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Aryan (/ ˈ ɛər i ə n /), or Arya (borrowed from Sanskrit ārya), [1] is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians, and later Iranians and Indo-Aryans. [2] [3] It stood in contrast to nearby outsiders, whom they designated as non-Aryan (*an-āryā). [4]
Aryan religion may refer to: Historical Vedic religion; Historical Indian religions more generally Hinduism; The reconstructed Proto-Indo-Iranian religion; The reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion; In early 20th century occultism, religions supposedly considered native to the "Aryan race", see Ariosophy
The historical Vedic religion, also called Vedicism or Vedism, and sometimes ancient Hinduism or Vedic Hinduism, [a] constituted the religious ideas and practices prevalent amongst some of the Indo-Aryan peoples of the northwest Indian subcontinent (Punjab and the western Ganges plain) during the Vedic period (c. 1500–500 BCE).
The religion "defies our desire to define and categorize it". [67] Hinduism has been variously defined as a religion, a religious tradition, a set of religious beliefs, and "a way of life". [68] [note 1] From a Western lexical standpoint, Hinduism, like other faiths, is appropriately referred to as a religion.
The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (c. 1500 – c. 500 BCE), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (c. 1500 –900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, between the end of the urban Indus Valley Civilisation and a second urbanisation, which began in the central Indo-Gangetic Plain c. 600 BCE.
Separating concepts in Hinduism from concepts specific to Indian culture, or from the language itself, can be difficult. Many Sanskrit concepts have an Indian secular meaning as well as a Hindu dharmic meaning. One example is the concept of Dharma. [4] Sanskrit, like all languages, contains words whose meanings differ across various contexts.
Hinduism is the dominant religion in India and Nepal and is the second-largest religion in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan. [ 25 ] Indo-Aryan migrations brought the Indo-Aryans to South Asia , [ 26 ] where they compiled and composed the Vedic corpus during the Vedic period (ca. 1500-500 BCE) across present-day Northern India ...
The first period is the pre-Vedic period, which includes the Indus Valley Civilization and local pre-historic religions. Northern India had the Vedic period with the introduction of the historical Vedic religion (sometimes called Vedic Hinduism or ancient Hinduism [d]) by the Indo-Aryan migrations, starting somewhere between 1900 BCE and 1400 BCE.