Anamika Kumari Assistant Professor Department of History

Gautam Buddha Mahila College, Gaya Magadh University, Gaya

E - CONTENT

Vadic Era: Introduction

The Vedic Age is the “heroic age” of ancient Indian civilization. It is also the formative period when the basic foundations of Indian civilization were laid down. These include the emergence of early Hinduism as the foundational religion of India, and the social/religious phenomenon known as caste.

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

Page 1 of 7 as the Vedic Period, or the Vedic Age (c. 1500 – c. 500 B.C.E.) is the period in the history of India during which the Vedas, the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism, were being composed. Based on literary evidence. The associated culture, sometimes referred to as Vedic civilization, was centered in the northern and northwestern parts of the Indian subcontinent (Between the 1500 BC and 500 BC on the Indo- Gangetic Plains of the Indian subcontinent).. Its early phase saw the formation of various kingdoms of ancient India. In its late phase (from ca. 600 B.C.E.), it saw the rise of the Maha janapadas, and was succeeded by the Maurya Empire .(from ca. 320 B.C.E).

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.

Veda means "knowledge". The Vedas formed the earliest segment of Vedic literature.

The Vedic literature had been evolved in the course of many centuries and was handed down from generation to generation by the word of mouth.

The Vedas are the collection of hymns, prayers, charms, litanies, and sacrificial formulae.

Vedas are four in number, namely −

➢ Rig Veda − It is the oldest Veda. It is a collection of hymns.

➢ Samveda − it is a collection of songs, which are mostly taken from Rig Veda.

➢ Yajurveda − It is a collection of sacrificial formulae.

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➢ Atharvanaveda − it is a collection of spells and charms.

The Vedas

The Aryans were a people from central Asia who spoke an Indo-European language. They brought with them into India a religion based on the worship of many gods and goddesses.

This ancient religion is depicted in collections of oral poetry and prose – hymns, prayers, chants, spells and commentaries – known as the “Vedas”. Linguistically, the texts belonging to the Hindu Vedic Civilization can be classified into the five chronological branches.

Rig-Veda:

The oldest text of the Vedic Period, Rig Veda has many elements that are common with

the Indo-Iranian texts, both in language and in content, that are not present in any other

Vedic texts. It is believed that the compilation of the Rig Veda had stretched over a

number of centuries. However, there is a conflict as to the completion date of the Rig

Veda. Some historians believe it to be 1500 BC, while the others believe it to be 3000

BC. This time period coincided with the Indus Valley Civilization. There is no widely

accepted archaeological or linguistic evidence of direct cultural continuity from the

Indus Valley Civilization. The word "Veda" means "knowledge."

Age of Rig-Veda

• The origin of the earth goes back to about 4,600 million years and the origin of

humans themselves goes back to about 4.2 million years (ago).

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• Max Muller gives arbitrarily the date of composition of Rig Veda to be around 1,200

to 1,000 B.C.

• W. D. Whitney negated and criticized Muller for using totally arbitrary,

unscientific, and un-academic method in assigning the dates.

• On the analogy of the language of Avesta, some scholars opined that the date of Rig

Veda may be 1,000 B.C.

• Some of the Vedic gods namely Indra, Varuna, Mitra, and the two Nasatyas were

mentioned in Boghaz-Koi (Asia Minor) inscription of 1,400 B.C., which proves that

Rig Veda must have come into existence much before the date described by some

of the foreigner scholars.

• Bal Gangadhar Tilak, on astronomical grounds, dated Rig Veda to 6,000 B.C.

• Harmon Jacobi held that Vedic civilization flourished between 4,500 B.C. and 2,500

B.C. and the Samhitas were composed in the latter half of the period.

• Famous Sanskritist, Winternitz felt that the Rig Veda was probably composed in the

third millennium B.C.

• R. K. Mukerjee suggested that "on a modest computation, we should come to 2,500

B.C. as the time of Rig Veda".

• G. C. Pande also favors a date of 3,000 B.C. or even earlier.

The Upanishads

Another body of literature that was composed towards the end of the Vedic Age were the “Upanishads”. Originally, these were included in the Vedas, to which they formed

Page 4 of 7 commentaries; however, they were gradually separated out and assumed an identity of their own.

The 200 sections of prose and poetry of which they are composed explore concepts only dimly perceived, if at all, in the earlier Vedas. These include the idea that the material world is unreal – indeed, it is an illusion. So too are Earthly emotions such as desire and suffering.

To break the weary cycle of reincarnation which all souls have to go through, therefore, involves renouncing desire and other human feelings which bind the soul to the material world. This will allow the soul to be united with the “World Soul” (Brahma), and so achieve peace.

These ideas helped to give the religious thought of ancient India a very distinctive flavour.

They have influenced Indian civilization throughout its long history, right up to the present day.

Religious Activity:

The Vedas, the Mahabharata and the Upanishads formed the foundational writings of the Hindu religion, which was gradually taking shape in the Vedic Age. They show that the ancient Vedic religion was evolving into something different. This was probably to a large extent the result of influences from the older Dravidian populations over whom the

Aryans ruled. During the course of centuries the Aryan nature deities lost much of their importance, and three new gods took their place: Vishnu, the preserver; Shiva, the destroyer; and Brahma, the creator.

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The ideas associated with the Upanishads became important, and these had a profound effect on social life. The notion that every element of creation – humans, animals, plants, rocks and so on – had a portion of the World Soul dwelling in them (“Atman”) gained acceptance within ancient Indian society. With it came a respect for all living things.

The caste system

It was during this period of history that ancient India developed its distinctive caste system. The tendencies towards social division had been present ever since the coming of

Aryans into India. As happened at many different times and places in world history, the conquerors set themselves up as a ruling class. However, unlike in other parts of the world, where the differences between the conquerors and the conquered gradually disappeared over time, in India they solidified in the form of divisions between the castes, between whom intermarriage was forbidden.

The priestly caste, the Brahmins were at the top of the social ladder, as being closest to Brahma. Below them came the warrior caste, the Kshatryas. Then came the Vaishyas, the ordinary Aryan tribesmen, farmers, craftsmen and traders. Finally came the Shudras, menial workers, the labourers, servants and those performing services which are ritually unclean. There were also many people outside the caste system altogether, excluded from

Aryan-dominated society. These were called the “Untouchables”. They were not really regarded as human beings, and performed the most degrading tasks of all, such as dealing with human waste.

As the Vedic Age drew to a close, the tribal society of the early Aryans gave way to a more complex social organization. This made agriculture more productive, and

Page 6 of 7 populations grew. Trade expanded, both within India and with the lands to the west. From the Middle East came the use of writing and the great oral traditions of Aryan society began to be written down. Organized kingdoms with centralized authority emanating out from the royal palaces arose in place of the looser, clan-based tribal states. This makes ancient India the only place in which the republican form of government flourished in the ancient world.

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