Chronology of Hinduism

by Ryan Turner

Note: The following dates with c. in front of them are rough estimates.

Before 2000 B.C. – Existence of the Harappa culture of the Indus River valley
c. 2000 B.C. – Aryan migration into India
c. 1500 B.C. – Beginning of the creation of the Vedas and the development of Hindu polytheism
c. 1250 B.C. - Rig Veda hymns composed
c. 800 – 500 B.C. – Beginning of the creation of the Upanishads; this period also known as the Axis Age
c. 600 - Caste System Becoming Established
c. 500 - Upanishads Develop
c. 200 B.C. – 200 A.D. – Creation of the Bhagavad Gita
c. 200 A.D. - Laws of Manu Compiled
c. 300 A.D. - Early Puranas Composed
c. 400 A.D. - Shiva Cult Emerges
c. 550 A.D. - Bhakti Movement Begins
c. 700 A.D. - Caste System Becomes Very Complex
c. 788 – 820 A.D. – Life of the philosopher Shankara
1192 A.D. – Muslims enter into northern India
1498 A.D. – Portuguese enter into India
c. 1750 – 1947 A.D. – British domination of India
1836 - 1886 A.D. - Life of Ramakrishna
1850 A.D. - First English Translation of the Rig Veda
1863 - 1902 A.D. - Life of Vivekananda
1869 – 1948 A.D. – Life of political activist Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi
1888 - 1975 A.D. - Life of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
1893 A.D. - Vivekananda at the Parliament of World Religions in Chicago
1927 A.D. - Present - Life of Sathya Sai Baba
1947 A.D. – Acquisition of Indian political independence from the British.
1949 A.D. - Lowest Caste Made Illegal in India
1950 A.D. - India Constitution Established
1957 A.D. - Hindu Temple Opens in San Francisco, California
1966 A.D. - Hare Krishna (ISKCON) Founded
1994 A.D. - Harvard University Reports 800 Hindu Temples in U.S.

Sources

H. Wayne House, Charts of World Religions (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006), chart 57.
Michael Molloy, Experiencing the World’s Religions: Tradition, Challenge, and Change (Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing, 1999), p. 59.