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ASSIGNMENT 8 CLASS IX HISTORY the LATER VEDIC AGE Highlights ASSIGNMENT 8 CLASS IX HISTORY THE LATER VEDIC AGE Note: ● The Study Material consists of 3 parts – o Part I - The important highlights of the chapter. o Part II - The activity based on the chapter. o Part III – The questions based on the study material you need to answer in your respective notebook and submit when you are back to the school. PART – I Highlights of the lesson We have read in the previous chapter that the early Vedic Age ended around 1000 BC. The next five hundred years may be described as the Later Vedic period. The use of Iron along with other metals facilitated the growth of Aryan Civilization. The later Vedic period shows all-round development among the Aryans. SOURCES TO RECONSTRUCT THE LATER VEDIC AGE 1. Later Vedic Literature : Upanishads and Vedas help us to reconstruct the past The later Vedic literature includes Yajur Veda, Atharva Veda and Sama Veda. Each of the ​ ​ Vedas consists of two parts : the Samhita and the Brahmana. The Samhita is composed of ​ hymns and prayers to be sung at rituals and sacrifices. The Brahmanas are prose texts that explain in detail the meaning of the hymns. Besides, there are the Aranyakas (forest texts) and the Upanishads which contain philosophical thoughts of learned sages on Soul, God and the ultimate truth or reality. 2. Smritis and Epics : Many other literary productions were handed down in the course of many centuries. Some of these are the Smritis and the two great Epics, The Ramayana and the Mahabharata. 3. Archaeological Sources : The archaeological sources include the axes made of iron and ​ other iron tools. The later Vedic people were familiar with four types of pottery - black and red ware, black-slipped ware, painted grey ware and red ware. SPREAD OF VEDIC CIVILIZATION TO MANY NEW REGIONS IN INDIA As population increased, the Aryans moved along the course of the rivers Ganga and ​ Yamuna. The scene shifted from Punjab to the land of the Kurus which was the region around ​ modern Delhi. Further, they occupied vast regions to the east, such as Kosala (east Uttar Pradesh), Kashi (Varanasi), Videha (north Bihar) and Magadha (South Bihar). The name ‘Vangas’ (Bengal) occurs in one of the Aranyakas (forest texts). The Aitareya Brahmana ​ mentioned the Andhras, who in modern times are the Telugu-speaking people of Southern India. Thus, the territories occupied by the later Vedic Aryans comprised the whole of India to the north of the Narmada and some regions even to the south of that river. ROLE OF IRON IN LATER VEDIC ECONOMY Axes made of iron made it easier to fell trees and clear forests. That made more and more land available both for cultivation and colonisation Iron ploughshare made deep ploughing casy. It helped the peasants to produce varied crops. Carpenters, masons and metal workers started working with better iron tools. This gave rise to development of different crafts. Increased agricultural productivity led to the growth of trade and commerce. This gave a momentum to the rise of towns and cities. Monumental Evidence to Suggest that Southern India had also become Familiar with Iron : A Megalithic Tomb ● Megalithic Monuments such as dolmens and cromlechs have been found all over South India. The word 'megalith' means large stone (mega + lith). ● A dolmen or a cromlech is a megalithic tomb with a large flat stone laid on upright ones. ● Iron tools, arrows and fragments of rice and other grains have been found, besides the skeletons of the persons buried in these graves. This is enough to show the transition from Copper and Bronze Age Culture to the Iron Age. COMPARATIVE STUDY OF EARLY AND LATER VEDIC SOCIETY Many changes can be traced in the social life of the later Vedic Aryans. 1. Position of Women : ● In the early Vedic society women were treated as being equal with men. Women could attend assemblies. They took part in all religious rites. They could offer sacrifices along with their husbands. ● In the later Vedic age women were generally given a lower position. Although women continued to be associated with all religious rites, the rules of marriage underwent a change. ● If monogamy was the ideal, polygamy was the practice, at least in higher sections of society. In a polygamous system a woman naturally assumes subordinate position. ● The practice of widows marrying again, which was fairly common in the Rig Vedic age, was now regarded with disfavour. ● But the education which some women received was of a high order. The discourses of women philosophers are preserved in the Upanishads. ​ 2. Caste System : ● The later Vedic society was also divided into four varnas, but the growing cult of sacrifices added much to the power of the Brahmins. Now the Brahmins and the ​ ​ Kshatriyas enjoyed power and privileges denied to the Vaisyas and the Shudras. ​ ​ ​ ​ ● Moreover, many other caste groups, besides the four major Varnas, had come into being. In the words of R.C. Majumdar, "We have references to the merchant, the ​ ​ chariot maker, the smith, the carpenter, the tanner, the fisherman, etc., as names of distinct castes." ● In the later Vedic age the membership of a Varna or that of a caste had become hereditary. There was also a fixation of occupations on the basis of one's caste. ● The position of the Shudras was made miserable by depriving them of the rights of ​ learning the sacred texts and performing sacrifices. The so-called 'untouchables were ​ forced to live in separate settlements outside the village or the town boundaries. 