Vedic Civilization

Theories regarding original home of Aryans:

1. William Jones & Max Muller -

• Aryans originally lived in Europe and migrated to other countries.
• This theory is based on the similarities between Sanskrit and European classic languages like Greek and Latin.

2. Bal Gangadhar Tilak - Arctic Region.

3. Majority - Central Asia especially the regio between Oxus and Jaxarles.

The Aryans who migrated to India are called Indo-Aryans. The culture developed by them is called Vedic Culture.

Popular meaning of Veda is 'Knowledge'. Veda is derived from Sanskrit root 'Vid' which means 'to know'. The restricted meaning is applied to 4 sacred books ,

1. Rigveda - oldest of all.
2. Samaveda
3. Yajurveda
4. Atharvaveda.

The Vedas are regarded as 'Sruti' (or) divine revelations heard by 'rishis' (or) seers and therefore infallible. Each Veda has 4 parts,

1. Samhita - it is in the form of hymns or mantras sung in the praise of various Gods.
2. Brahmana - explains the meaning and use of hymns.
3. Aranyaka - it is derived from 'Aranya' (or) forest. They deal with philosophical doctrines to be studied in sylvan retreats by those who have entered the 'vanaprastha ashrama'.
4. Upanishad - means to sit down near someone. It is applied to doctrines imparted by father to son (or) teacher to pupil. Upanishads try to answer important philosophical questions like the existence of God, relation between man and universe. Upanishads are called 'Vedanta', meaning the end of Vedas. The total number of Upanishads is 108. Some of the important Upanishads are isa, kena, taittariya, chandogya and aitareya.

Sruti: All the vedas are collectively known as sruti (or) revelation. Sruti means the rhythm of the infinite heard by noble souls. They constitute Vedic literature proper.

Smriti: Smriti means memory. They are handed down to the next generations by the sages by word of mouth. The most important among the smritis is 'Vedanga'. Vedanga literally means the limb of the Vedas. Vedangas are 6 in number,

1. Siksha - phonetics
2. Kalpa - Ritual
3. Vyakarana - Grammar
4. Nirukta - Etymology
5. Chhaandas - Metrics
6. Jyothisya - Astronomy

Vedic Polity:

• Rigvedic tribes were ruled by kings.
• Non-monarchial form is also known.
• The power of the king was not absolute.
• The king was assisted by Senani, Gramani, & Purohita.
• The business of the tribe was carried on by a popular assembly known as Samiti.
• There was another body, Sabha, which was something like the upper house of the legislature.

Social Life:

• Primarily pastoral and agricultural people.
• Basic unit of social organisation was Patriarchal family.
• Other Units are grama, visa and jana.
• Grama constituted of a number of families & all the agricultural land attatched to it.
• The headman of grama was called 'gramani'.

1. Position of women:

• Women occupied a position of great honour in the early vedic period.
• Girls were educated.
• Child marriages were forbidden.
• Monogamy was the general rule.
• Widows were allowed to remarry.
• Polyandry was unknown.
• There was no seclusion of women.
• Wife was called 'sahadharmini'.
• Lopamudra, Sikata, Ghosha, Apala, Visvavara were some of the women who composed hymns and were given the status of rishi.
• In the later Vedic age, the position of women deteriorated.

2. Food:

• Staple food was Wheat, milk, vegetables, and fruits. [There has been no evidence of consumption of fruits prior to the Vedic Period, i.e, by the Harappans.]
• Eating of beef was not forbidden in the early vedic period, but it became a taboo by the late Vedic period, due to the depletion of the population of cows.
• Soma and Sura are two popular alcoholic drinks.

3. Dress:

• Cotton, wool and deer skin were used.
• The garments consisted of 3 pieces, Nivi - undergarment, Paridhana - main garment, adhivasa - mantle.
• Both females and males were fond of ornaments, especially of gold.

4. Amusements:

• Chariot racing
• Hunting
• Dance and music
• Gambling
• There were 3 types of musical instruments - percussion, string and wind.

Economic Life:

1. Agriculture:

• they lived in scattered villages.
• they took care to preserve livestock.
• to arrest the depletion of cows, eating beef was prohibited.

2. Textiles: Next to education, textiles provided occupationto bulk of the population.

3. Trade & Industry:

• Barter system was the means of trade.
• Commerce was largely in the hands of people called Pani, who were probably non-Aryans.
• In later Vedic age, the traders grouped themselves into Srenis or guilds.
• The use of niskha (or) metallic currency is known.

By the later Vedic Period, the division of society on the basis of Varna (or) Caste developed. This evil practice which still haunts India has its roots in the Vedic Period. Inspite of modernisatio in several ways, the practice of Caste System is still prevelant in India to this date.

There is no word in Sanskrit or any other Indian languages to denote caste. Instead, the word Varna is used, which means colour. Basing on the word Varna, some are of the opinion that the caste system grew out of the racial factor.

1. Theory of race (or) colour: The fair complexioned Aryans looked down upon the dark-complexioned dravidians. To preserve the purity of Aryan blood, caste system was introduced. This theory doesn't stand to reason as there is no evidence of caste system in the early vedic period.
2. Theory of divsion of labour: Caste system evolved in later vedic period to meet the new challenges and requirements of the time due to the growing number of occupations.
3. Purusha-Sukta Theory: The earliest reference to the division of society has been found in 'Purusha-Sukta' in the tenth book of Rigveda samhita. It describes a mythical legend about the sacrifice of a primeval giant called Purusha, the ideal man (or) spirit of the world. Gods have cut Purusha into 4 parts and different varnas originated from different parts of the body of Purusha.

• from mouth - Brahmins
• from arms - Kshatriyas
• from thighs - Vaishyas
• from feet - Sudras

In its original form Caste system is only a class system. Upward mibility was allowed. Castes were not determined by birth. Chabge of professionl led to change of caste. Vyasa, the author of Mahabharata was the son of a fisherwoman. Sage Vasishta was son of a prostitute. Vidura, friend of Dritarashtra was a dasiputra. Parasurama and Dronacharya who were brahmins by birth became kshatriyas later on. Interdining and inter-marriages were allowed.

In later Vedic Period, the caste system became more rigid, inter-marriages were forbidden. Even during the later vedic period, there is no evidence of the practice of Untouchability.