[DATE]

[COMPANY NAME]
[Company address]
 VEDIC AGE,JAINISM AND BUDDHISM

VEDIC AGE, JAINISM AND BUDDHISM

INTRODUCTION
Vedic age (1500-600 BC) is a time in the Indian history when the Vedas
were being composed, which are sacred scriptures of Hinduism. People of
this age called themselves as Aryans (One who has Supreme Knowledge).
The Vedic civilization was cantered in the north and northwester part of
India. Knowledge of Vedas and people who followed Vedas, is derived
from the surviving Vedic text.
ORIGIN
Origin of Aryans is among the most controversial topics of Indian history.
There are different speculations and theories on the origin of Aryans.
According to:
• Max Muller, they came from central Asia
• Dayanand Saraswati said they came from Tibet
• Bal Gangadhar Tilak: Arctic
• A.C Das: Sapt Sindhu (7 rivers-Shutudri/Sutlej, Parushni/Ravi,
Ashikni/Chenab, Vitasta/Jhelum, Vipasha/Beas including Indus and
• McDonell and Gibbs: Austria and Hungary
• Befly- Russian Steppes/Germany
• But the most accepted- Great steppes of Eurasia
• Boghazkoi- Central Asia shows inscriptions of Indra and Varun from
1400 BC.
EARLY VEDIC/ RIGVEDIC AGE
• Aryans started migrating from central Asia to south Asia (India) and
towards Europe
• They slowly started establishing their community in the Sapta
Sindhu (Punjab) region- from Afghanistan crossing the Khybar pass
they moved down towards Pakistan and Punjab
• It was not an invasion but a mass migration.

www.iashubedu.in
 VEDIC AGE,JAINISM AND BUDDHISM

• The natives of Sapta Sindhu are described as Dasa (slaves) or Dasyu

(Robbers) in the Vedic literature

Sources
• All the knowledge of Aryans came from Vedas especially Rigveda
(1500-1000 BC)
• The language of all Vedic scriptures is Sanskrit
• Upanishads (shruti) and other 3 vedas were written in the later
Vedic period (1000-500 BC)
• Upanishads- Spiritual Knowledge acquired by hearing great sages
• There are 108 Upanishads
• Mundaka Upanishad- Satyamev Jayate
• 18 Puranas- History, genealogies, philosophy and cosmology
• Rigveda- Prayers and hymns
• Samveda- chants and music
• Yajurveda- Yajna, rituals and religious practices
• Atharvaveda- spells and charms to ward off evil, medicine
(Ayurveda)
• Every Veda has is divided into mandalas (chapters) eg., Rigveda has
10 mandalas
• Gayatri mantra- prayer to Savitri- 3rd mandal ofRigveda
• Veda means knowledge of par excellence

Geography
• Sapta Sindhu- land of 7 rivers – Indus, Chenab, Jhelum, Rabi, Beas,
Sutlaj and Saraswati (North-South)
• No mention of seas and Vindhya (mountains separating north and
south regarded as traditional boundary)
• Ganga mentioned only once- Ganga was known but it was not very
popular as majority of their population was situated near the river
Saraswati.

www.iashubedu.in
 VEDIC AGE,JAINISM AND BUDDHISM

Social Life
• Clan based kinship- no kingdom or king
• It was a tribal society- ‘jana’ (Tribes) should be loyal only to its clan
• Patriarchal society- Male dominance
• But, the position of women was very high among Aryan people,
they could receive higher education
• and were looked upon with much regard. They could take part in
public discussions and could
• marry man of their choice. Widow remarriage was in practice that
time, no child marriage
• The society was divided mainly into four class- 4 varnas (late Rigvedic
period)
• Varna- ‘colour/outward appearance’
• The classifications of these varnas were based on the nature of
work of the people they were NOT
• CASTE
• Brahmin- priest, scholars
• Khatriya- warriors, administrators, later rulers
• Vaishya- farmers and later traders
Shudra- servants, field laborers, dasa/dasyu
• Rigid hierarchy- Initially the hierarchy was flexible (brahmins
could become khatriya and so on) but the leniency decreased
in the later part of this period
• Later inter dining and intermarriage was also abolished
Food
• Aryans were mostly vegetarian wheat, barley etc
• Meat eating like fish, birds, goat, sheep etc. was occasional-
Only lower primates were eaten
• Drinks- Somarasa – exhilarating drink from a mountain plant
(Probably from kashmir)

