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
Ancient warfare disoriented soldiers, subsequently weakened from the previous attacks. During the Vedic period (fl. 1500–500 BC), the "Vedas" and other associated texts contain references to warfare. The earliest allusions to a specific battle are those to the Battle of the Ten Kings in Mandala 7 of the Rigveda. The two great ancient epics of India, "Ramayana" and "Mahabharata" (c. 1000–500 BC) are centered on conflicts and refer to military formations, theories of warfare and esoteric weaponry. Valmiki's "Ramayana" describes Ayodhya's military as defensive rather than aggressive. The city, it says, was strongly fortified and was surrounded by a deep moat. "Ramayana"