Early Vedic Period (1500 – 1000 BC)

Aryans means of high

Advent of Aryans birth

Vedas means to know –

Age of Rig Veda Superior knowledge

 Aryans were generally referred to people who spoke Indo- Aryan language (Sanskrit)

 Society was mainly male dominated; women were treated with dignity and honour

 Early life in this period seems to be mainly pastoral with agriculture being the secondary
occupation

 Domesticated horses to ride

Rig Veda
 Earliest text of Indo European language

 Contains prayers offered to Agni, Indra, Mitra, Varuna & other gods

 Consists of 10 mandalas or books with 2 – 7 being the earliest one called family books & 1 and
10 being the latest editions

 3rd Mandal consists of Gayatri mantra (Composed by viswamitra to offer prayer to solar deity
Savitri)
 Many things in common with Avesta (oldest Iranian text – Zorasterism)

Advent of Aryans
 Aryans called Indus valley “Sapt Sindavah” i.e. land of 7 rivers with river Indus (Sindhu) most
mentioned in Rig Veda

 Saraswati (Naditarna) is mentioned as the holiest river in Rig Veda, named after Harakwati
(Hemland river) in south Afganistan
 Aryans appeared in subcontinent around 1500 B.C. & came into conflict with its inhabitants
Dasas & Dasyus
 Dasas: Mentioned in ancient Iranian literature hence may be early Aryans

 Dasyus: Possibly original inhabitants of the country & possibly worshipped Phallus (Lingam)

 Aryan chief who overpowered them was called Trasadasyu , generally soft towards Dasas but
hostile towards Dasyus (Term Dasyuhatya is repeatedly mentioned in Rig Veda)

 Aryans succeeded everywhere because they possessed chariot driven by horses & possibly with
coats of mail & better armory →Introduced these things for the 1sttime in west Asia & India
 Aryans were divided into 5 tribes called Panchajana mainly, along with other tribes → Most
powerful ones were Bharatas of Tritsu Family supported by Viswamitra

Battle of 10 Kings fought at River Parushni (Ravi):

 Bharat ruling clan was opposed by host of 10 chiefs (5 aryans & 5 non aryans) supported by
Vashishta

 Bharat clan emerged victorious & subsequently joined hand with Purus (Most powerful defeated
tribe) & formed a new ruling tribe called kurus
 Bharatvansa is named after tribe Bharata & 1st mentioned in Rig Veda

Early Vedic Period

 Agriculture was well known to pre aryans & ploughshare is 1stmentioned in early part of Rig
Veda
 But agriculture was perhaps used to produce fodder only →Predominantly pastoral people with
cattle rearing as main occupation
 Most of the wars were fought for the sake of cows as the term for war in Rig Veda is Gavishthi i.e.
search for cows (Hence cows seems to have been most important wealth)

 Gifts were made to priests in form of cows & women slaves → Not in form of land
 Rig Veda mentions several artisans namely Carpenters, Chariot makers, weavers, Leather
workers, Potters etc. along with term Ayas used for copper or Bronze which shows metal
working was well known

 Aryans or Vedic people mainly relied on land routes as the word samundra mentioned in Rig
veda mainly denotes a collection of water
 Rig Vedic term Meaning

Gau Cow

Gavishti Search for Cows

Raja or chief, protector of

Gopati cows

Godhuli Measure of time

Daughter or one who milks

Duhitr the cows

wealthy man who owned

Gomat many cattle

Administration in Rig Vedic Period

 Tribal chief at the center (Rajan)

 King was known as Gopaljanya i.e. protector of its people & cows

 King was assisted by Purohits, Senani & Gramanis

 King did not exercise unlimited power & worked in reckon with tribal organization

 King’s position was hereditary (but could be removed from power if found weak and inefficient
or cruel).
 Rig Vedic Assemblies & administrative division
 Several assemblies such as Sabha, Samiti, Vidhata & Gana are mentioned in Rig Veda & even
women were allowed to attend Sabha & Vidhata assemblies.