www.iashubedu.in
 VEDIC AGE,JAINISM AND BUDDHISM

Politics
• Patriarchal family- Kula
• Tribe – Jana
• Rajan- chief of the tribe
• Assembly of elite people- Sabha/samiti/Vidhata
• The position of chief was usually hereditary, but the
position could be remove on being weak
• Rajan was not given unlimited powers
• Intra tribal fights- Bharat tribe fought against 10 tribes
(Battle of 10 king) and won
Economy
• Pastoral life- cattle breeding was the primary occupation
• Agriculture- secondary- wars were not fought over lands but
over cattle (Gavisti- war for cattle)
• Crafts, pottery, leather goods, smiths
• No coins- bartering or gift-based economy
• No taxes – Bali/Voluntary gift (Cow/Women)-only if its
surplus
• Use of copper and bronze no use of iron
Importance of Cow
• Cows were gifted to priest
• Cow- Gau
• Gavishti- Search for cows/war
• Gopati- Protector of cows- Rajan
• Duhitra- daughter of gopati one who milks cows
• Gomat- wealthy man who owned many cows- social classes
were based on number of cows owned by people.

www.iashubedu.in
 VEDIC AGE,JAINISM AND BUDDHISM

• Eating cow meat was strictly prohibited

Religion and Philosophy
• Natural phenomena manifested in anthropomorphic forms
• Terrestrial gods- Prithvi, Soma, Agni
• Atmospheric gods- Indra, Vayu, Maruta
• Heavenly gods- Varun, Surya, Usha
• Most important gods:
o Varun- god of sky and water
o Indra- god of war & Thunderstorm also called ‘Purandar’
(Destroyer of forts)
o Agni- god of fire
• Sacrifices of milk, ghee, vegetables, grains along with rituals
and hymns in proper order(Yajna)

LATER VEDIC AGE

• 1000-600 BC
• Beginning of IRON age in India
• Profound changes and developments compared to early
Vedic ages

Geography
• Aryan population extended eastwards and southwards
• references of Arabian sea and Vindhyas can be found in the
succeeding scriptures
• Ganga, Jamuna and doab became the main centre of
civilization
• Now, iron instruments were being used to clear jungles, kill
wild animals and tilling soil

www.iashubedu.in
 VEDIC AGE,JAINISM AND BUDDHISM

• Horses enable them to move forward at brisk pace

Social Life
• More development in varna system- Varnas were now
differentiated into caste based on occupation but till that it
was not rigid.
• Brahmin supremacy developed in the society Gargi and
Maitreyi- Two intellectual women of that era- women could
get education
• status of women in general declined- agriculture based
society may have restricted women to their
household chores only.
• Different marital practices
• All three upper Varnas shared a common tradition called
Upnayan Ceremony- Investiture of a person with the sacred
thread and recitation of mantras. After the Upanayana
Ceremony the person is called Dwija- Twice born
• Shurdas were not allowed to recite Gayatri mantra and to
wear the sacred thread- deprived from some rights
• At this time only, the ashram system developed- Jabal
Upanishad
• There are four ashrams according to this upanshad-
o Bramhacharya Ashram- Student Life
o Grishastha Ashram- Married Life
o Vanaprastha Ashram- Old Age
o Sanyasa Ashram – Renunciation

www.iashubedu.in
 VEDIC AGE,JAINISM AND BUDDHISM

Polity
• Rajan gained dominance and the assembly became less
powerful
• Exclusion of women from sabha
• Tribes united to form separate kingdom ‘Rashtra’ – the
kigndom was named after the dominant tribe
• Kuru Rashtra and Panchal Rashtra were dominant now
(Earlier Bharat)
• Further development of iron weapons, but no standing
army
Administrative Officers
Purohit- priest- use to advise Rajan and organized religious
activities
Gramini- officer who worked at village level
Senani- army head
Ratnani- chief advisor to the king or Rajan
Sagrahetri- teasurer
Bhagduha- tax collection
Economy
1. Main occupation: Agriculture- completely agriculture-
based economy (Earlier- Nomadic)- Sadentary lifestyle
2. Wide variety of crops emerged
3. Use of iron instruments increased
• Developmentof urban centers like Hasthinapur
• Development of oxen drawn plough
• Land became a property

www.iashubedu.in
 VEDIC AGE,JAINISM AND BUDDHISM

• Guild system arrived- organization of traders

• Use of Gold, silver and iron is mentioned in the scripture of
this time period
Religion and Philosophy
The hierarchy of gods also changed in this era
• Indra became less important now
• Prajapati- more important
• Rudra- Destroyer
• Vishnu- minor god in rigveda, now protector of people
• Pushan- Protector of cows
• Evidences of idol worship in late vedic period
• Reduction in rituals and hymns
• Cattle sacrifice began
Yajna by kings
Rajans performed yajna for the prosperity of their kingdom
• Rajsuya: to confer his supremacy and impress people
• Ashvamedha yajna: Unrestricted control over areas where
the royal horse ran uninterrupted
• Vajpeya: Chariot race between the kings to prove supremacy
Scriptures
Upanishads
• Written towards the end of the Vedic period
• A strong reaction against brahmin dominance, cult and
rituals began
• Criticism of ritualism and laid more stress on karma and
knowledge

www.iashubedu.in
 VEDIC AGE,JAINISM AND BUDDHISM

• Relation of bramhan with atman should be properly

understood
• Upanishads are dialogues between guru and shishya
• Brahma emerged as supreme entity in Upanishads- Father
of universe as powerful as king
• Followed principals of gyana (Jnana)- True knowledge for
peace, Changelessness, indestructibility,immortality of soul
and salvation

