29. There are 6 schools of Philosophy in Vedic Culture: Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaiseshika, Mimansa , Vedanta . They are collectively called shaddarshana
30. Samkhya school was propounded by kapilMuni and it describes about real knowledge and atheism
31. Yoga was propounded by Patanjali which describes Yoga and meditation
32. Nyaya is propounded by Gautam and it deals with justice and logic
33. Vaiseshika is propounded by Mahrishi Kanad and deals with materialistic
34. Mimansa was propounded by Jaiminia and Badrayana and deals with practical religion
35. Vedanta was propounded by Badrayana and deals with soul, Brahma and Karma
36. Vedic mantras are called suktas.
37. Prominent Sages were Gritsamad, Vishwamitra, Bhardwaj, Atri, and vashishtha.
38. Prominent female sages were Lopamudra, Ghosa, Shachi, Poulomi
39. Prominent Ayurvedacharyas were : Ashwini Kumar, Dhanvantari, Banbhatt, Sushrut, Madhav
40. Araynakas deal with life, death and other serious themes, they were read and listened in loneliness of Jungles (Aranya means Forests)
41. The Samveda and Yajurveda have no Araynakas
42. India was a land of seven rivers, called as sapt sindhu and pronounced by the west Asians as Hapt Hindu that is how the Hindu term was coined.
43. The sapta sindhu were the Indus, Five River of Punjab and saraswati (extinct now)
44. The doctor or vaidya was called Bheesaj or Mishak
45. The goddesses were Usha, Sita, Prithvi, Aranyani, Ratri, Vak
46. Traders were called pani
47. Cow was the backbone of economy
48. Prajapati has been refereed as aadipurush or first male
49. The officer of lands was Vrajpati
50. Main crops were wheat and paddy
51. Rajsuya Yajna was performed to obtain divine power
52. Ashwamedha yajna was performed to expand the empire
53. Vajpey Yajna for Chariot racing
54. Gotra system developed in later vedic ages.
55. Shatpath Brahman gives account about agriculture procedure.
56. Rig-Veda is divided among 10 mandalas. Xth mandala of Rig-Veda gives an account of origin of the universe
57. Rig-Veda is the oldest religious text in the world
58. The three Vedas except Rig-Veda are collectively called “Traya”
59. There were 4 councils : Sabha, Samiti, Vidhata, Gana
60. The word Bharat comes first from Rig-Veda.
61. There are 1028 Vedic texts in Rig-Veda
62. Language of Vedas was Sanskrit
63. Gayatri Mantra is mentioned in 3rd mandal of Rig-Veda
64. Savitri or Sun is worshipped in Gayatri mantra
65. The social structure was Patriarchal
66. Cow was also used as a medium of exchange
67. Satyamev Jayate is taken from Mundakopnishad
68. The birth and rebirth is mentioned in Vrihadranyaka
69. Animal Theft was the crime mentioned most in Vedas’
70. Om has been used for 1028 times in Rigveda
71. Mahabharat was the largest epic of Vedic period written by Vedvyas in Sanskrit
72. Bronze was referred as Ayas
73. Barley was referred as Yava
74. Carpenter was called Takshak
75. Maker of bows was called dhumvakrit
76. Rice was referred as Vrihi
77. Goldsmith was called as Hiranyakata.
78. Jana word was used for 275 times in Rigveda
79. Indra word was used for 200 times
80. The potteries used were Black and Red ware, Black Slipped ware, painted Grey ware and Red ware.
81. Name of Indus River of Sindhu
82. Name of Kabul River was Kumbha
83. The name of swat river was Suvastu
84. Name of Chenab was Askini
85. The name of Jhelam river was Vitasta
86. The name of ravi river was Purushni.