Āryāvarta

thumb|The approximate extent of Āryāvarta during the late [[Vedic period (ca. 1100-500 BCE). Aryavarta was limited to northwest India and the western Ganges plain, while Greater Magadha in the east was habitated by non-Vedic Indo-Aryans and other people, who gave rise to Jainism and Buddhism.]]

thumb|Vedic India

alt=|thumb|Cemetery H, Late Harappan, OCP, Copper Hoard and Painted Grey ware sites.

Āryāvarta (Sanskrit: आर्यावर्त, , ) is a term for the northern Indian subcontinent in the ancient Hindu texts such as Dharmashastras and Sutras, referring to the areas of the Indo-Gangetic Plain 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

thumb|right|Course of the Ganges; Ganges-Yamuna doab western part of the green area.

thumb|right|The 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 and north of the Vindhyas, but in BDS 1.1.2.11 Āryāvarta is confined to the doab of the Ganges-Yamuna. 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 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 and the Vindhya Ranges, from the Eastern Sea (Bay of Bengal) to the Western Sea (Arabian Sea)".

The Manava Dharmasastra (ca.150-250 CE) gives aryavarta as stretching from the eastern to the western seas, which Bronkhorst directly associates with the growing sphere of influence of the Brahmanical ideology.

Greater Magadha and its association with Aryavarta

Following the description of Aryavarta in early Brahmanical sources, Bronkhorst notes that the Greater Magadha area was outside Aryavarta, the heartland of Vedic Brahmanism, and proposes that "Greater Magadha" had a distinct culture. According to Norelius, Wynne and Witzel questioned the supposed lesser influence of Brahmanisation in early Magadha, or Bronkhorst's proposed revision of textual chronology, while Fynne criticised Bronkhorst for overlooking the role of socioeconomic and political developments in shaping new ideological trends.

In his 2011 review, Wynne calls Bronkhorst's argument "compelling" and "persuasive," but also notes that "Bronkhorst [...] argues that the ideas of karma, rebirth, and liberation originated within Greater Magadha," proposing later dates for some Upanishads to make this possible. Yet according to Wynne, "[t]his is problematic, however, because these ideas are stated in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka and Chāndogya Upaniṣads--texts usually assigned to the sixth or fifth century BCE, early enough to suppose an origin within the sphere of Vedic religion."

Additionally, Patrick Olivelle, writing in 1993, is critical of scholars who portray the Śramaṇa seers of Magadha as non-Brahmanical, anti-Brahmanical, or even non-Aryan precursors of later sectarian ascetics. According to Olivelle, scholars who attempt to draw such sharp divisions are reaching conclusions that far exceed the available empirical evidence.

Other regional designations

The Manusmṛti mentions Brahmavarta as the region between the Sarasvati and the Drishadvati in northwest India. 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 mlecchas, 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 and the Yamuna to the confluence of the two rivers at Prayaga, and was the region where, during the time of the Mahajanapadas, the Kuru kingdom and Pañcāla existed. The entire region is considered sacred in the Hindu mythology as gods and heroes mentioned in the two epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharata, lived here.

Political history

Kanyakubja or modern day Kannauj was a central city of Aryavarta and was used as capital-city from 510 CE to 1197 CE under Maukharis, Harshavardhana, Varmans, Pratiharas and Gahadavala dynasty.

The Gurjara-Pratihara 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.

Notes

References

Sources

;Printed sources

;Web-sources