 Two most important assemblies were Sabha & Samiti as even kings & chiefs showed eagerness
to win their support

 No introduction of taxes & offerings (Known as Bali) were made voluntarily by people

 Aryan tribes was known as Jana ( Janapada or territory is not used even once in Rig Veda as
Territory / Kingdom was not established)
 Jana was divided into Group of villages called Vis (Headed by Vrajapati),

 Vis was further divided into Grama or small tribal units meant for fighting (Headed by
Graminis),

 Grama was further divided into Kulas (Family) headed by Kulapa

 When Grama clashed with each other then it caused samgrama or war

 Kinship was the basis of social structure & a man was identified by the clan he belongs to

Societal Practices & Divisions

 Rig veda speaks of Arya varna (Aryans) & Das varna (Non Aryans), where possibly the
distinction was on the basis of colour

 Society was patriarchal & people prayed to God mainly for brave sons & Cattles.

 Practice of Levirate (Man marrying to Brother’s widow) & widow remarriage was prevalent
with no mention of sati system or Child marriage as marriageable age mentioned in Rig Veda is
16- 17 Years

 Women poets in Rig Veda peiord : Apala, Vishwavara, Ghosa & Lopamudra

 Tribal Society was divided into 3 groups mainly Warrior, priest & People with 4th division called
shudra appeared towards end of Rig vedic period (1st time in 10thbook of Rig Veda)
 Conquered Dasas & Dasyus were treated as slaves or Shudra by Aryans for domestic work
purpose

 Main pottery of this period is OCP (ochre coloured pottery)

 Early Vedic Gods
No Idol Worship

Warlord / Raingod / Purandara /

Indra Breaker of forts

Fire god & intermediary b/w God &

peopleMarriages were solemnize in
his presenceDestroyed germs & dirt
Agni hence was considered pure\

Personified as water & supposed to

Varuna keep natural order in line

God of plants, & an intoxicating

Soma drink somras named after it

Marut Personified as storm

Goddess of
Aditi eternity

Appearance Not so Prominent

Usha of dawn in Rig veda

Other gods were Prithvi, Vayu etc.

Mainly Nature gods
 Gods were invited to take partake of sacrifices made by whole tribe (Jana)

 Sacrifices mainly consists of Vegetables, Barley etc. (No rituals or sacrificial formulae were
used).

 Yajna (sacrifice) was performed along with chanting of Vedic hymns.

 People poured ghee (clarified butter) and other ingredients into the fire to invoke the blessings
of gods.
 Jana mainly asked for Praja (Children), Pashu (Cattle), Food, Wealth, health etc.

 Eating of cows meat was strictly prohibited as cow was considered as a sacred animal

Later Vedic Period (1000 – 600 BC)

 Advent of Iron Age
 Marked by invention of PGW (Painted grey ware) for bowls & dishes
 Origin of Sam Veda, Yajur Veda & Atharva Veda
 Sections of vedas – Samhitas, Brahmanas, Arankyas & Upanishads
 Samhitas: Collection of Vedic hymns & Mantras

 According to Satapatha Brahamana Rig veda, Sama Veda & Yajur veda
constitutes Traya Veda & were composed by Aryans

Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, Atharva Veda

Sama Veda
 Book of chants

 Origin of Indian music

 For recitation, prayers of Rig Veda were set to tunes
 Modified collection is known as Sama Veda

Yajur Veda
 Contains hymns & rituals, sacrifices, Royal ceremonies

 Rajsuya & Vajpeya mentioned for the 1 time

st

 Written in verse and prose form

Atharva Veda
 Origin of Indian medicine

 Contains formulae, charms & spells to ward off evil & diseases
 Composed by a non-aryan

Brahamanas & Aranyakas

Brahamanas
 Prose commentaries of all four Vedas

 18 in number
 Most important is Satapatha Brahamanas
 Full of ritualistic formulae & explains social and religious meaning of
rituals & sacrifices

Aranyakas
 Forest books → Composed in forests
 Were meant to study in forests

 Describes the lifestyle of Sanyasis in forests

 Developments in Later Vedic Period
 Satapatha brahamanas refers to expansion of Aryans into eastern
Gangetic plains i.e. Aryans expanded from Punjab to whole of Uttar
Pradesh covered by Ganga – Yamuna Doab
 Soon Kuru occupied upper portion of the doab along with Delhi & set up
their capital at Hastinapur
 Kurus coalesced with Panchalas who occupied middle portion of the
doab
 This era marks the famous Mahabharata war at land of Kurus i.e.
Kurukshetra
 In later Vedic times, people hardly knew the use of burnt bricks as mud
structures have been discovered at Hastinapur
 From traditions we learnt that Hastinapur was thoroughly flooded and
remnant of Kuru clan moved to Kaushambi near Allahabad.
 Later Vedic people succeeded in their second phase of expansion because
of use of iron weapons & horse drawn chariots (Around 1000 BC iron
appeared in Dharwar district of Karnataka & at Gandhar)
 Iron was called shyama or Krishana Aya (Black metal)
 Agriculture was now chief means of livelihood with rice & wheat main
crops along with the use of wooden ploughshare →Predominantly
pastoral society became agricultural
 For the 1 time Vedic people came to be acquainted with Rice & called it
st

