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have mutually influenced each other right from the very beginning of Indian history. Though we can see them separately at the intellectual level on the basis of their own individual characteristics, however, on the practical plane they cannot be separated.
Rgveda, is the oldest of Indian scripture. On the one hand it mentions Vedic society and Vedic rituals, on the other it not only mentions Vrātyas, Śramaņas and Arhats but has also expressed reverence for Tirthankaras of Jaina tradition such as Rsabha and Aristanemi, etc. This shows that in the very beginning of historical period these two cultures were concurrently prevalent. Saivism and Sankhya-Yoga traditions, which belonged to nivartaka or Śraman atradition, originally got merged into the broader Hindu tradition.
The excavations of Harappa and Mohen-Jo-Daro reveal that there existed a very high level of culture in India even before Vedic culture which laid great emphasis on tapas, meditation etc. The discovery of the seals of mendicant yogis from excavations and absence of Yajña-salas prove an important point - that it represented the culture of tapas and dhyana or in short Śramana culture or culture of Vratis. It is certain that the arrival of Āryans and the beginning the Vedic period showed both the streams flowing simultaneously and influencing each other substantially. The low shown for Vratyas in the Ṛgveda, has changed into high esteem for them in the Atharvaveda which is a symbol of the intermingling of two streams.
The concepts of tapas, renunciation, detachment, meditation, concentration, liberation, non-violence etc. that did not exist in early Vedic hymns and ritualistic Brahmana literature, came into existence in later literature like Aranyakas and post
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