ANTIQUITY & CONTINUITY

Many kinds of evidence — archaeological finds, ancient writings, and cultural practices — show how profoundly ancient Indic civilisation is. The Vedic corpus is the world’s oldest continuously recited oral tradition, keeping alive hymns, rituals, and philosophical ideas that are still relevant today. The Indus Valley or Harappan Civilization had well-planned cities, carefully made bricks, advanced drainage systems, and excellent water management. The Bhimbetka rock shelters were inhabited from about 100,000 years ago till early historic times, with cave paintings that echo ritual symbols still in use. Mehrgarh shows farming, animal keeping, and pottery from around 8000 BCE, proving how far back Indian civilisation stretches. The River Saraswati, praised in the Rigveda and confirmed by modern geological studies, is now recognised as one of the original centres of civilisation. 

Have Indians  Been Poor History Writers?

This has been one of the core arguments by the Eurocentric and colonial ‘historians’ who have sought to justify their ‘inevitable’ intervention in ‘correctly’ writing the history of Indic civilisation. To evaluate their claim, only a little probing is enough. Let us begin with something that most readers are familiar with. Most would have heard the name of Megasthenes. We have been taught that he was an ambassador for Seleucus I Nicator to the court of the Mauryan Emperor Chandragupta Maurya in Pataliputra. We have also heard of his famous work named Indika wherein, he has recorded some history of India of those times. However, what has been selectively left out from our text books is how Megasthenes described the unbroken antiquity of the Indian kingdoms. Here is an extract from Indika:   

 FRAGM. L. C.

Plin. Hist. Nat. VI. xxi. 4-5.

Of the Ancient History of the Indians.

For the Indians stand almost alone among the nations in never having migrated from their own country. From the days of Father Bacchus to Alexander the Great, their kings are reckoned at 154, whose reigns extend over 6451 years and 3 months…”

A genealogy of 154 kings spanning ‘more than’ 6451 years! Most of us can say with confidence that we do not remember any ancient history textbook mentioning it when they mentioned Megasthenes. The author seeks to clarify that his proposition is not that the readers should necessarily accept the genealogy or historicity as true. No, not at all – accepting or discarding is the prerogative of the erudite readers based on their faith in the authenticicty of the source. Some historians even suspect a few instances of exaggeration such as mention of mythical creatures and unusual tribes. But then, itis fact that despite such alleged inaccuracies, Indika has been use as a sheet anchor for aligning Indian chronology with the broader Hellenistic world timelines. Hence, the author’s objection is purely about academic integrity. It needs to be explained why several generations of students and scholars, who innocently reposed their faith in the reliability of history books, have not even been informed about the mention of royal genealogies spanning across 7 millenia, in the same Indika of Megasthenes. Why a historical fact so relevant to Bharat’s civilisational antiquity is not known even to discerning readers interested in history, much less the school going youth, is a question entrusted to the meditation of readers.

Instead of such civilisational antiquity, the history books have been teaching that modern day Indians are the products of the Aryan Invasion. The author has perused the tales of the back-breaking battle fought by a handful of culturally conscious scholars, against the ‘Aryan Invasion Theory’, one of the greatest historical scams served to our unassuming students and scholars for several generations. It was not before decades of damage that the publishers had to finally ‘make a correction’ in 2018 by deleting and replacing the following sentence from the relevant chapter: 

Pre-2018:

"It appears that there was a break between the Early Harappan and the Harappan civilisation, evident from large-scale burning at some sites, as well as the abandonment of certain settlements."

Post-2018

“The genetic roots of the Harappans go back to 10,000 BCE. The DNA of the Harappans has continued till today and a majority of the South Asian population appears to be their descendants.”

These changes can be found in the chapter titled 'Bricks, Beads and Bones – The Harappan Civilisation' in the Class-12 History textbook called ‘Themes In India History Part-I‘. But why this resistance and reluctance to neutrality and objectivity? It is not for the author of this book to sit in judgment of other authors or the office-bearers entrusted with the task of ensuring the integrity of history textbooks. Painful regret,  however, needs to be recorded over how such antiquity has been kept under the carpet, while much less reliable and arguably motivated conjectures, cloaked as historical facts, have been allowed to molest the sanctity of sacred textbooks, generation after generation.

