Historic & Prehistoric ages - Still a mystery!!!

Posted on March 19, 2014
Location: London
Historic & Prehistoric ages - Still a mystery!!!

Dwapara Yuga is the third out of four yugas, or ages or era of human existence, described in the Puranas (ancient scripts on Hinduism). This yuga comes after Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga and before Kali Yuga (current one that we are living now). According to the Puranas (ancient scripts on Hinduism) this Yuga ended at the moment when Krishna returned to his eternal abode of Vaikuntha. According to the Bhagavata Purana, the Dvapara Yuga lasted 864,000 years. And then after, the KALI YUGA started, which we are living now.

Fine!  If these four eras and end of each era were mentioned in Hindu Puranas; then what is the actual meaning of end-of-era? Did it mean, all living beings, lived in one era died, and a completely different set were reproduced? I struggled to find an answer to this question since my childhood. Even today I struggle.

The earliest traces of human existence in India, so far discovered, go back to the period between 400,000 and 200,000 BC. The large number of primitive stone tools found in the Soan Valley and South India suggests this.

Primitive man in the Paleolithic (Stone) Age, which lasted till 8000 BC, used tools and implements of rough stone. Man was essentially a food gatherer and depended on nature for food.

Man learnt to control fire, which helped him to improve his way of living. At the end of this age, the modern human being (Homo Sapiens) first appeared - around 36,000 BC.

From 8000 BC, the Mesolithic age began and continued up to 4000 BC in India. During this time, sharp and pointed tools were used for killing fast-moving animals. The beginning of plant cultivation also appeared. Chotanagpur plateau, central India and south of the river Krishna are some of the various Mesolithic sites. 

Neolithic (New Stone Age) settlements in the Indian sub-continent are not older than 4000 BC. Man began to domesticate animals and cultivate plants, settling down in villages to form farming communities. The wheel was an important discovery.

Around the beginning of the third millennium BC, a culture appeared to the south-east of Baluchistan, which evolved into what is now known as the Indus Valley or Harappan civilization.

Towards the end of the Neolithic period, metals like bronze and copper began to be used. This was the Chalcolithic phase (1800 BC to 1000 BC). Chalcolithic cultures extended from the Chotanagpur plateau to the upper Gangetic basin. Some of the sites of this era are Brahmgiri (near Mysore) and Navada Toli on the Narmada.

History says Mahabharata war was fought in 900 BC. And it is believed that Mahabharata war happened towards end of Dwapara Yuga . If Dwapara Yuga lasted about 864,000 years in total; what does it mean? In initial part of Dwapara Yuga; people didn’t know how to communicate? They were all living in Jungles like animal? If that is the case in Dwapara Yuga, what was the scene in Treta Yuga and Satya Yuga?  We watched epic of “Ramayana” in television, where all the characters spoke so well in Sanskrit/Hindi and they dressed up so well. Ramayana believed to have set during Treta Yuga. If in Dwapara Yuga itself people didn’t know how to communicate and were living in Jungles like animals, how all these were possible in Treta Yuga or the era before Treta Yuga, which was Satya Yuga? I am just passionately curious! Are we? There are many theories and many scripts. Some of them differ too!!!

Ancient Age

2700 BC  

Harappa Civilisation

1000 BC  

Aryans expand into the Ganga valley

900 BC  

Mahabharata War

800 BC  

Aryans expand into Bengal; Beginning of the Epic Age: Mahabharata composed, first version of Ramayana

550 BC  

Composition of the Upanishads

544 BC  

Buddha's Nirvana

327 BC  

Alexander's Invasion

325 BC  

Alexander marches ahead

324 BC  

Chandragupta Maurya defeats Seleacus Nicator

322 BC  

Rise of the Mauryas; Chandragupta establishes first Indian Empire

298 BC  

Bindusara Coronated

272 BC  

Ashoka begins reign ; Exclusive Interview with Ashoka

180 BC  

Fall of the Mauryas ; Rise of the Sungas

145 BC  

Chola king conquers Ceylon

58 BC  

Epoch of the Krita-Malava-Vikram Era

30 BC  

Rise of the Satvahana Dynasty in the Deccan

40 AD  

Sakas in power in Indus Valley and Western India

50 AD  

The Kushans and Kanishkas

78 AD  

Saka Era begins

320 AD  

Chandragupta I establishes the Gupta dynasty

360 AD  

Samudragupta conquers the North and most of the Deccan

380 AD  

Chandragupta II comes to power; Golden Age of Gupta Literary Renaissance

405 AD  

Fa-hein begins his travels through the Gupta Empire

415 AD  

Accession of Kumara Gupta I

467 AD  

Skanda Gupta assumes power

476 AD  

Birth of astronomer Aryabhatta

606 AD  

Accession of Harshavardhan Gupta

622 AD  

Era of the Hejira begins

711 AD  

Invasion of Sind by Muhammad Bin Qasim

892 AD  

Rise of the Eastern Chalukyas

985 AD  

The Chola Dynasty: Accession of Rajaraja, the Great

1001 AD  

Defeat of Jaipal by Sultan Mahumd

 

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