Reference
Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300
An authoritative, interpretive history of early Indian society and states.
Later Vedic Polities
Tribal communities / janas
Level 2
c. 1,000–600 BCE
Territorial kingdoms (janapadas) emerge in the Ganga-Yamuna doab.
- Region
- Gangetic Plain
- Duration
- 400 years
- Main period
- Vedic Period Polities
Approximate extent.
Key events
| Year | Event | Place |
|---|---|---|
| c. 1,100 BCE | Iron comes into use in the Ganga plain In several regions of India the techniques of extracting and shaping iron were perfected from the early 2nd millennium BCE; iron metallurgy became the major new technology of the ‘Second Urbanisation’. |
Atranjikhera |
| c. 1,000 BCE | Painted Grey Ware settlements spread in the doab Iron use and larger agrarian settlements. |
Hastinapura |
| c. 1,000 BCE | Later Vedic texts: Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda There are four Vedas — the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda and the Atharva Veda — the most ancient texts of India and among the most ancient in the world, made up of thousands of hymns. |
Kuru-Panchala region |
📚 Recommended reading on the Later Vedic Polities
Textbook
Our Pasts I, II & III (Classes 6–8)
The simplest possible start: short, illustrated and the base of countless exam questions.
Textbook
Themes in Indian History, Parts I–III (Class 12)
Source-based chapters on Harappa, Vijayanagara, the Mughal court and 1857 — essential for UPSC.
Textbook
An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I (Class 11)
The standard base for art and architecture questions — stupas, temples and sculpture.
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📄 Research papers
Paper🏛 Library access
The formation of human populations in South and Central Asia
Ancient DNA from 523 individuals tracing how the peoples of the subcontinent formed.
Paper🏛 Library access
🇮🇳 Indian scholarship
The Theory of Aryan Race and India: History and Politics
How nineteenth-century 'Aryan race' ideas shaped the writing of early Indian history.
Paper🏛 Library access
🇮🇳 Indian scholarship
The Basis of Ancient Indian History (I)
Kosambi's method: reading ancient Indian history through how people produced and lived, with evidence from the field.
Paper🏛 Library access
🇮🇳 Indian scholarship
The Image of the Barbarian in Early India
How early Indian texts described outsiders — the mleccha — and what that reveals about society.
🕸 Connections 12 links
Explore connections full screen ↗Everything on YugMap linked to this page — and why. Hover a dot in the graph, or pick from the list.
🗂 Era 1
- Ancient IndiaPart of this era
⏳ Periods 1
- Vedic Period PolitiesBelongs to this period
🏛 Kingdoms & empires 1
- Magadha 700–321 BCEExisted at the same time (100 years)
⚔ Events 3
- Iron comes into use in the Ganga plain c. 1,100 BCEHappened in it
- Painted Grey Ware settlements spread in the doab c. 1,000 BCEHappened in it
- Later Vedic texts: Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda c. 1,000 BCEHappened in it
🔧 Technology 1
- Paddy transplantation c. 600–500 BCEMade or discovered in this time
📄 Research 3
- The formation of human populations in South and Central Asia Vagheesh M. Narasimhan, Nick Patterson, Priya Moorjani, et …Research on this topic
- The Theory of Aryan Race and India: History and Politics Romila Thapar · 1996Research on this topic
- The Basis of Ancient Indian History (I) D. D. Kosambi · 1955Research on this topic
📚 Books 2
- Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300 Romila ThaparRecommended reading
- Our Pasts I, II & III (Classes 6–8) NCERTRecommended reading
Contemporaries
Powers that coexisted with the Later Vedic Polities for a significant part of its history. The bar shows when, within its own span.
Magadha ★
East · c. 700–321 BCE
Overlap: 100 years
Chalcolithic Cultures
Central · c. 3,000–700 BCE
Overlap: 300 years
Kuru
North · c. 1,200–350 BCE
Overlap: 400 years
Gandhara
Northwest · c. 1,200–518 BCE
Overlap: 400 years
Panchala
Gangetic Plain · c. 1,100–350 BCE
Overlap: 400 years
Kosala
Gangetic Plain · c. 1,100–460 BCE
Overlap: 400 years
Videha
East · c. 1,100–600 BCE
Overlap: 400 years
Matsya
West · c. 1,100–350 BCE
Overlap: 400 years
Kashi
Gangetic Plain · c. 1,000–500 BCE
Overlap: 400 years
Chedi
Central · c. 1,000–300 BCE
Overlap: 400 years
Vatsa
Gangetic Plain · c. 1,000–400 BCE
Overlap: 400 years
Avanti
Central · c. 1,000–345 BCE
Overlap: 400 years
Surasena
North · c. 800–350 BCE
Overlap: 200 years
Kamboja
Northwest · c. 800–330 BCE
Overlap: 200 years
Anga
East · c. 700–540 BCE
Overlap: 100 years
Assaka / Asmaka
Deccan · c. 700–350 BCE
Overlap: 100 years
Kalinga
East · c. 700–261 BCE
Overlap: 100 years