On the other hand, let us now see how our historicity, recklessly abandoned by institutional memory, found life-saving patronage in our cultural memory. You must have noted that on your birthday, some friends possibly rooted in the cultural ethos, send indigenous messages couched in Sanskrit. The following is one such message conveying good health and longevity etc:

जीवेत शरद: शतम्

(May You Live For A Hundred Years) 

Ever wondered why the Vedic sages used the word शरद: to denote a year!  Actually, शरद here refers to the Autumnal Equinox, which currently happens in September when the sun's direct rays cross the equator from Northern to the Southern Hemisphere and loosely marks the beginning of the autumn season for the Northern Hemisphere. But what might be so special about Autumnal Equinox that it has been used to symbolise a year? 

It is because this shloka comes from a timeframe when the new year used to begin with the Autumnal Equinox. Yes! In very distant past, more than 15000 years ago from now, Autumnal Equinox was fixed to mark the beginning of the new year, as it used to fall in Ashwini Nakshatra. Scriptures indicate academic rivalry between Sage Vashishtha and sage Vishwamitra over the question as to whether Autumnal Equinox or Spring Equinox be  adopted for marking new year. Long story short, around 13,500 BCE, civilisation adopted the system of adopting the Autumnal Equinox as the first day of new year, which continued for several thousand years before the current system of Vernal Equinox was adopted. Guess what? Modern astronomical calculations indicate that in fact Autumnal Equinox did happen in Ashvini about 12000-13000 BCE as against the present day position, when it is the Vernal Equinox that aligns with Ashvini Nakshatra. That explains why in our times, we have the Indic new year in Chaitra (Spring) and not Sharad (Autumn), while the reverse was true in remote antiquity. We will discuss this in detail later in the book. This brief example gives us a glimpse of not just our antiquity but also the incredibly rich time-keeping system that existed so early in the history of humankind. 

It is important to clarify that in line with the objective of the book, the author would not be claiming the antiquity of the Indic civilisation as a matter of mere cultural pride but as a bounden scholarly duty of inquiring into the historicity of Bharat’s  cultural identity. 

Contemporary Indologists,  assert quite logically that antiquity of a civilisation cannot be truly ascertained without first understanding its nexus with evolution of agrarian society. This coevolution is what seems to have propelled the genesis of time-keeping systems. Hence, tracing the origins of its calendar is essential to evaluating the antiquity of a civilisation. For the Indic civilisation as it continues today, the beginning of this time-window has to be post Ice Age, when the south-west monsoons got regularised at around 16000 BCE. Only after these geo-climatic events, could humankind conceive the ambitious idea of settled agriculture. 

As farming began, early farmers would, by trial and error, conclude that sowing too early risks parching of seeds in harsh sunlight while sowing them too late, risks their destruction by submergence. This, amongst other possible considerations, is believed to have necessitated some basic timekeeping mechanism to correctly predict the onset of monsoon. Thus gradually emerged a system of astronomical calendar, which would measure a year from one rainy season (Varsha) to the next Summer Solstice. It is interesting to note that the Sanskrit word for year (Varsh) comes from Varsha. This shows how most scientific contemplations were necessitated by need and were not merely cerebral labours for fantasy.

So, according to cultural belief, who is supposed to be the originator of astronomical timekeeping? Legend has it in the name of the Adipurush Brahma (different from religio-philosophical entity: God Brahma), whose geographical context is present day Haryana. Our cultural memory accredits him with the conception of such a Nakshatra-based calendar required for meteorological considerations. Adipurush Brahma and his wife Saraswati (probable symbolism for river Saraswati which was at its majesty at that time) are stated to have birthed their son Manu. Later in this lineage, came Prithu, who is accorded the credit of devising the practice of ploughing by using bulls.  

This might explain why the original name of that precise area in Haryana is said to be Prithudak (present day Pehowa, Haryana). Even today, it is visited by Hindus and Sikhs to perform Pind Daan for their ancestors and loved ones.  

