YOGA CHRONOLOGY

B.C

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c. 2500 – 1800IIndus civilization
c. 1800 – 1300Gradual invasion of India by the Vedic Aryans, hailing from central Russia.
c. 1200Probable date of the legendary Rishabha, the first `ford-maker` of Jainism.
c. 1200 – 1000Composition of the hymns of the Rig-Veda in archaic Sanskrit.
c. 1000The great war between the Pandavas (Arjuna`s clan) and the Kauravas reported in the Mahabharata epic.
c. 1000 – 900Composition of the magical hymns of the Atharva-Veda.
c. 1000 – 800Composition of the Brahmanas, works explaining and serving the sacrificial ritualism of the priestly estate of the Vedic society.
c. 850Yajnavalkya, ancient India`s most famous sage.
c. 800Vedic Aryan society spreads to northeast India; composition of the earliest Upanishads, such as the Brihad-Aranyaka and the Chandogya.
c. 700Beginnings of the medical teachings of the Sushruta-Samhita, a principal work on Ayur-Veda, north India`s native medical system.
c. 600The rise of the culture of Magadha (in the north- eastern corner of the Indian peninsula) which spawned the great heterodox traditions of Buddhism and Jainism; era of the sage Kapila, founder of the Samkhya tradition.
c. 599 -527Bardhamana Mahavira, founder of historical Jainism.
c. 563 – 483Guatama Siddhartha, the Buddha, founder of Buddhism, whose dates are sometimes given as 588 – 478.
c. 500 or 600Kanada, author of the Vaisheshika-Sutra, principal work of the Vaisheshika tradition within Hinduism; also probably time of Gautama, founder of the Nyaya tradition and composer of the NyayaSutra
c. 500Earliest portions of the Mahabharata epic.
c. 400 – 450Composition of the Katha-Upanishad, oldest Upanishadic work dealing explicitly with yoga.
c. 350Composition of the original Bhagavad-Gita, which later was incorporated into the Mahabharata epic.
c. 327 – 325Invasion of India by Alexander the Great.
c. 300Jaina Council of Pataliputra, after which ocurred the split into Digambaras (nude followers) and Shvetambaras (followers dressed in white).
c. 300 B.C. – A.D. 300Composition of the didactic passages of the Mahabharata epic, notably the Moksha-Dharma.
c. 269 (or 273) – 232Emperor Ashoka, who greatly furthered the dissemination of Buddhism; alternative dates are 268-231 B.C.
c. 200 B.C.Composition of Jaimini`s Mimamsa-Sutra.
c. 200 B.C. – A.D. 200Era of greatest influence of Buddhism.
c. 200 B.C. – A.D. 200Date of origin of the hyms of the Tirumurai, the Tamil equivalent of the Vedas, collected as an anthology by Nambiandar Nambi in the eleventh century A.D.
c. 150Patanjali the grammarian, traditionally regarded as author of the Yoga-Sutra; probable date of Lakulin practicing Pahupatas and author of the Pashupata-Sutra.
c. 100 B.C. – A.D. 200

Rise of Mahayana Buddhism; composition of the earliest Mahayana-Sutras, such as the Ashta-Sahasrika, the Lankavatara, and the Sad-Dharma-Pundarika.

              

             

 

 A.D

c. 50Arrival of Buddhism in China; period of the renowned Buddhist teacher Ashvaghosha.
c. 100Probable date of Caraka, great authority on Ayur-Veda.
c. 150Probable date of composition of the Yoga-Sutra; period of the great Buddhist adept Nagarjuna; final redaction of the Manava-Dharma-Shastra.
c. 200Composition of the Brahma-Sutra of Badarayana, one of the fundamental works of the Vedanta tradition.
c. 350Composition of the Markandeya-Purana, one of the earliest works of this literary genre; probable date of the Jaina philosopher Kunda-Kunda; founding of the Buddhist Yogacara school by Asanga and of the Vijnanavada school by Asanga`s brother Basubandhu; Ishvara Krishna, author of the Samkhya-Karika.
c. 400 – 500Foundation of Nalanda, most renowned of all Buddhist monasteries; composition of the Ahirbudhnya-Samhita, an early Pancaratra (Vaishnava) work.
c. 450Composition of the Yoga-Bhashya, the oldest extant commentary on the Yoga-Sutra; probable date of origin of the Kapalika order of Shaivism. 
c. 470 – 543Bodhidharma, founder of the Buddhist meditation (chan) tradition in China.
c.  550 – 800Gradual expansion of the Pancaratra (Vaishnava) tradition into south India.
c. 600Composition of the earlest Tantras, such as the Buddhist Guhya-Samaja and the Hevajra.
c. 606 – 647King Harsha, a patron of the arts, immortalized by the court poet Bana.
c. 638 – 713Hui-Neng, sixth and last patriarch of Chinese Buddhism.
c. 650Tirumular, renowned adept-bard of south India, author of the Tirumantira.
c. 750Padma Sambhava, the `precious guru`, who introduced Tantrism into Tibet`; probable date of the the Jaina philosopher Haribhadra, who authored several works on Yoga.
c. 700Gaudapada, author of the Mandukya-Karika and teacher of Shankara`s teacher Govinda.
c. 750Composition of the original version of the Yoga-Vasishtha.
c. 750 – 850Composition of the devotional Tamil poems of the twelve south Indian Alvars.
c. 788 – 820Shankara, the most renowned propounder of radical nondualism (Advaita Vedanta).
c. 800Emergence of the Buddhist Sahajayana; final composition of the Caraka-Samhita, one of the principal works on Ayur-Veda; probable date of the Tamil adept-bard Namm Alvar (Shatakopa); composition of the bulky Shakti-Sangama-Tantra.
c. 825“Discovery“ of the Shiva-Sutra by the Kashmiri adept Vasugupta, who also authored the Spanda-Sutra.
c. 850Composition of Vacaspati Mishra`s Tattva-Vaisharadi, an important subcommentary on the Yoga-Sutra.
c. 950 – 970Birthdate of the great Buddhist scholar and adept Abhinayagupta.
c. 988 – 1069Tilopa, great Buddhist adept and teacher of Naropa.
c. 1000Composition of King Bhoja`s Raja-Martanda, well-known commentary on the Yoga-Sutra; composition of NARADA`S Bhakti-Sutra; emergence of the Buddhist Kalacakrayana, an offshoot of Mahayana Buddhism; beginnings of the Kalamukha order of Shaivism.
c. 1000 – 1200Gradual disappearance of Buddhism from India.
c. 1000 – 1400Composition of Upanishads with a strong Shakta orientation.
c.  1012 – 1097Marpa, founder of the Kagyupa school of Tibetan Buddhism and teacher of Milarepa.
c. 1016 – 1100 Naropa, great Buddhist adept and teacher of Marpa.
c. 1017 – 1137Ramanuja, one of the great preceptors of medieval Baishnavism, teacher of Qualified Nondualism (Vishishta-Advaita) and proponent of Bhakti-Yoga.
c. 1025Composition of al-Biruni`s partial translation into Arabic of Patatnjal`s Yoga Sutra.
c. 1040 – 1123Milarepa, Tibet`s most famous yogini-saint.
c. 1050Composition of Sekkirar`s Peria-Purana in Tamil.
c. 1050

