Historical Vedic religion Historical Vedic religion The historical Vedic religion (also known as Vedism, Brahmanism, Vedic Brahmanism, and ancient Hinduism) refers to the religious ideas and practices among Indo-Aryan-speaking peoples of ancient India after about 1500 BCE. These ideas and practices are found in the Vedic texts, and they were one of the major influences that shaped contemporary Hinduism. According to the "Encyclopædia Britannica", in the Hindu tradition and particularly in India, the Vedic religion is considered to be a part of Hinduism. According to Heinrich von Stietencron, in the 19th century western publications, the Vedic religion was believed to be different from
Vedas for Indo-European studies was also recognized in the early 19th century. English translations of the Samhitas were published in the later 19th century, in the "Sacred Books of the East" series edited by Müller between 1879 and 1910. Ralph T. H. Griffith also presented English translations of the four Samhitas, published 1889 to 1899. Voltaire regarded Vedas to be exceptional, he remarked that: Rigveda manuscripts were selected for inscription in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in 2007. Vedas The Vedas (; Sanskrit: "", "knowledge") are a large body of religious texts originating in the ancient India. Composed in Vedic