印度河流域文明是一种青铜时代文明，印度的远古文明的遗址首先是在印度哈拉巴地区发掘出来的，所以通常被称为哈拉巴文化，又由于这类遗址主要集中在印度河流域，所以也称为印度河文明。哈拉巴文化对亚洲诸国，包括中国产生过深远的影响，最显著的特征是其宗教性。后来，因为中途政权的侵入和他族文化的入侵，哈拉巴自己的文化就此败落和消失。
1. Ancient India：The legendary dynastic changes and civilization process
The Indus Valley Civilization was located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent， consisting of what is now mainly presentday Pakistan and northwest India. Flourishing around the Indus River basin， the civilization extended east into the Ghaggar-Hakra River valley and the upper reaches Ganges-Yamuna Doab； it extended west to the Makran coast of Balochistan， north to northeastern Afghanistan and south to Daimabad in Maharashtra. The civilization was spread over some 1260000 km2， making it the largest ancient civilization.
古印度：传奇式的朝代更替与文明进程
印度河流域文明位于印度次大陆的西北地区，包括如今的巴基斯坦和印度西北部。它兴起于印度河流域，向东扩展到印度河河谷，上游抵达恒河-亚穆纳河河间地区，向西延伸至俾路支省的马克兰海岸，北至阿富汗东北部，南至马哈拉施特拉的戴蒙巴德。该文明蔓延了大约126万平方公里，成为最宏大的古代文明。
The Harappan Civilization：Two periods in the samearea
The Indus Valley is one of the world’s earliest urban civilizations， along with its contemporaries， Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. At its peak， the Indus Civilization may have had a population of well over five million. Inhabitants of the ancient Indus river valley developed new techniques in handicraft （carnelian products， seal carving） and metallurgy（copper， bronze， lead， and tin）. The civilization is noted for its cities built of brick， roadside drainage system， and multistoried houses.
There were earlier and later cultures， often called Early Harappan and Late Harappan， in the same area of the Harappan Civilization. Up to 1，999， over 1，056 cities and settlements have been found， out of which 96 have been excavated， mainly in the general region of the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra river and its tributaries. They were the major urban centres of Harappa， Lothal， Mohenjo-daro （UNESCO World Heritage Site）， Dholavira and Rakhigarhi.
哈拉帕文明：一个地区，两个时期
印度河流域文明，连同同时代的美索不达米亚文明和古埃及文明，一起成为世界上最早的城市文明。印度文明在鼎盛时期的人口超过500万人，居住在印度河流域的古老居民在那里发展工艺品的新技术（如玛瑙制品、印章雕刻）和冶金术（如合金，铜，铅，锡）。该文明以其砖墙、路边排水系统和多层住宅构成的城市而闻名天下。
印度河流域文明分成早期文化和晚期文化，被分别称为早期哈拉帕和晚期哈拉帕，它们存在于哈拉帕文明的同一地区。到1999年为止，有关人员发现了超过1056个城市和殖民地，其中96个已被发掘出来，这些遗址主要集中在印度河流域及其支流地区，它们当时是哈拉帕、洛塔尔、摩亨佐-达罗（联合国教科文组织世界遗产）、朵拉维那和拉希迦希的主要城市中心。
The Vedic period：The birth of the oldestures of Hinduism the Vedas
The Vedic period （or Vedic age） was a period in history during which the Vedas， the oldest ures of Hinduism， were composed. The time span of the period is uncertain. But philological and linguistic evidence indicates that the Rigveda was composed roughly between 1700 and 1100 BC， also referred to as the early Vedic period. The end of the period is commonly estimated to have occurred about 500 BC， and 150 BC has been suggested as a terminus ante quem for all Vedic Sanskrit literature.
Transmission of texts in the Vedic period was by oral tradition alone， and a literary tradition set in only in post-Vedic times. Despite the difficulties in dating the period， the Vedas can safely be assumed to be several thousands of years old. The associated culture， sometimes referred to as Vedic civilization， was probably centred early on in the northern and northwestern parts of the Indian subcontinent， but has now spread and constitutes the basis of contemporary Indian culture.
After the end of the Vedic period， the Mahajanapadas period in turn gave way to the Maurya Empire （from ca. 320 BC）， the golden age of classical Sanskrit literature.
吠陀时期：印度教最古老的《吠陀经》诞生
吠陀时期（或吠陀时代）是古代印度的一个历史时期，在此期间，印度教最古老的经文《吠陀经》诞生了。这个时期的时间跨度并不确定，但语言学和语言上的证据表明，《梨俱吠陀》，创作于约公元前1700～前1100年，因此这一时间段也被称为早期吠陀时期。人们一般认为，这个时期的结束大约是在公元前500年，也有人将公元前150年划为吠陀梵语之梵语文学的终结。
吠陀时期文化的传承只是靠传统的口口相传，而文学传承模式则在后吠陀时代才得以运用。尽管给吠陀时期划为时间很艰难，但可以假定《吠陀经》已经有几千年的历史了。吠陀文明的相关文化有时被称为吠陀文明，它很可能早就出现在印度次大陆的北方和西北地区的中心地带，后来一直蔓延，并构成当代印度文化的基础。
吠陀时期文明结束后，古印度十六大国给孔雀王朝让路，大约公元前320年开始，古印度进入了古典梵语文学的黄金时代。
Maurya Empire：Chandragupta Maurya’s embrace ofJainism and Ashoka’s embrace of Buddhism
The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in ancient India， ruled by the Mauryan dynasty from 321 to 185 BC. Originating from the kingdom of Magadha in the IndoGangetic plains （modern Bihar， eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bengal） in the eastern side of the Indian subcontinent， the empire had its capital city at Pataliputra （modern Patna）. The Empire was founded in 322 BC by Chandragupta Maurya， who had overthrown the Nanda Dynasty and rapidly expanded his power westwards across central and western India taking advantage of the disruptions of local powers in the wake of the withdrawal westward by Alexander the Great’s Greek and Persian armies. By 320 BC the empire had fully occupied Northwestern India， defeating and conquering the satraps left by Alexander.
With an area of 5，000，000 km2， it was one of the world’s largest empires in its time， and the largest ever in the Indian subcontinent. Its decline began 60 years after Ashoka’s rule ended， and it dissolved in 185 BC with the foundation of the Sunga Dynasty in Magadha.
Under Chandragupta， the Mauryan Empire conquered the trans-Indus region， which was under Macedonian rule. Chandragupta then defeated the invasion led by Seleucus I， a Greek general from Alexander’s army. Under Chandragupta and his successors， internal and external trade， agriculture and economic activities， all thrived and expanded across India thanks to the creation of a single and efficient system of finance， administration， and security.