Vrihi (in Vedic text recommended in Vedic rituals)

Later Vedic Period Crops Name

Wheat Godhuma

Barley Yava
 Rice Vrihi

Sugarcane Ikshu

 Famous pottery of this age was ‘Painted Grey Ware’ and ‘Northern Black
Polished Ware.
 Term Rashtra (Territory) appeared for the 1 time in this period
st

Famous King’s ceremony of this age

 Rajasuya Sacrifice: Supposed to confer supreme power on him (To
impress/influence people)
 Vajapeya: Chariot race in which royal chariot was made to win the race
against his kinmen
 Ashvamedha: Unquestioned control over area on which royal horse ran
uninterrupted

Later Vedic Period Administration

 Popular assemblies lost their importance & royal power increased at
their cost (Vidhata completely disappeared)
 Sabha & Samiti continued to hold their ground but women were no
longer permitted to sit on sabha & it was now dominated by nobles &
brahamanas
 Collection of taxes and tributes became common & responsibility for the
same lied with officer called “Sangrihitri”
 Even now king did not maintain a standing army & tribal units were
mustered at the time of war
 Societal Division in Later Vedic period
 Later Vedic period was divided into four vernas:

Kshatriyas
Brahamanas / Rajanas Vaishyas Shudras

 Growing practice of sacrifice greatly added to power of brahamanas

 Vaishyas were placed in the category of Dvija or Twice born and
regarded as only tribute payers; on which Kshatriyas & Brahamans lived
 All 3 higher vernas shared one common feature : Upanayana or
investiture with sacred thread according to Vedic mantras
 Shudras were deprived of sacred thread ceremony & recitation of Gayatri
Mantra
 Certain sections of the artisans such as Rathkaras / Chariot makers
enjoyed a higher status & were entitled to sacred thread ceremony

According to Aitareya Brahmana

 In relation with prince, Brahamana is described as seeker of livelihood &
acceptor of gifts but removable at will
 A vaishya is tribute payer, meant for being beaten & oppressed at will
 Shudras as servant of another & meant for being beaten & made to work
at will by another
 Institution of Gotra appeared in later Vedic times, literally it mean cow pen i.e. a place where
cattle belonging to whole clan are kept, but in due time it signified as descent from a common
ancestors.

 No marriage could take place between persons belonging to same Gotra or having the same
lineage.

Later Vedic period refers to 3 divisions of India viz.

 Aryavrata (Northern India )

 Madhyadesha (Central India)

 Dakshinpatha ( Southern India)

Later Vedic period mentions 4 Ashrams

 Brahamchari → For Student
 Grihastha → For householder
 Vanaprastha → Hermit (a stage of gradual detachment)
 Sanyasin / Ascetic → Who renounced the world fully
Not applicable to women & people of lower varnas

Gods of Later Vedic Period

 Two outstanding Rig Vedic gods Indra & Agni lost their former
importance & Prajapati (The creator) came to occupy the supreme
position along with Rudra (The destroyer) & Vishnu (Protector of
people)
 Pushans (Supposed to look after cattles) became god of Shudras although
in Rig Veda cattle rearing was primary occupation of Aryans
 Protector of
agriculture (Killer
Asvins the rats)

To fix a place
where a new
home could be
Savitri built

Surya Remove Demons

 Signs of Idolatry appeared in later Vedic times & mode of worship

changed considerably as sacrifices became far more important than mere
prayers along with formulae(Mantras) carefully pronounced by sacrifier
 Sacrifier was known as Yajamana (Performer of Yajna) & Guests were
known as Goghna (Fed on cattle) →Sacrifices involved killing of animals
at large scale especially cattles
 These formulae, Rituals & sacrifices were invented & elaborated by
priests called brahamanas who claimed monopoly of priestly knowledge
but still territory was not given as gifts in post Vedic period

