Culture Contours of the Vedic and Post Vedic Age

Present work entitled, Cultural Contours of Vedic and Post Vedic Age. The Vedic period was the cradle of not only the Indian civilization but perhaps that of the entire world. There is a raging debate going on for more than a century and a half for putting this civilization in a specific time frame without arriving at a definite conclusion that may not defy the evidence at hand. The ultimate solution may come from the age old Indian concept of sanatana, the one that does not have a beginning or an end. At least it is applicable to the Vedic culture whose continuity has never been challenged to this day. Beyond any doubt the Vedic culture can boast of the longest surviving culture as it is a living culture. What was practiced thousands of year ago is still followed by the people of this land.

Dr. Sushma (b.1970), working in the Deptt. of History at Devki Dev Jain Memorial College for women, Ludhiana. She is a young art historian with both practical and theoretical academic background. She completed her schooling from P.S.E.B., Mohali and completed her matriculation in 1988. She restarted her studies after a huge gap of thirteen year and did her bachelor's degree in art (2005) and passed M.A (History), in 2007 from Punjab University, Chandigarh, which is followed by a doctorate degree in history under the guidance of Dr. N.K. Ojha and eminent professor, Department of ancient history, culture and archaeology from Punjab University, Chandigarh in 2013. She completed her B.Ed. from Jammu University. She has participated in servel conference and seminar at National level and has published reaserch papers based on her original work. She has organized many events including a particular seminar an ICSSR Chandigarh. Sponsored seminar and she has also organized guest lecturers by inviting renowned professors.

Punjab, the land of five river, in the extreme north-west of the Indian subcontinent can literally be called the cradle of Indian civilization. The earliest traces of civilization and culture in India, be they literary or archaeological, foreign or indigenous, have all been found in this very region, known as Saptasindhu, the land of seven rivers comprising the Sindhu (the Indus), Vitasta (the Jhelum). Asikni or Chandrabhāgā (the Chenab), Parushni or Iravati (the Ravi), Vipasa (the Beas), Satudri (the Sutlej) and the Sarsvati to the Vedic people. Geographically it covered the entire region between the Indus in the north-west and the Yamuna in the south-east. For the student and scholar of history as well as historical geography the entire region from Peshawar to Delhi forms Punjab comprising present day Pakistan, Indian territories of Punjab, Haryana and parts of Himachal Pradesh.

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