Vedic India — The Eternal Dharma

The civilization of the Vedas — the eternal dharma, and one of humanity's oldest unbroken spiritual traditions, from the sacred fire to the wisdom of yoga.

Origin

The Vedic civilization of ancient India rose from the Vedas — among the oldest sacred texts in the world, composed in Sanskrit from around 1500 BCE — building on the earlier Indus Valley civilization. The Vedic age laid the foundations of Indian thought and gave the world its great epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, along with a tradition of philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, and the spiritual sciences of yoga and meditation that endures to this day.

The Heroes & Sages

• The Rishis — the ancient seers who received the Vedas in meditation.
• Vyasa — who compiled the Vedas and composed the Mahabharata.
• Rama and Krishna — the great divine heroes of the epics.
• Arjuna — the warrior-prince who received the teaching of the Bhagavad Gita.

Symbols of the Lineage

The sacred syllable Om, the sound of the cosmos. The lotus, rising pure from the water. The sacred fire of the yajna. The chakra, the wheel of dharma. The conch that calls the faithful.

Beliefs & Worldview

From the Vedas and the Upanishads flow the great ideas that shaped a civilization: dharma, the cosmic order and one's sacred duty; karma, the law of action and consequence; samsara, the cycle of rebirth; and moksha, liberation. The many gods — Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, Devi — are understood as the faces of the one infinite Brahman, and the Bhagavad Gita teaches the path of duty, devotion, and the eternal soul.

Timeline — Major Events

• c. 3300–1300 BCE — The Indus Valley civilization flourishes.
• c. 1500 BCE — The composition of the Rigveda begins.
• c. 800–500 BCE — The age of the Upanishads and philosophy.
• The epic age — The Mahabharata and Ramayana take shape.
• The classical era — A golden age of mathematics, astronomy, and art.

Cultural Artifacts

The four Vedas and the Upanishads. The Bhagavad Gita, the song of the divine. The vast epics of the Mahabharata and Ramayana. The seals of the Indus Valley, and the temple architecture that followed.

The Living Lineage

More than a billion people follow the traditions rooted in Vedic India. Yoga and meditation are practiced across the globe; Sanskrit endures as a sacred tongue; the festivals of Diwali and Holi light up the world. To claim Vedic heritage is to claim the eternal dharma — one of humanity's oldest living spiritual traditions.

Recommended Reading

The Bhagavad Gita; the Upanishads; the translations of Eknath Easwaran.

The Eternal Dharma

One of the world's oldest living wisdom traditions deserves an heirloom worthy of it. Each piece in the Vedic Collection renders Om, the lotus, and the wheel of dharma in black and gold — the eternal dharma, fixed for the wall. Explore the collection →