Status of Women in later Vedic period

Status of women declined as primarily pastoral society now became agricultural
& women which in pastoral time worked neck to neck with men for fetching
milk & all, begin doing all household chores, with men going to plough the field
& grow grains
 Deprived to attend assemblies
 Deprived of education
 Deprived of Upanayana ceremony
 Child marriage became common
 Purdah and sati was not prevalent

Upanishads
 Towards the end of Vedic period around 600 BC, a strong reaction
against priestly domination, cults & rituals began especially in lands of
Panchalas & Videha & upanishads were compiled.
 Upanishads were mainly philosophical texts criticizing the rituals & laid
stress on Right belief & Right knowledge of self-i.e. Relation of Atman
with Brahma should be properly understood
 Upanishads describes dialogues between guru & shishya and were
probably written by Kshatriyas
 Brahma emerged as supreme entity in Upanishads comparable to
powerful kings of the era
 Upanishads followed principle of Jnana i.e.
 True knowledge for peace

 Changelessness, Indestructibility & immortality of soul

 Salvation

End of Later Vedic Period marked the beginning of territorial kingdoms such as
Panchala Janapada, Koshala Janapada etc. & wars were not fought only for
cattles but also for territor

Vedic Period and the Aryans

 The Aryans were semi-nomadic pastoral people and originated from area around the
Caspian Sea in Central Asia(Many historians have given various theories regarding their
original place). The Central Asian theory is given by Max Muller.
 Entered India probably through the Khyber Pass(Hindukush mountain) around 1500 BC.

Early Vedic or Rig Vedic Period(1500- 1000 BC)

Political Organization
 Monarchial form. Tribe was known as Jan and its king as Rajan.
 Family was the basic unit of society. The family was patriarchal in nature.
Economy
 Aryans followed a mixed economy i.e pastoral and agricultural in which cattle played a
predominant part.
 Standard unit of exchange was Cow. At the same time coins were also there.
Religion
 The Aryans personified the natural forces and looked upon them as living beings.
 The most important divinity was Indra who played the role of warlord(breaker of
forts- Purandar)

Later Vedic Period(1000- 600 BC) (Painted Gray

Ware Phase)

Political Organization
 Tiny tribal settlements were placed by strong kingdoms.
Social
 The four fold division of society became clear, initially based on occupation, which later
became hereditary: Brahmins(priests), Kshatriyas(warriors), Vaishyas(agriculturists,
cattle- rearers, traders), Shudras(servers of the upper three).
 The institution of the gotra appeared for the first time in this age.
Religion
 Indra and Agni lost their importance. Prajapati(the creator) became
supreme. Vishnu came to be conceived as the preserver and protector of the people.

The Vedic Literature

The Vedas
The word Veda comes from the root "vidi" signifying knowledge. They are four in all - Rig
Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Athrava Veda.

(1) Rig Veda

 Oldest religious text in the world.

 Contains 1,028 hymns and is divided into 10 mandalas.
(2) Sama Veda
 Derived from the root Saman i.e "melody". It is a collection of melodies.
(3) Yajur Veda
 Deals with the procedure for the performance of sacrifices.
(4) Atharva Veda
 Mostly dealing with magic( along with personal problems of people).

The Upanishads
 Called Vedanata
 They are the main source of Indian Philosophy, 108 in numbers.

The Brahmins
 They explain the meaning of sacrifices and also the methods of performing them.
 Shatpath Brahmin on Yajur Veda is the largest among brahmins.

The Aranyakas
 These Granths were studied in the forest.
 These are the books of instructions.

Epics
Mahabharata
 It was written in sanskrit by Ved Vyas
 It describes about a war between Kauravas and Pandavas of 950 BC in Kurukshetra.
 Translation of "Mahabharat" in persian is called Rajm nama done by Badauni.
Ramayana
 It was written by Valmiki in sanskrit.
 It has 24000 shloks, also known as Aadi-kavya.
 Its persian translation is done by Badauni and Tamil translation by Kamban.
 Ramcharitmanas is written by Tulsidas.
Puranas
 Puranas are 18 in number.
 It was written during Gupta Age in AD 4th Century.
 Matasya Purana is the oldest Purana.