Āryāvarta
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Āryāvarta (
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
: आर्यावर्त, ,Aryavarta
Monier Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary (1899)
) is a term for the northern
Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...
in the ancient
Hindu texts Hindu texts or Hindu scriptures are manuscripts and voluminous historical literature which are related to any of the diverse traditions within Hinduism. Some of the major Hindus, Hindu texts include the Vedas, the Upanishads, and the Itihasa. ...
such as ''Dharmashastras'' and ''Sutras'', referring to the areas of the
Indo-Gangetic Plain The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the Northern Plain or North Indian River Plain, is a fertile plain spanning across the northern and north-eastern part of the Indian subcontinent. It encompasses North India, northern and East India, easte ...
and surrounding regions settled during and after the Indo-Aryan migrations by Indo-Aryan tribes and where Indo-Aryan religion and rituals predominated. The limits of ''Āryāvarta'' extended over time, as reflected in the various sources, as the influence of the Brahmanical ideology spread eastwards in post-Vedic times.


Geographical boundaries


Ganges-Yamuna doab

The Baudhayana ''Dharmasutra'' (BDS) 1.1.2.10 (perhaps compiled in the 8th to 6th centuries BCE) declares that Āryāvarta is the land that lies west of Kālakavana, east of Adarsana, south of the
Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...
and north of the Vindhyas, but in BDS 1.1.2.11 Āryāvarta is confined to the doab of the
Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...
-
Yamuna The Yamuna (; ) is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Bandarpunch peaks of the Low ...
. BDS 1.1.2.13-15 considers people from beyond this area as of mixed origin, and hence not worthy of emulation by the Aryans. Some sutras recommend expiatory acts for those who have crossed the boundaries of Aryavarta. Baudhayana ''Srautasutra'' recommends this for those who have crossed the boundaries of Aryavarta and ventured into far away places. The '' Vasistha Dharma Sutra'' (oldest sutras ca. 500–300 BCE) I.8-9 and 12-13 locates the Āryāvarta to the east of the disappearance of the
Sarasvati River The Sarasvati River () is a Apotheosis, deified myth, mythological Rigvedic rivers, river first mentioned in the Rigveda and later in Vedas, Vedic and post-Vedic texts. It played an important role in the Historical Vedic religion, Vedic religio ...
in the desert, to the west of the Kālakavana, to the north of the Pariyatra Mountains and the Vindhya Range and to the south of the Himalayas. Patanjali's (mid-2nd century BCE) defines Āryāvarta like the '' Vashistha Dharmasutra''. According to Bronkhost, he "situates it essentially in the Ganges plan, between the Thar desert in the west and the confluence of the rivers Ganges (Ganga) and Jumna (Yamuna) in the east."


From sea to sea

The '' Manusmṛti'' (dated between 2nd cent. BCE to 3rd cent. CE) (2.22) gives the name to "the tract between the
Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than 100 pea ...
and the Vindhya Ranges, from the Eastern Sea (
Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...
) to the Western Sea (
Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...
)". The ''Manava Dharmasastra'' (ca.150-250 CE) gives ''aryavarta'' as stretching from the eastern to the western seas, reflecting the growing sphere of influence of the Brahmanical ideology.


Loss of northwest India

The post-Vedic period of the Second Urbanisation saw a decline of Brahmanism. With the growth of cities, which threatened the income and patronage of the rural Brahmins; the rise of Buddhism; and the Indian campaign of Alexander the Great (327-325 BCE), the rise of the
Maurya Empire The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia with its power base in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around c. 320 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary source ...
(322-185 BCE), and the
Saka The Saka, Old Chinese, old , Pinyin, mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit (Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples, Eastern Iranian peoples who lived in the Eurasian ...
invasions and rule of northwestern India (2nd c. BC - 4th c. CE), Brahmanism faced a grave threat to its existence. The decline of Brahmanism was overcome by providing new services and incorporating the non-Vedic Indo-Aryan religious heritage of the eastern Ganges plain and local religious traditions, giving rise to the Hindu synthesis.


Other regional designations

The ''Manusmṛti'' mentions '' Brahmavarta'' as the region between the Sarasvati and the Drishadvati in
northwest India Northwest India is a loosely defined administrative divisions of India, region of India. In modern-day, it consists of north-western states of the India, Republic of India. In historical contexts, it refers to the northwestern Indian subcontin ...
. The text defines the area as the place where the "good" people are born, the twice-born who adhere to the Vedic dharma, in contrast to the '' mleccha''s, who live outside the Aryan territory and Vedic traditions. The precise location and size of the region has been the subject of academic uncertainty. Some scholars, such as the archaeologists Bridget Allchin and Raymond Allchin, believe the term ''Brahmavarta'' to be synonymous with Aryavarta. '' Madhyadesa'' extended from the upper reaches of the
Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...
and the
Yamuna The Yamuna (; ) is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Bandarpunch peaks of the Low ...
to the
confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...
of the two rivers at Prayaga, and was the region where, during the time of the
Mahajanapadas The Mahājanapadas were sixteen Realm, kingdoms and aristocracy, aristocratic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE, during the History of India#Second urbanisation (c. 600 – 200 BCE), second urbanis ...
, the Kuru Kingdom and Pañcāla existed. The entire region is considered sacred in the
Hindu mythology Hindu mythology refers to the collection of myths associated with Hinduism, derived from various Hindu texts and traditions. These myths are found in sacred texts such as the Vedas, the Itihasas (the ''Mahabharata'' and the ''Ramayan ...
as gods and heroes mentioned in the two epics, the ''
Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...
'' and ''
Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...
'', lived here.


Political history

Kanyakubja or modern day
Kannauj Kannauj (Hindustani language, Hindustani pronunciation: ) is an ancient city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar palika, Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Ut ...
was a central city of Aryavarta and was used as capital-city from 510 CE to 1197 CE under Maukharis,
Harshavardhana Harshavardhana (Sanskrit: हर्षवर्धन; 4 June 590 – 647) was an emperor of Kannauj from April 606 until his death in 647. He was the king of Thanesar who had defeated the Alchon Huns, and the younger brother of Rajya ...
, Varmans,
Pratiharas The Pratihara dynasty, also called the Gurjara-Pratiharas, the Pratiharas of Kannauj or the Imperial Pratiharas, was a prominent medieval Indian dynasty which ruled over the Kingdom of Kannauj. It initially ruled the Gurjaradesa until its vict ...
and Gahadavala dynasty. The
Gurjara-Pratihara The Pratihara dynasty, also called the Gurjara-Pratiharas, the Pratiharas of Kannauj or the Imperial Pratiharas, was a prominent medieval Indian dynasty which ruled over the Kingdom of Kannauj. It initially ruled the Gurjaradesa until its vi ...
king in the tenth century was titled the ''Maharajadhiraja of Aryavarta''. Devapala, the emperor of Pala Empire was known to be the ''Overlord of Aryavarta''.


See also

* Names of India * Indo-Aryan migrations * Bharata Khanda * Airyanem Vaejah, its Zoroastrian counterpart *
History of India Anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. The earliest known human remains in South Asia date to 30,000 years ago. Sedentism, Sedentariness began in South Asia around 7000 BCE; ...


Notes


References


Sources

;Printed sources * * * * * * * ;Web-sources


Further reading

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aryavarta Vedic period Places in Hindu mythology Historical Indian regions North India