JAINISM AND BUDDHISM

Jainism and Buddhism bloomed in 6th century BC
CAUSES
• Varna System: Katriya’s reaction against the dominance of
the brahmin classes and ongoing animal sacrifices
• The founders of both the religions were khatriya
(Vardhaman Mahavir and buddha)
• Agriculture: cattle were necessary for agriculture, but they
were being killed for ritual sacrifices on a large scale
• Trade coins and Vaishyas: Many cities came up in the lower
Gangetic plains as a result of growing agriculture and trade-
Rajgir, Benares, Khushinagar, Chirand
• Earliest coins were punched markedcoins belonged to 500
BC- 1st used by the Vaishyas
• Coins facilitated trade and commerce- increased the
importance of vaishyas in the society

www.iashubedu.in
 VEDIC AGE,JAINISM AND BUDDHISM

• They were ranked 3rd in the Varna hierarchy and wanted to

improve their place. Hence, laid generous support to Jainism
and Buddhism
• Both new religions were not biased for any varna
• Both preached non-violence which would put an end to the
war between kingdoms and animal sacrifice also promoted
trade and commerce
• With trade came prosperity and also economic inequality
entered the society
• New religion called for an older ascetic life-style like old
Vedic days- people who followed this life-style were
attracted to these religions.

JAINISM
The pioneers of Jainism are called Tirthankers
• 24 tirthankers- Profetsof Jainism
• Rishavnath- 1st tirthanker- reprensented by bull
• Parsavanath- 23rd tirthanker- Serpent hood
• Vardhamana Mahavira- 24th and the last tirthanker of
Jainism- Lion
born in Kundalgram Vaishali 599/582 BC – established
Jainism officially
o Father- Siddhartha, head of khatriya clan
o Mother- Trishala, sister of Lichavi chief
o He was married to Yashoda and had a daughter named
Priyadarsena whose husband Jamali became the first disciple of
Mahavira.

www.iashubedu.in
 VEDIC AGE,JAINISM AND BUDDHISM

o Left house at age 30 to become an ascetic after the death of his

parents
o Wandered in Bihar for 12 years in pursuit of knowledge and
spiritual awakening
o After 12 years attained enlightenment (Kaivalya) on 10th of
Vaishakh outside the town of Jimbikgrama.
o He preached for 30 years in Bihar, Bengal and areas nearby UP
o Departed from earth at the age of 72 in Pava (near Patna) in 527 BC
Teachings
‘Ahimsa parmo dharma’- Non-violence is the most exalted duty-
sacred philosophy ofJainism
• Non-injury (Ahimsa)
• Non-lying (Satya)
• Non-stealing (Asteya)
• Non-possession (Aprigraha)
• Chastity (Bramhacharya)
Mahavira propagated the three jewels (Triratna) of Jainism
philosophy to attain nirvana.
• Right faith- samyak darshan
• Right Knowledge- samyak gyan
• Right Conduct- samyak charitra
• Jainism disowned the authority and infallibility of the vedas
• Jains rejected the concept of universal soul or a supreme power
as a creator and sustainer of the universe
• Mahavira believed that all individuals irrespective of their cast
can strive for liberation by the virtue of their good deeds and
living.

www.iashubedu.in
 VEDIC AGE,JAINISM AND BUDDHISM

Literature
• Adopted Prakrit rather than Sanskrit
• Jain literature is known as ‘Agim’- based on the jinvani of the
tirthankaras theirteachings
• Nirukritis- written by Jain monk Bhadra bahu
• Kalpasutra- Biography of jain monks
Spread of Jainism
• Many of the rules like Chasty were relaxed to some extent after
sometime as it was difficult to follow
• Starting from Magadha, the religion spread to south (Karnataka)
and western regions
• jainism came in Kalinga (Present Odisha) after the king Kharvela
accepted Jainism as hisreligion
• Later in 1st millennium AD, it spread across Malwa, Gujrat and
Rajasthan- Major Jain population in present days
Jain Councils
• First council- Patliputra in 300 BC
• Under the chairmanship of Sthulabhadra
• Compilation of Jain literatures
• Beginning of Schism- Svetambara (White clad) and Digambar
(Sky Clad)- two branches ofJainism
• There were differences in the doctrine of these two branches
• Digambar abdicated clothes (Aparigraha- Non-possession)
• Svetambara wore white clothes
• 2nd council- Valabhi (Gujrat) in 512 AD
under the chairmanship of monk Devardhi Kshamashemana

