# Historical Vedic Religion · The Canon · The Atlas · The Congregation of Tomorrow

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The Canon · No. 011
Historical Vedic Religion
Brahmanism; Vedism; the Shrauta tradition
c.1500 – c.500 BCE · Dharmic / Indian · Extinct · Punjab and the Ganges plain
II. THE FIRST CIVILISATIONS — c.3000 – 1000 BCE
### How many
### Who began it
### What it is for
### What it worships
### What it holds
### What it does
### After death
### Its texts
### Its branches
### Of note
### Its timeline
- c.1500–1200 BCE Rigveda composed in the Punjab.
- c.1200–900 BCE Eastward expansion into the Ganges plain; iron adopted; ritual grows enormously elaborate.
- c.900–600 BCE Brahmanas systematise sacrifice; the priesthood's power peaks.
- c.800–500 BCE Upanishads turn inward and effectively critique sacrifice from within — see entry 017.
- c.500 BCE Buddhist and Jain reformers reject the sacrificial system outright.
- c.400 BCE Panini's grammar fixes Sanskrit; oral transmission of the Vedas becomes astonishingly exact and remains so for 2,500 years.
### Sources
Verified 2026-09-13, against these.
- Smithsonian SOVA, The Agnicayana Ritual in India, 1975–76 (Staal and Gardner)
- Frits Staal
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