Ancient India tells the story of the first Indian civilizations of the Harappan, and Indo-Iranian Vedic Age / Hinduism, while briefly touching on the Dravidians. The emergence of Buddhism and Jainism is also in the documentary along with the Second Urbanisation and the Mahajanapadas.

The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation, was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form from 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE. Together with ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, it was one of three early civilisations of the Near East and South Asia, and of the three, the most widespread.

The civilisation's cities were noted for their urban planning, baked brick houses, elaborate drainage systems, water supply systems, clusters of large non-residential buildings, and new techniques in handicraft (carnelian products, seal carving) and metallurgy (copper, bronze, lead, and tin). The large cities of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa very likely grew to contain between 30,000 and 60,000 individuals, and the civilisation itself during its florescence may have contained between one and five million individuals.

Gradual drying of the region's soil during the 3rd millennium BCE may have been the initial spur for the urbanisation associated with the civilisation, but eventually weaker monsoons and reduced water supply caused the civilisation's demise, and caused its population to scatter eastward and southward.

The Indus civilisation is also known as the Harappan Civilisation, after its type site, Harappa, the first of its sites to be excavated early in the 20th century

The Harappan language is not directly attested, and its affiliation uncertain as the Indus script has remained undeciphered. A relationship with the Dravidian or Elamo-Dravidian language family is favoured by a section of scholars.

The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (c. 1500 – c. 500 BCE), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (ca. 1300–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, between the end of the Urban Indus Valley Civilisation and a second urbanisation which began in the central Indo-Gangetic Plain c. 600 BCE. The Vedas are liturgical texts which formed the basis of modern day Hinduism, which also developed in the Kuru Kingdom. The Vedas contain details of life during this period that have been interpreted to be historical and constitute the primary sources for understanding the period.

Around c. 1200–1000 BCE Vedic culture spread eastward to the fertile western Ganges Plain. Iron tools were adopted, which allowed for the clearing of forests and the adoption of a more settled, agricultural way of life. The second half of the Vedic period was characterised by the emergence of towns, kingdoms, and a complex social differentiation distinctive to India, and the Kuru Kingdom's codification of orthodox sacrificial ritual. During this time, the central Ganges Plain was dominated by a related but non-Vedic culture, of Greater Magadha. The end of the Vedic period witnessed the rise of true cities and large states (called mahajanapadas) as well as śramaṇa movements (including Jainism and Buddhism) which challenged the Vedic orthodoxy.

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0:00 Intro
1:59 Indus Valley Civilization
6:28 Vedic Period
9:13 Hinduism
10:55 Mahajanapadas
12:07 Jainism and Buddhism
15:30 Conclusion

All images used with CC license.
Music used:
River Fire by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4294-river-fire
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Hidden Wonders by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3874-hidden-wonders
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license