Goraksha, founder of the Kanphata sect and author of lost treatise entitiled Hatha-Yoga.

 

c. 1089 – 1172Hemacandra, famous Jaina philosopher and author of  Yoga-Shastra.
c. 1100Composition of the Mahanirvana-Tantra.
c. 1106 – 1167Basava or Basavanna, reputed founder of the Ligayat tradition of south India, which is also known as Vira-Shaivism.
c. 1190 – 1276Madhva, founder of the dualist branch of Vedanta; his dates are sometimes given as A.D. 1199 – 1278.
c. 1200 – 1900Composition of a range of Hatha-Yoga scriptures, including the Yoga-Yajnavalkya (c. 1200), the Ananda-Samuccaya (c. 1300), and the Carpata-Shataka (c. 1300), and the Goraksha-Upanishad (c. 1400).
c. 1250Meykandar, author of the Shiva-Jnana-Bhoda, important Shaiva work in Tamil.
c. 1275 – 1296Jnanedeva, Maharashtra’s most renowned Yoga adept and author of the beautiful Jnaneshvari, a poetic Marathi commentary on the Bhagavad Gita.
c. 1300Possible date of origin of the Aghori order of Shaivism.
c. 1350Composition of the Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika, one of the standard works on Hatha-Yoga; composition of the Samkhya-Sutra ascribed to the ancient sage Kapila.
c. 1400 – 1518Kabir, a popular poet-saint of north India, who was instrumental in integrating Hinduism with Moslem teachings.
c.  1450Vidyaranya, author of the Jivanmukti-Viveka, a Vedanta work on the ideal of liberation during the embodied condition.
c. 1455 – 1570Drukpa Kunley, famous crazy-wisdom adept of Tibet.
c.  1469 – 1539Nanak, founder of the Sikh tradition and author of the Adi-Granth.
c. 1479 – 1531Vallabha, a renowned teacher of Bhakti-Yoga centering on worship of God Krishna.
c. 1485 – 1533Caitanya, one of the foremost Vaishnava teachers of Bengal and a great bhakti-yogin.
c.. 1550Vijna Bhikshu, author of numerous philosophical works, including commentaries on the Yoga-Sutra, notably his Yoga-Varttika.
c.1532 – 1623Tulsi Das, a widely influential north Indian poet-saint, composer of the Hindi Ramayana.
c. 1550Vijnana Bhikshu, author of numerous philosophical works including commentaries on the Yoga-Sutra, notablyhis Yoga-Vartika.
c. 1556 – 1605Emperor Akbar, greatest of India’s Moslem rulers.
c. 1650Composition of the |Gheranda-Samhita, a popular manual on Hatha Yoga.
c. 1718 -1775Ram Prasad Sen, celebrated Bengali poet and Kali worshipper.
c. 1750Composition of the Shiva-Samhita, a widely studied work on Hatha-Yoga.
c.1760Beginning of the British raj in India.
c. 1772 – 1833Rammohun Roy founder of the influential Brahma Samaj organization, who has been called the “father of modern India”.
c. 1834 – 1886Sri Ramakrishna, one of the great mystics of modern India.
c. 1861 – 1941Rabindranath Tagore, poet laureate of Bengal, a representative of the new Indian humanism.
c. 1862 – 1902Vivekananda, chief disciple of Sri Ramakrishna and founder of the Ramakrishna Mission, a key figure in the dissemination of Hinduism in Europe and America.
c. 1869 – 1948Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, advocate of the principle of Nonharming (Ahimsa) in all areas of life, especially politics.
c. 1872 – 1950Sri Aurobindo, founder of Integral Yoga.
c. 1875

Founding of the Theosophical Society, which established its headquarters in Adyar, India, in 1882; thanks to the efforts of this organization, many Sanskrit texts were translated into English for the first time.

 

c. 1879 – 1950Ramana Maharshi of Tiruvannamalai in south India, one of modern India’s most renowned sages and a staunch proponent of Advaita Vedanta.
c. 1947Political independence of India.

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YOGA CHRONOLOGY

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