Coming back to the Nakshatr-based calendar, the Indic culture holds that this happened somewhere around 14000 BC. Without going into the nuances of chronological dating at this juncture, suffice it to mention here that the timeline of Indic civilisation mistakenly pegged by the colonial authors to the event of Alexander’s invasion, has fallen under serious challenge now by several contemporary researchers of repute. For instance, Dr. Vedveer Arya, a present day scholar specialising in INdic timeline and dating, has demonstrated how the western endeavour of force-aligning the Indic timeline with western sheet-anchors (Alexander’s conquests, Birth of Jesus etc) has introduced irreconcilable discrepancies of mammoth proportions in chronology. Dr Arya points out that in doing so, the colonial authors have allowed a gross error of as many as 1380 years to creep into otherwise neatly and meticulously kept chronology of Indic lineages. This error may not necessarily be attributable to some conspiracy. It might well be a case of lack of necessary intent, academic rigour or even suboptimal competence of the historians, who instead of undertaking original research, stood satiated merely in playing cheerleaders of the colonial authors who, in turn, were either misled or motivated. We shall delve deep into this intriguing discourse later in the book but suffice it to say here that, arguably, the Indic chronology dates far earlier in time than what is taught in our history books still possessed by colonial ghosts.

The author, not being even the shadow of an original researcher, does not make any claims as to the correct dating of Indic chronology. The author’s case is just that there is a serious need to now restore the chronology of Indic civilisation, based on independent and objective evidence of epigraphic, archeological, astronomical and scientific nature rather than force-aligned western sheet anchors.

A question should, however, have arisen in reader’s mind: if this flaw is so patent that even an amateur author could notice it, why has no one touched upon this subject? The answer is simple: because such amendments would not be limited to Indic chronology alone. Such a scholar would have to then reconcile the entire western chronology, since there are chronological cross-references between Indic and western timelines. However, despite such herculean proportions, a few of our committed scholars have accepted the challenge and have taken the assignment through a logical trajectory, if not conclusion. More on this in later chapters.

Indic Civilisation Is The Poster Child of Cultural Resilience 

The Indic civilization, one of the world’s oldest continuous cultural traditions, stayed harboured in the fertile riverine plains of the Indian subcontinent. For over five millennia, it has demonstrated remarkable resilience amidst continual historical disruptions. Unlike many cultures that, unfortunately, succumbed to the forces of conquest and cultural upheaval, Indic civilisation endured periods of invasion, empire-building, and ideological conflict without losing its core identity. While devastating incursions, such as those by the barbaric invaders, caused profound disruptions, they did not halt the ongoing evolution of a civilization anchored in rich philosophical thought and spiritual traditions.

This resilience is not merely a product of mythic fortitude.  The culture’s longevity is sustained by a synthesis of spiritualism, ethical frameworks rooted in Dharma, and a geographic and cultural landscape that has fostered survival and revival. Indic civilization’s endurance stems from these integrative elements, which have consistently adapted to historical challenges while largely preserving its core values.

While some cultures, in their youthful ardour, conceived to cast the world in the mould of universality, the Indic heart smiled with content beneath the banyan’s shade, tending to a nursery of several blooms. This culture wore plurality as an ornament, rewarded discordance  with coexistence and, thus, sponsored the coevolution of combating truths. Neils Bohr, a scientist needing no introduction, was an admirer of the Upanishadic expositions. Bohr once remarked  beautifully that the opposite of a fact is falsehood, but the opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth. His quote succinctly reflects the civilisational tradition of intellectual egalitarianism and mutual deference among dissenting minds. The Indic ethos holds that dissent be courted not crushed and contradiction be resolved not dissolved. Where other cultures would not mind solitary individualism, this culture extolled the idea of walking hand-in-hand even while carrying the burden of disagreement. This culture, thus, endured the sharpest of labour pains, necessary to beget the ideas of collectivism over individualism, assimilation over annihilation, and endurance over erasure.  

And in this visionary trajectory, the Indic culture has been breastfed by its scriptural treasure of the Vedas, Upanishads, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagvad Geeta and the like, which abound in insights germane to material as well as spiritual worlds, and which allow dynamic reinterpretation across eras. Indic concepts like Dharma (duty/ethics), Karma (cause-effect), and Moksha (liberation) have served as resilient frameworks for both individual and collective inquiry as to the ideal way of life.  

