Upanishadic+Period+ca.+1000-450+BCE

The Upanishads are the sacred scriptures of Vedanta, a practice that emerged around 500 years after the Aryans invaded the Indus Valley. The new tradition was a reaction to the excessive ritualism of the Vedic religion, which followed a strict and exclusive hierarchy.

Core Upanishadic concepts
The Upanishads, which mean “sit next to me”, contains comments and explanations on the Vedas. Some of the Upanishadic beliefs are that the world is an illusion (//maya//), reincarnation (//samsara//), cause and effect (//karma//), non-duality of self (//advaita//), liberation from reincarnation (//moksa// or //nirvana//), personal soul (//atman//), and universe or cosmos (//Brahman//). Contrary to the Vedic tradition, the Vedanta religion is more accessible, and focuses on personal salvation instead of fear of punishment from the gods.

Development of different philosophies and Indian epics
Other religious and philosophic schools of thought originated around this period, such as coming of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, and Mahavira, the founder of Jainism. This is also the age of great Indian epics such as Ramayana, a great adventurous love story, and Mahabarata, a civil-war epic. These stories continue to be popular, and references to them can be found in movies and other art forms.  Little physical evidence of art can be found about this period. However, a new form of pottery, the northern polished black ware, was discovered by archaeologists.