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Āryāvarta (: आर्यावर्त, , Aryavarta, Monier Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary (1899) ) is a term for the northern Indian subcontinent in the ancient such as Dharmashastras and , referring to the areas of the Indo-Gangetic Plain and surrounding regions settled during and after the Indo-Aryan migrations by Indo-Aryan tribes and where Indo-Aryan religion and rituals predominated. The limits of Āryāvarta extended over time, as reflected in the various sources, as the influence of the spread eastwards in post-Vedic times.

(1989). 9789004090606, BRILL.


Geographical boundaries

Ganges-Yamuna doab
The Baudhayana Dharmasutra (BDS) 1.1.2.10 (perhaps compiled in the 8th to 6th centuries BCE) declares that Āryāvarta is the land that lies west of Kālakavana, east of Adarsana, south of the and north of the Vindhyas, but in BDS 1.1.2.11 Āryāvarta is confined to the of the -. BDS 1.1.2.13-15 considers people from beyond this area as of mixed origin, and hence not worthy of emulation by the Aryans. Some sutras recommend expiatory acts for those who have crossed the boundaries of Aryavarta. Baudhayana Srautasutra recommends this for those who have crossed the boundaries of Aryavarta and ventured into far away places.Agarwal, Vishal: Is there Vedic evidence for the Indo-Aryan Immigration to India

The Vasistha Dharma Sutra (oldest sutras ca. 500–300 BCE) I.8-9 and 12-13 locates the Āryāvarta to the east of the disappearance of the in the desert, to the west of the Kālakavana, to the north of the Pariyatra Mountains and the Vindhya Range and to the south of the Himalayas.

's (mid-2nd century BCE) defines Āryāvarta like the Vashistha Dharmasutra. According to Bronkhost, he "situates it essentially in the Ganges plan, between the in the west and the confluence of the rivers Ganges (Ganga) and Jumna (Yamuna) in the east."


From sea to sea
The Manusmṛti (dated between 2nd cent. BCE to 3rd cent. CE) (2.22) gives the name to "the tract between the and the , from the Eastern Sea (Bay of Bengal) to the Western Sea ()".Michael Cook (2014), Ancient Religions, Modern Politics: The Islamic Case in Comparative Perspective, Princeton University Press, p.68: "Aryavarta ... is defined by Manu as extending from the Himalayas in the north to the Vindhyas of Central India in the south and from the sea in the west to the sea in the east."

The Manava Dharmasastra (ca.150-250 CE) gives aryavarta as stretching from the eastern to the western seas, which Bronkhorst directly associates with the growing sphere of influence of the Brahmanical ideology.


Greater Magadha and its association with Aryavarta
The post-Vedic period of the Second Urbanisation saw a decline of Vedic ritualism or Brahmanism. According to Bronkhorst, Greater Magadha was outside Aryavarta, the heartland of Vedic Brahmanism west of this confluence, which he claims was primarily associated with a single state, the Kuru kingdom. According to Bronkhorst, the various emperors of Magadha had little interest in Brahmanism, and the conquest of the Vedic heartland by the Nanda and Maurya rulers deprived the Brahmins of their patrons, threatening the survival of the Vedic ritual tradition and creating opportunities for Buddhists and Jains to spread their religions outside the confines of Magadha.

According to Bronkhorst, the Brahmins overcame their deprivation of patrons by providing new services and by incorporating the non-Vedic Indo-Aryan religious heritage of the eastern Ganges plain along with local religious traditions, giving rise to the .

However, several other Indologists and scholars have criticised Johannes Bronkhorst's claim of a sharp cultural divide between east and west, the supposed lesser influence of Brahmanisation in early Magadha, and his proposed revision of textual chronology, while also criticising him for overlooking the role of socioeconomic and political developments in shaping new ideological trends.

(2023). 9789004546004, BRILL. .

is especially critical of all those who see Śramaṇa seers of Magadha as non-Brahmanical, anti-Brahmanical, or even non-Aryan precursors of later sectarian ascetics. According to Olivelle, these scholars are trying to draw conclusions that far outstrip the available empirical evidence.

(1993). 9780195344783, Oxford University Press. .

Alexander Wynne asserts that unorthodox Brahmin thinkers in the eastern gangetic plains developed the ideas that triggered the ascetic and philosophical culture Bronkhorst associates with Greater Magadha.


Other regional designations
The Manusmṛti mentions as the region between the and the Drishadvati in . The text defines the area as the place where the "good" people are born, the twice-born who adhere to the Vedic dharma, in contrast to the s, who live outside the Aryan territory and Vedic traditions.
(2025). 9788120831100, Motilal Banarsidass.
The precise location and size of the region has been the subject of academic uncertainty.
(1989). 9789004090606, BRILL. .
Some scholars, such as the archaeologists and , believe the term Brahmavarta to be synonymous with Aryavarta.
(1982). 9780521285506, Cambridge University Press. .

extended from the upper reaches of the and the to the of the two rivers at , and was the region where, during the time of the , the and Pañcāla existed. The entire region is considered sacred in the as gods and heroes mentioned in the two epics, the and , lived here.

(1984). 9788170171898, Abhinav Publications. .
(2025). 9788180690198, Concept Publishing Company. .


Political history
or modern day was a central city of Aryavarta and was used as capital-city from 510 CE to 1197 CE under , , Varmans, Pratiharas and Gahadavala dynasty.
(2025). 9789380607283, Primus Books. .
(2025). 9780391041738, E.J. Brill. .
(1989). 9789004092495, E.J. Brill. .
(1992). 9788120804456, Motilal Banarsidas. .
(2025). 9789004483002, E.J. Brill. .

The Gurjara-Pratihara king in the tenth century was titled the Maharajadhiraja of Aryavarta.

(2025). 9780391041738, BRILL. .
Devapala, the emperor of was known to be the Overlord of Aryavarta.


See also


Notes

Sources
Printed sources

Web-sources


Further reading

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