3. The Four Ashrams or Stages of Life : ● The man's Life was divided into four periods of twenty-five years each. Each period represented one Ashram. ​ ​ ● The Brahmacharya Ashram was mainly devoted to education for the development of ​ body and mind. ● The Grihastha Ashram was the period when man married and led a family life. ​ ​ ● The Vanaprastha Ashram was spent in meditation and prayer. ​ ​ ● The last phase was the Sanyasa Ashram. One had to renounce all worldly pleasures ​ ​ and live in the forest as a Sanyasi, 4. Gurukul System of Education : Gurukul System of Education ● The Gurukul system of Education had become well established in Inter Vedic times. ​ The pupils stayed with their Guru for their physical mental and spiritual development ● Besides Vedic Literature, secular subjects like Logic, Ethics, Military Science, Mathematics, Law, Astronomy and Astrology were included in the courses of study, ● No fees were charged for this type of education, but the pupils paid a voluntary contribution known as Gurudakshina when they completed their education. ​ ​ ● Children belonging to both rich and poor families had to stay together. They rendered various duties in the running of the Gurukula. They gathered fuel, tended the cattle, begged alms from the neighbouring villages and worked in the fields attached to the Gurukula. COMPARATIVE STUDY OF EARLY AND LATER VEDIC POLITICAL ORGANISATION The later Vedic period saw many changes in the political organisation. We could see the emergence of Janapadas or large kingdoms ruled by the kings whose powers had grown ​ enormously. 1. The King : The Later Vedic literature tells us that the kingship (or State) is a divine creation. The state came into being to end anarchy and restore peace. 2. Administrative System : The emergence of large kingdoms was associated with growth ​ administrative machinery. ● The most of important officials were the - ○ Treasurer, the Collector of Taxes ○ Royal Chamberlain who managed the household of the monarch ○ Older officials of Rig Vedic age - the Purohit (Royal Chaplain), the Senani ​ ​ (the General) and the Gramini (leader of the village). Mention is also made of ​ ​ Sachiva. In later ages the Sachivas rose to the level of ministers. The Sabha ​ ​ ​ was gradually converted into the King's Court. 3. The Rajasuya and other Sacrifices : ● Sacrifices such as the Rajasuya, the Vajpeya and Ashvamedha were unknown in the ​ ​ ​ ​ Rig Vedic age. ● In the Later Vedic period, Vajapeya sacrifice was performed by a new king at the time ​ of his coronation. ● The Rajasuya sacrifice was performed to appease Gods in order to ensure the material well being of the kingdom. ● The Ashvamedha sacrifice was an occasion for a powerful king to proclaim that he ​ was the ‘King of Kings'. COMPARATIVE STUDY OF EARLY AND LATER VEDIC ECONOMIC LIFE 1. Growing Importance of Agriculture : In addition to Yava or barley, a new crop Vrihi or ​ ​ rice had assumed greater significance. The later Vedic Aryans produced many other crops such as wheat, millet and sugarcane. 2. Crafts : There was a remarkable variety of crafts in the later Vedic. Perhaps the most ​ significant change was the use of iron in large ● Crafts such as leather-working, carpentry, making of jewellery and manufacture of glass flourished. ● Crafts specialization had now become more common than in the early Vedic period. Thus chariot-making developed as an occupation different from that of carpentry. 3. Trade and Industry : Important changes can be seen in the field of Trade and Commerce. ​ ● Commerce was made easier by the use of such units of value as nishka and satmana, ​ ​ ​ although it can not be said with certainty that they had developed as regular coins. ● The reference to ships indicates a flourishing inland maritime trade. ● Many of the professions were organised into guilds, which controlled prices and ensured the quality of the goods. COMPARATIVE STUDY OF EARLY AND LATER VEDIC RELIGIOUS LIFE Significant changes took place in the religion of the Aryans of the later Vedic period. 1. Gods and Goddesses : ● The Rig Vedic Gods - Indra, Agni, Surya etc. lost their prominence. New gods ​ Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva gained prominence. ​ ● They believed that Prajapati or Brahma was the Creator. ​ ​ ​ ​ ● Vishnu, the Preserver, helped men and Gods in their distress.
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