North India refers to a set of states in the non-peninsular region of the Republic of India including the area to the north of the Vindhya mountains, Narmada River and Mahanadi River, but excluding the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra in the west, West Bengal and Orissa in the east as well as the seven North-East states. New Delhi, the capital of India lies in North India. The dominant geographical features of northern India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain whose fertile soils and perennial rivers have sustained large populations and the Himalayas which cut the region off from the rest of Asia. North India has been the historical center of the Maurya, Gupta, Mughal and British Indian Empires. It has a rich and diverse culture, having the Hindu holy cities of Varanasi and Allahabad along with world heritage sites representing Islam and Buddhism within its boundaries.
North India is the birthplace of all major Indian religions - Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Of these, Hinduism is the oldest, considered to have started during the Indus Valley Civilization but evolved mainly in the times immediately following it. The times during which Hinduism or Sanatana Dharma (as it was then called) evolved as a way of life are collectively known as the Vedic Civilization. The great Sanskrit literature was written in this period and North India became a major center of discovery and learning. The Vedas and Shastras, and the great epic, the Mahabharata are believed to have been composed in Uttarakhand during this period. Ramayana, the other major Hindu epic, was written by Valmiki. People led a highly disciplined and religious life and the economy was chiefly agrarian and dairy-based. The life of people was divided into four ashramas or stages and the society was divided into four varnas or castes based on occupation.