This civilisational landscape is a textbook case of cultural federalism, where a decentralised expanse of loosely connected city-states, kingdoms and local cultures, has not only allowed but aided the preservation of diverse cultural traditions, religious frameworks and knowledge systems. And finally, the sacred geography of this landscape has supplied the much-needed advantage that was instrumental in ensuring its survival through multiple invasions and natural calamities. From the northern mountains to the southern oceans, from the eastern hills to western deserts, the natural wealth of this civilisation was such that when one part was obliterated, another flourished.  

Continuity of Cultural Consciousness

A special sense of civilisational consciousness has allowed the Indic people to carry forward their cultural memory in spite of invasions and catastrophic torments. This consciousness is expressed through the stories of the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and the Puranas. Core ideas such as Dharma (moral duty), Karma (action and result), and Moksha (liberation) give stability to life and thought. Buddhism and Jainism added new insightful dimensions. Islam and Christianity interacted with and, at times, even counteracted Indic traditions, but the Dharmic worldview remained qualitatively resilient. Languages like Sanskrit and its later forms — Prakrit and Pali, and the modern Indo-Aryan languages — have carried forward knowledge and spirituality for thousands of years. This is why Indic civilisation remains a living memory, never cut off from its roots.

Rituals and Daily-Life Practices

Let us begin with an interesting practice that is sometimes seen during wedding ceremonies conducted in accordance with Vedic system, more methodically in Indian weddings in the South. This ceremony is called Tara Darshanam. The more accurate name is Arundhati Darshanam. Tara Darshanam refers to the ceremonial viewing of a specific star or stars during a Hindu wedding, typically at a highly auspicious time — such as Brahma Muhurta, which is considered the most sattvic (pure and spiritually charged) time of day in Hindu tradition for receiving cosmic blessings. 

Since time immemorial, this practice has been an integral part of the Vedic method of wedding ceremony. During Tara Darshanam, the couple is shown a specific bright star (actually a binary star system) named Arundhati-Vasistha (Alcor-Mizar) embedded in the handle of the Big Dipper/Saptarishi constellation. 

But why Arundhati & Vasistha? This is so because they are regarded as an ideal couple — symbolic of marital harmony, unity and virtue. How interesting it is to find out that Arundhati-Vasistha a visible binary star system, wherein Arundhati and Vashishtha revolve around a common centre of mass. The bride and groom are asked to view them together, symbolizing mutual respect, marital fidelity, spiritual companionship, equity and balance.  

Ancient Indic sages could distinguish Alcor and Mizar as binary star system with the naked eye from 83 light years away and then immortalise this couple through a puranic story for generations to remember and decipher: 

“...Arundhati is celebrated in Puranic legends as the devoted wife of the great sage Vashishtha, one of the revered Saptarishis (seven sages) who are believed to guide the moral and spiritual compass of the world. Her name is synonymous with pativrata dharma — the ideal of unwavering fidelity, inner strength, and spiritual equality within marriage. 

Born into a noble lineage, Arundhati is said to have been the daughter of Kardama Prajapati and Devahuti, or according to some versions, descended from Manu, the progenitor of mankind. From a young age, she was known not just for her beauty, but for her keen intellect, humility, and commitment to truth. When she married Vashishtha, she entered into a partnership not merely of domestic life, but of shared spiritual purpose. Together, they lived a life of ascetic discipline and teaching, and Arundhati stood beside Vashishtha not as a subordinate, but as an equal — a rarity in ancient tales. 

Her character was so deeply respected that she came to be seen as a spiritual authority in her own right.  

Legends abound in the Puranas that highlight her purity and spiritual power. In one story, when her chastity was questioned as part of a cosmic test, her inner fire blazed so powerfully that even celestial beings were humbled. The river Ganga, it is said, parted to give her way, such was the force of her virtue. Through her austerity and devotion, she earned a place among the stars as a much deserved celestial presence. ..”

To this date, when the wedding is complete, the bride and groom are taken outside under the night sky, and the priest points out to the Arundhati star. Imagine the wisdom and vision of the sages who symbolised the importance of a scared and spiritual matrimonial relationship by way of as beautiful a practice as Tara Darshanam, which has endured the onslaught of thousands of years and continues to thrive in the true champions who still revere the Vedic way of life.   

