Chapter-2

Vedic civilization and culture

The Vedic Period or the Vedic Age refers to that time period when the Vedic
Sanskrit texts were composed in India. The society that emerged during that time is
known as the Vedic Period, or the Vedic Age, Civilization. The Vedic Civilization
flourished between the 1500 BC and 500 BC on the Indo-Gangetic Plains of the
Indian subcontinent. This civilization laid down the foundation of Hinduism as
well as the associated Indian culture. The Vedic Age was followed by the golden
age of Hinduism and classical Sanskrit literature, the Maurya Empire and the
Middle Kingdoms of India.

Sources of Vedic time (1500 BC-500BC):

It gets its name from the Vedas, which are liturgical texts containing details of life
during this period that have been interpreted to be historical and constitute the
primary sources for understanding the period. The Vedas were composed and
orally transmitted by speakers of an Old Indo-Aryan language who
had migrated into the northwestern regions of South Asia early in this period. The
associated culture, also called the Vedic culture, was tribal and pastoral until 1200
BCE, and centered in the Punjab.

Polity:

Early Vedic Aryans were organized into tribes rather than kingdoms. The chief of a
tribe was called a rajan. The autonomy of the rajan was restricted by the tribal
councils called sabha and samiti. The two bodies were, in part, responsible for the
governance of the tribe. The rajan could not accede to the throne without their
approval.
Economy:

Economy in the Rig Vedic period was sustained by a combination

of pastoralism and agriculture. There are references, in the Rig Veda, to the
leveling of fields, seed processing, and storage of grains in large jars. War booty
was also a major source of wealth. Economic exchanges were conducted by gift
giving, particularly to kings (bali) and priests (dana), and barter using cattle as a
unit of currency. While gold is mentioned in some hymns, there is no indication of
the use of coins. Metallurgy is not mentioned in the Rig Veda, but the
word ayas and instruments made from it such as razors, bangles, axes are
mentioned. Professions of warriors, priests, cattle-rearers, farmers, hunters,
barbers, vintners and crafts of chariot-making, cart-making, carpentry, metal
working, tanning, making of bows, sewing, weaving, making mats of grass and
reed are mentioned in the hymns of the Rig Veda.

Religion:

The mode of worship was the performance of sacrifices (yajna) which included
the chanting of Rig Vedic verses, singing of Samans and 'mumbling' of sacrificial
mantras . Yajna involved sacrifice and sublimation of the Havana sámagri (herbal
preparations) in the fire accompanied by the chanting of the Vedic mantras. The
sublime meaning of the word yajna is derived from the Sanskrit verb yaj, which
has a three-fold meaning of worship of deities (devapujana), unity and charity
(dána). An essential element was the sacrificial fire - the divine Agni - into which
oblations were poured, as everything offered into the fire was believed to reach
God. People prayed for abundance of rain, cattle, sons, long life and gaining
'heaven'.

Vedic people believed in the transmigration of the soul and the peepul tree and cow
were sanctified by the time of the Atharva Veda. Many of the concepts of Indian
philosophy espoused later like Dharma, Karma etc. trace their root to the Vedas.

Society:

The Vedic household was patriarchal and patrilineal. The institution of marriage
was important and different types of marriages— monogamy, polygyny and
polyandry are mentioned in the Rig Veda. Both women sages and female gods were
known to Vedic Aryans. However, hymns attributable to female sages are few and
female gods were not as important as male ones. Women could choose their
husbands and could remarry if their husbands died or disappeared. While the wife
enjoyed a respectable position, she was subordinate to her husband. People
consumed milk, milk products, grains, fruits, and vegetables. Meat eating is
mentioned, however, cows are labeled aghnya (not to be killed). Clothes of cotton,
wool and animal skin were worn. Soma and sura were popular drinks in the Rig
Vedic society, of which soma was sanctified by religion. Flute (vana), lute (vina),
harp, cymbals, and drums were the musical instruments played and a heptatonic
scale was used. Dancing, dramas, chariot racing, and gambling were other popular
pastimes.

Political system of early and later Vedic period:

Early Vedic Age: Ancient History

• The Vedic civilization is named after the Vedas, especially the Rig Veda, which is the earliest
specimen of the Indo-European language and the chief source of information on the history of
this period.

• The Vedic Civilization flourished along the river Saraswati, in a region that now consists of the
modern Indian states of Haryana and Punjab.

• Later, they moved into Indo-Gangetic plains.

• They were mainly a cattle-keeping people, and were mainly in search of pastures.

• By 6th century B.C., they occupied the whole of North India, which was referred to as
Aryavarta.

• This period between 1500 B.C and 600 B.C is divided into the Early Vedic Period or Rig Vedic
Period (1500 B.C -1000 B.C) and the Later Vedic Period (1000B.C – 600 B.C).

• Many historians have given various theories regarding the original place of the Aryans,
however, largely accepted view is the Central Asian Theory given by Max Muller.

