Vedic Period

• The Indus valley civilisation declined around 1700 BC due to variety of causes. The advent of the Aryans in India around 1500 BC marked the beginning of the Rig Vedic.
• Early Vedic culture Early Vedic culture is correlated with some of the Chalcolithic cultures (1500 – 1000 BC).
• Later Vedic culture is correlated with the Painted Grey Ware Culture of the Iron Age in North India (1000 – 600 BC).

Vedas

• Rig veda - Collection of Hums.
• Sama veda - Book of Chants (Songs, Misics).
• Yajur veda - Book of Rituals (Sadangu).
• Atharva veda - Collection of Spells (Magics).
• 3500 years ago
• Thousand hymns - sukta or “well-said” composed by sages (rishis)
• Three god
• Agni – God of fire.
• Indra – Warrior god.
• Soma – a plant from which special drink was prepared.

Geography

• Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Punjab and fringes of Western Uttar Pradesh.

The Aryans

• Aryan does not denote race, but only refers to the original speakers of Indo-Aryan languages.
• Home of Indo-Europeans and Indo-Aryans is still a matter of debate.
• Scholars says Aryans came to India as migrants from Central Asia.
• Aryan cover Eastern Europe and Central Asia which is geographically interlinked with India and West Asia and Europe.
• Different inscription has common features of the Indo-European languages, but no such inscriptions are found in India.
• Terms in Rig Veda have common roots in various Indo-Aryan languages.

Rigveda

• Rig vedic Samhita (10 books) is in old or Vedic Sanskrit
• Some hymns in dialogues form.
• Main collections of Vedic hymns are called Samhitas. Samhitas are ritualistic texts → Each Samhita has added texts called brahmanas → Each brahmana has an aranyaka (forest text) and an Upanishad (Philosophical Enquiries).
• River beas & Sutlej – worshiped as goddesses.
• Manuscript page of Rigveda found in Kashmir, translated to English preserved in library in Pune, Maharashtra.

Social Practices

• Prayers in the Rigveda for cattle, children (especially sons), and horses.
• performance of yajnas or sacrifices.

Vedic Religion and Rituals

• Natural forces sun, moon, rivers, mountains and rains were defined as divinities.
• Indra was the most important god and he was called Purandara.
• Agni - intermediary between god and people.
• Surya - who removed darkness.
• Ushas - goddess of dawn.
• Aditi, Prithvi and Sinivali are other goddesses.
• Varuna, the god of water, upholder of natural order.
• Soma was the god of plants and the drink was named after him.
• Maruts was the god of strength. Interestingly there are few references to Rudra or Siva.

Society

• Tribes constituted society, the king had limited power.
• varna and Aryan identities existed

Battle

• Using Horse chariots, battle for land, water, capture people.
• No regular army.

Varna

• According to Purusha Sukta: Brahmanas from the mouth, the kshatriya from the arms, the vaisya from the thighs and the sudra from the feet of Purusha,
• Also various profession group.

Social Division

• Rig Veda refers to Arya varna and Dasa varna
• Aryas – composed hymns
• Simyu, kikata, Dasa [Feminine dasi] or dasyus (opponents to aryas) – men & women capture in war, who not perform sacrifices – Treated as slave.
• warriors, priests and common people. Later sudras

Family

• Family (griha) - headed by the grihapati & his wife was known as sapatn.

Kingship

• Sambara son of Kulitara is mentioned as a chief with 90 forts or settlements.
• Varchin was another chief with many troops.
• The Rig Veda mentions the defeat of a chief called Sambara by Divodasa of the Bharata clan

Political Clashes

• janas, vis, gana, grama and kula. (Puru jana or vish, the Bharata jana or vish, the Yadu jana or vish)
• The god Indra is called Purandara.
• Ruling Aryan clan – Bharatas & Tritsu, Supported by Vasishta. – India: Bharata Varsha.
• Battle of 10 Kings (5 aryan & 5 Non aryan). – Sudas clan won became dominate of bharatas clan.
• Purus, Bharatas alliance form Kuru clan, later allied with Panchalas – control on upper ganga valley

Polity and Administration

• Tribal society, headed by rajan – elected by assembly, samiti.
• The king Trasadasyu, the chief of the Purus, gave away 50 women as a gift. The chief was known as gopa or gopati which means, chief of cattle.
• Assemblies
• Sabha was the assembly of elders or the elites
• samiti was an assembly of people
• vidhata was the assembly of tribe.
• gana
• Women attended the sabhas and vidhatas.
• The purohita or priest - advice to the king.
• Senani was the chief of army.
• No evidence of taxes, voluntary contribution bali.
• Officer who controlled the territory was called Vrajapati. He helped the kulapas or heads of fighting groups called gramini (Head of village and fighting unit).

Economy
Agriculture

• Field was known as kshetra.
• krishi referred to ploughing.
• langla and sura referred to plough.
• sita meant the furrow created by ploughing.

Pastoralism

• gavishthi which means search for cows.

Craft Production

• Ayas refer to copper and bronze.
• Carpenters - takshan.
• Spinning – siri or yarn

Trade, Exchange and Redistribution

• Panis are referred to as trader.
• Danas and dakshinas - Redistributing resources

Transport

• Bullock carts, horses and horse-drawn chariots.
• sea (samudra) and boats (nau)

Burials

• Megaliths
• Megaliths (Stone boulders) – Mark burial sites – it contains more than one skeleton.
• Burials have some common features. Generally, the dead were buried with distinctive pots, which are called Black and Red Ware
• Tools and weapons of iron and sometimes, skeletons of horses, horse equipment and ornaments of stone and gold.
• Special burial at Inamgaon (River Ghod, a tributary of the Bhima)
• Head towards the north.
• Vessels that probably contained food and water were placed with the dead.
• Houses had granary.

VEDAS	ASSOCIATED BRAHMANA/ UPAVEDA	PRIESTLY RECITER	COMMENTS
RIG VEDA	Aiteraya, Kaushitaki Upaveda: Dhanurveda (Warfare)	Hotr/Hotar	Oldest surviving text. Hymns are dedicated to several deities mostly to Indra. Themes: Life, death, creation, sacrifice and ‘soma’ (godly pleasure)
SAM VEDA	Tandya, Sadavimsha Upaveda: Gandhavra Veda (Music)	Udgatar	Earliest book on music (Sama = Melody; ragas & raginis) Poetic text, derived from Rig Veda.
YAJUR VEDA	Taittiriya, Shatapatha Upaveda: Sthapatyaveda (Architecture)	Adhavaryu	Sacrifices and rituals, composed both in prose and poetry. Two related samhitas: Shukla and Krishna
ATHARVA VEDA	Gopatha Upaveda: Ayurveda (Medicine)	Priests (Brahmins) didn’t recite it	Magic, omen, agriculture, industry/craft, cattle rearing, cure for disease; composed by Non-Aryans

Miscellaneous

• 3500 years ago, first evidence of writing in China.
• Charaka Samhita – Book on medicine.
• Zend Avesta - Persian/Iranian text of Zoroastrianism. Book says lands and gods of the people speaking the Indo-Iranian languages. Refer northern and north-western parts of India.