The Vedic period
The speakers of Indo-Aryan language, Sanskrit, entered the north-west India from the Indo-Iranian region.
Their initial settlements were in the valleys of the north-west and the plains of the Punjab. Later, they moved into Indo-Gangetic plains.
By 6th century B.C., they occupied the whole of North India, which was referred to as Aryavarta.
This period between 1500 B.C and 600 B.C may be divided into-
-The Early Vedic Period or Rig Vedic Period (1500 B.C -1000 B.C)
-The Later Vedic Period (1000B.C - 600 B.C).
Different scholars have identified different regions as the original home of the Aryans, includes the Arctic region, Germany, Central Asia and southern Russia.
The Vedic literature consists of the four Vedas – Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva.
-The Rig Veda is the earliest of the four Vedas and it consists of 1028 hymns.
-The Yajur Veda consists of various details of rules to be observed at the time of sacrifice
-The Sama Veda is set to tune for the purpose of chanting during sacrifice. It is called the book of chants and the origins of Indian music are traced in it.
-The Atharva Veda contains details of rituals.
Besides the Vedas,there are other sacred works like the Brahmanas, the Upanishads, the Aranyakas and the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata.
-The Brahmanas are the treatises relating to prayer and sacrificial ceremony.
-The Upanishads are philosophical texts dealing with topic like the soul, the absolute, the origin of the world and the mysteries of nature.
-The Aranyakas are called forest books and they deal with mysticism, rites, rituals and sacrifices.
-The author of Ramayana was Valmiki and that of Mahabharata was Vedavyas.