• It states that the Aryans were semi-nomadic pastoral people around the Caspian Sea in Central
Asia.
• The holy book of Iran ‘Zend Avesta’ indicates entry of Aryans to India via Iran.

• A section of Aryans reached the frontiers of the Indian subcontinent around 1500 BC and first
settled in Punjab and it is here, in this land, where the hymns of Rigveda were composed.

• The Aryans lived in tribes and spoke Sanskrit, which belonged to the Indo-European group of
languages.

Later Vedic Age: Ancient History

• The geographical area covered by the early Aryans is indicated from certain allusions in the
Rigveda, which seems to have been limited to an area extending from Afghanistan to the
Gangetic valley.

• The former region was occupied by the Aryans is from the mention of rivers like the Kubha
(Kabul), the Suvastu, situated north of Kabul.

• The Sindhu , identical with the Indus, is the river par excellence of the Rigvedic Aryans and is
repeatedly mentioned, so also are its five tributaries – the Vitasta (Jhelum), Asikni (Chenab),
Parushni (Ravi), Vipasa (Beas) and the Sutudri (Sutlej).

• Similarly, Dirsadvati (Chantang) is named, but the Sarasvati, now lost in the sands of
Rajasthan, was first of the Rigvedic river as its banks witnessed the development of Vedic rituals
and cult of sacrifices.

• The Yamuna is twice mentioned and the Ganga only once.

• They knew the Himalayas as one of its peak ‘Mujavat’ – a source of some plant and probably in
Kashmir, are directly mentioned.

• They knew nothing about the Vindhyas and were not familiar with the sea.

Status of Women in Early and Later Vedic age:

In the Early Vedic (or Rig-Vedic) period the womenfolk had a high status in the
society. Women were highly respected in the family a well. A married woman used
to perform religious ceremonies as a partner of her husband.

Despite the prominence of men in family women were considered as the masters of
the household. Unmarried women could pursue their study staying in the house of
their parents In Later Vedic period, however, this position of women change for the
worse.

The family tended to be more patriarchal. In contemporary books women have

been depicted as one of the evils In the Later Vedic period women were not
allowed to participate in the tribal assemblies.

Four stages of Ashram System:

1. Brahmcharya Ashram: It is a specific period of education for all young

persons before they can grow independent to work for life. During this
period of education, he has to follow some ideals and live in a specific
environment. In the ancient past, schools were boarding schools where a
child was admitted at the age of 8-12 years, after following certain
ceremonies and imparted knowledge, skills and crafts, general and physical
education, and training in logic. The students were taught discipline of life
during this stage and were asked to take four vows of sexual purity (to check
sex indulgence), simplicity in food and dress (to generate a sense of equality,
fraternity and independence), respect for and obedience to the teacher (to
create discipline) and enjoying self-exertion in acquiring knowledge and
offering prayer (reciting hymns and meditation) for the cooperation of the
divine powers. Thus, chastity, simplicity, hard work, devotion to knowledge,
and spiritual reality were the ideals of student life.

2. Garhasthya Ashram: This period of life covers an active period of effective

membership of society and covers 25 years of life after the first 25 years of
education. This is householder’s life, a married life. The ideal marriage was
considered one which was performed for moksha or final liberation and
intellectual companionship through the performance of household duties,
including upbringing of children and offering reverence (shradha) to
ancestors.

Indian culture considers marriage not merely as an association but as

absolute oneness. The marriage ceremony binds a man and a woman into a
 single complete being of which one half is the man and the other half is the
woman.
The oneness is not to last for a lifetime but it is to be continuous birth after
birth. Thus, since marriage is for spiritual ends of oneness, it is regarded as a
sacrament and not as a contract.

3. Vanaprastha Ashram: After the responsibilities to children are over, the

parents are expected to take to social welfare work, so that they do not
remain entrapped in moh. Thus, the idea of third stage is to develop a new
level of interest and action and not merely a retirement into a particular
place. The cultural importance of this third stage is that after enjoying
physical pleasures when the body ages, a person experiences a sense of
frustration and a sense of degeneracy.

4. Sanyasa Ashram: Sanyasa is the final stage in life’s growth. It differs from
the vanaprastha stage in two respects—in the development of interests and in
the development of motivation. While the dominant interest in grahasthya
stage is the family, in vanaprastha stage it is human society as a whole, in
sanyasa stage, the interest is the Universe with its universal consciousness.
Interest in the universal consciousness is identification with total existence
in its deepest being.

Varnas: Four-fold Order of Society:

Varna order is different from the caste system. While the latter is believed to
be the greatest blot on Indian culture, since it has divided the society into
conflicting camps, perpetrated harsh sufferings on a large section of the
Indian people, and has made social justice difficult, or has proved socially
monstrous, politically suicidal, morally obnoxious and economically
disastrous, the former is the division of people into groups on the basis of
aptitudes and abilities and vocations.
The Aptitudes and Abilities are classified as those:
(a) For scholarship,
(b) For administration and defence,
(c) For production and distribution, and
(d) For unskilled la- hour.