www.iashubedu.in
 VEDIC AGE,JAINISM AND BUDDHISM

• 12 Angas of the literature were combined

BUDDHISM
• Goutam Buddha or Siddharth was the pioneer of Buddhism
• He was born in 563 BC in Vaisakha Purnima day in Lumbini near
(Kapilavastu) inNepal
• Father's name was Sudhodhan and mother's name was
Mahamaya
• He lost his mother after 7 days of his birth
• He was brought up by his step mother Goutami
• He married Yashodhara at the age of 16 and has a son named
Rahul
• He quit home at the age of 29 in search of truth
(Mahbhinishkarmana) with Channa the charioteer and his
favourite horse Kanthaka
• He attained nirvana near the Niranjan river under a pipal tree in
Gaya (Magadha) (also known as Bodhgaya now)
• Delivered his first sermon at Sarnath where his disciples had
settled.
• His first sermon is called ‘dharmachakrapravartan’ or ‘turning of
the wheel of law’ at 483 BC
• Departed from earth at the age of 80 also known as
‘mahaparinirvana’

www.iashubedu.in
 VEDIC AGE,JAINISM AND BUDDHISM

Literature
• All Buddhist literatures were written in pali language
• There are 3 pitaks
• Sutta pitak- sermon of buddha himself
• Vinay Pitak- code of conduct o0f the followers
• Abhidahamma Pitak- Philosophical ideas of bhuddhism Spread
of Buddhism
• Spread very fast unlike Jainism
• 2 kinds of disciples- Monks (Bhikshuk) and lay
worshippers(Upashak)
• Organised preaching- Monks organised sangha for the purpose
of spread of Buddhistteachings
• Anybody irrespective of caste and gender could be the member
of the sangha be it male orfemale
• Easy to follow by the lower or less literate varnas due to less
philosophical details
• This religion was highly embraced by Kings of Magadha, Kosala
and Kaushambhi Ashoka took up Buddhism and spread it across
the world
Buddhist Councils
1st council- Rajgriha immediately after the departure of buddha in
483 BC
• Teachings of buddha were penned down
• Under patronage of king Ajatshatru under the chairmanship of
Magakashyap

www.iashubedu.in
 VEDIC AGE,JAINISM AND BUDDHISM

• Monk Ananada composed suttapitaka (Buddha's teachings) &

Monk Upali composed Vinaypitaka
2nd council- Vaishali 383 BC
• Under patronage of king Kalashoka under the chairmanship of
Sabakami
• This council was held to solve some disputes regarding
Vinaypitak
3rd Council- Patliputra in 250 BC
• Under patronage of king Ashoka under the chairmanship of
Mogliputta Tissa
• For the compilation of Abhidhamma Pitak (Philosophical
exposition of Buddhism)
4th council- Kudalvan (Kashmir) in 72 AD
• Organised by Kanishka under the chairmanship of Vasumitra
• Asvaghosa participated in this council and all the deliberations
were made in Sanskrit
• The two branches of Buddhism Mahayana and Hinayana were
the result of the council
• Mahayana spread to china, Indonesia and majorly in the south
Asian regions of the world
• Theravada or Hinayana spread to Sri Lanka, Burma and Thailand

www.iashubedu.in
 VEDIC AGE,JAINISM AND BUDDHISM

Theravada (Hinayana- Small) Mahayana (Big)

Orthodox sect Adopted new elements

Believed that buddha was not a god but a
messenger of god who has attained
Nirvana and showed the path of truth
to others
Didn’t believed in idol worship
Worshiped Buddha as god
Concept of Bodhisattvas arrived- different
incarnations of Buddha
Idol worship

Preached in Pali language Preached and published literatures in

Sanskrit

Causes of Decline of Buddhism in India

• Reformation of Hinduism and revival of Brahminism in Gupta era and
Khungha era
• Use of Sanskrit instead of Pali in the 4th council
• Pushyamitra Sunga persecuted Buddhist (2nd CentBCE)
• After the birth of Mahayana idol worship happened at a large scale
and huge offering and donations became common practice. This
hampered moral standards
• Attack of Hunas(500-600 AD)&ATTACKOF TURKISH INVADERS IN1200
AD destroyed major Buddhist Ministries.

www.iashubedu.in