Hinduism · Texts & transmission
Vedic hymns take shape
c. 1500–900 BCE
Sanskrit hymns and ritual formulas accumulated in the collections known as the Vedas. Their transmission depended on recitation and teaching. They became a major foundation for later Hindu traditions, whose histories also draw on many other regional practices and communities.
Why it matters
Beginning with an evolving body of teachings avoids assigning Hinduism a single founder, birthday, or place where every tradition began.
About the date
Broad composition range; oral traditions precede surviving manuscripts.