Thus, the most readily perceptible evidence of civilisational continuity is seen in the rituals and practices of this culture. The use of sindoor or vermilion, seen on Harappan figurines, continues today as a mark of pride and good fortune for married Indic women.⁷ The yajna or fire ritual, described in the Rigveda, is still performed in weddings and temple ceremonies, with chants that are largely unaltered since Vedic times. The essence of Sacred Bathing, visible in the Great Bath of Mohenjodaro, continues to manifest in Ganga bathing rituals and the Kumbh Mela, the largest religious gathering in the world. Ancestor-worship through Śrāddha rituals remains part of Hindu life, echoing Vedic commands to honour forefathers.⁸ Yoga and meditation, first described in the Upanishads and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, are today global practices but remain deeply rooted in India.⁹ The Taara Darshan custom in weddings, where couples are shown the binary star system of Arundhati and Vashishtha, symbolises marital complementarity and fidelity and has to be one of the oldest astronomical rituals still alive. Symbols like the Swastika, seen on Indus seals, and the sacred syllable Om remain central to Indian life. Ayurvedic texts dating back over 3,000 years outline dietary guidelines based on individual constitution (doshas), seasonality, and medicinal properties of foods, reflecting an ancient science of nutrition still practiced today. Spices like turmeric, cumin, coriander, and mustard seeds have continuous usage documented in Indus Valley artifacts forming the backbone of Indian culinary tradition. No wonder why Vasco da Gama’s return from India to Lisbon in 1499 was celebrated with fervour, as the cargo of spices he brought back was worth 60 times the cost of the voyage. Any guess what was in his cargo?

FESTIVALS AS CIVILISATIONAL MARKERS

Festivals serve as living symbols of continuity, uniting communities through shared cycles of time and rituals. Makar Sankranti and Pongal honor the sun's journey and the harvest, reflecting Vedic solar traditions. Diwali connects the lighting of lamps to Vedic fire worship and the tales of Rama and Krishna, representing the triumph of light over darkness. Holi sustains fertility and spring ceremonies, enriched with the stories of Prahlada and Krishna. Onam in Kerala and Baisakhi in Punjab uphold seasonal and agricultural customs. The Kumbh Mela, based on the legend of the Amrit Manthan, exemplifies continuity — a tradition of collective faith and ritual with astronomical roots that has flourished for thousands of years.¹⁰

Sacred Astronomy and Timekeeping

India’s love-affair with the cosmos is also a mark of cultural continuity. The system of 27 nakshatras, first described in the Rigveda, is still used for astrology, naming children, and fixing marriages.¹¹ The unique luni-solar calendar, or Panchangam, still decides the dates of festivals, religious rituals, and even farming. During eclipses, people still fast, bathe, and chant mantras — practices described in the ancient Dharmashastras.¹² Thus, even today, the sky and stars continue to guide the lives of millions of Indians, just as they did thousands of years ago.

Sacred Geography and Pilgrimage

The land of India itself is sacred and has preserved ancient traditions. Pilgrimages such as the Char Dham Yatra — Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri, and Rameswaram — link Vedic deities with Puranic stories and remain central to spiritual life. Rivers such as the Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Godavari, and Kaveri, praised in the Rigveda, are still honoured as divine mothers who nurture life.¹³ Sacred groves, preserved for centuries, continue to exist in Kerala (Sarpakavu) and in Meghalaya (Law Kyntang), where nature is treated as holy. These show a civilisational way of seeing geography itself as sacred, shaping identity and belonging.

Social and Cultural Systems as Continuity Markers

The  samskaras or life-cycle rituals, such as naming of a child (nāmakaraṇa) to marriage (vivāha), remain based on Vedic prescriptions and offer a structured spiritual journey through life.¹⁴ The Guru-shishya Parampara, where knowledge in philosophy, music, dance, and arts is passed orally from teacher to student, still survives. The joint family system, too, has continued as a way of collective living founded on the pillars of care, companionship, cohesion and cooperation that have always been part of Indic values.

Adaptive Continuity and Resilience

One of the greatest strengths of Indic civilisation is its ability to adapt without losing its essence. Buddhism and Jainism grew within its dharmic fold and added different strokes to it. Later, Islam and Christianity exerted influence on the Indian way of life, but its dharmic framework remained intact at its core.¹⁵ This resilience shows why the ethos of Indic civilisation has never broken down, even under barbaric coercion.