Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s10.t3.42

v1.c7.s10.t3.42

The Vedas has a special position in the development of ancient Indian civilisation. Brahmanism or Hinduism, as the mainstream in the history of Indian thoughts, all take the Vedas as a fundamental canon. It is on the basis of the attitude toward the Vedas that the orthodox and the heterodox are divided. Those recognising the authoritativeness of the *Vedas* are orthodox, while the deniers are non-orthodox. Moreover, the Vedas has an impact on the orthodox Brahmanism as well as on non-orthodox schools. Some non-orthodox schools in India, in fact, more or less have absorbed some Vedic thoughts, though such absorption is either adapted or not evident.