[Manalisa Mazumdar]

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Sanatan Dharma is a religion that evolved in the Indian Peninsula over many years. The meaning of Sanatan Dharma is eternal law or eternal order. It is quite hard to point at the exact origin of Sanatan Dharma but it can be dated back to 4000 years in the Indus Valley Civilisation.

There has been evidence of idol worship in the Indus Valley Civilisation though they are not explicit. Seals with figures in yogic postures, female figures, bulls and other animals have been found at the sites. Shiva Linga has also been found by archaeologists.

The first mention of Sanatan Dharma can be found in the Rig Veda between 1500 BCE TO 500 BCE. This time was known as the Vedic period.

When the Aryans came to the Indian Peninsula, they brought their culture and religion along with them. The Indo-Aryan Vedic religion was a result of the blend between the indigenous religions and the Aryan religion.

There are Four Vedas in the Vedic Religion: Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda. There are other important texts like the Upanishads and the Puranas which gave insights into the four Vedas. The earliest Upanishad was written in 1200 BCE and the Puranas were written between 500 BCE to 1000 CE. This was also the time when the epics Mahabharata and Ramayana were written. During this period, the deities Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva started becoming popular and Devi, the female goddess, also started emerging.

The religions of Buddhism and Jainism also started emerging during the 5th century BCE. These religions have taken aspects and elements from Hinduism and are therefore considered a part of Hinduism. Some scholars believe that the Bhagavad Gita was written during Ashoka’s rule in the 3rd century BCE. The Manava Dharma Shastra, popularly known as the Manusmriti, the book of Hindu dharma, was written in the 1st century BCE during Vikramaditya Maurya’s rule.

Hinduism started spreading across other parts of Southeast Asia gradually during the 3rd century CE. The Mahabharata was completed between 4th to 6th century CE.

From the 7th to 12th century CE, the invasion of other rulers from other parts of the world causes Hinduism to lose influence in India. From the 12th to 16th century CE, the various Hindu beliefs and practices started unifying probably because of the threat that the invaders had caused.

During the 17th century, the Maratha warriors were able to defeat the invaders and establish the influence of Hinduism in India once more.

When India was colonised by the British, there was a sort of Hindu Renaissance in India where various scholars started to get interested in the history of Hinduism and also in Hindu Philosophy. In the West, there was an increasing interest in the Hindu traditions.

Today, Sanatan Dharma is followed by approximately 1 billion people in India and it is also followed by millions of people all over the world.

Sanatan Dharma has evolved tremendously over millennia. It is a very ancient religion which has various complex aspects to it.

 

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