Vedic Period

The Vedic Civilization, also known as the Vedic culture or the Vedic period, was a complex and varied civilisation that arose in ancient India between 1500 and 600 BCE. It was distinguished by the practice of Vedic religion and the composition of the Vedas, a collection of sacred texts that serve as the foundation of Hinduism.

The Vedas are the source of a remarkable civilisation's integral wisdom, science, tradition, and culture. They are oral compilations of the distilled wisdom of cosmic knowledge that has survived since the beginning of time. They are recognised not only as scriptures but also as the source of Indian culture and human civilisation.

What is Veda?

• The word Veda is derived from the root vid, which means ‘to know’. The term Veda refers to the sacred knowledge contained in the Vedic texts.
• There are four Vedas: Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda.
  • These four Vedas are also referred to as 'Samhitas' as they represent the oral tradition of the time.

Each Veda has four parts: Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and Upanishads.

Who were Vedic Aryans?

The Vedic Aryans were the authors of the Vedic hymns. Aryans were considered a race in the nineteenth century. Originally, the Aryans seem to have lived somewhere in the Steppes stretching from southern Russia to Central Asia.

• A group of them migrated from here to northwest India, where they were known as Indo-Aryans or simply Aryans.
• The Aryans are considered to represent a linguistic group speaking Indo-European languages. They are distinguished by traditional historians and archaeologists from the non-Aryan Harappans of the preceding period.

Migration of Aryans

Archaeologists have made attempts to link various post-Harappan cultures to the Aryans.

The Painted Grey Ware has been repeatedly connected with Aryan craftsmanship.

• The archaeological evidence of migrations comes from the Andronovo Culture, which is located in southern Siberia. In the second millennium BC, this Culture flourished.
  • From here, people moved north of Hindukush, and from here, they entered India.
• Development of Aryan Language: The new people came in several batches, and one of the important results of this process of interaction was that the Vedic form of the Aryan language became predominant in the entire Northwestern India.
  • The texts written in this language are popularly known as the Vedic Texts.

Geographical Horizons of Vedic Aryans

• The early Vedic Aryans lived in the area known as sapta-sindhu, meaning an area of seven rivers.
• This corresponds to the entire Punjab and its neighbouring Haryana regions, but Rigvedic geography also included the Gomal plains, southern Afghanistan, and southern Jammu and Kashmir.
• The seven rivers included:
  • Sindhu,
  • Vitasta (Jhelum),
  • Asikni (Chenab),
  • Parushni (Ravi),
  • Vipash (Beas),
  • Shutudri (Sutlej),
  • Sarasvati.
• During the Later Vedic period, they gradually moved eastward and came to occupy eastern U.P. (Kosala) and north Bihar (Videha).

Vedic Period (1500-600 BC)

In terms of literature, as well as social and cultural evolution, Vedic texts reflect two stages of development.

• The Rigvedic period, also known as the Early Vedic period, corresponds to the time when the Rigvedic hymns were composed, which was between 1500 BC and 1000 BC.
• The later stage, known as the Later Vedic period, is placed between 1000 BC and 600 BC.

Sources of the Early Vedic Period

• Literary Sources: literary sources refer to the four Vedas: Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda. Out of these, the Rigveda is the earliest text.
  • The Rigvedic Samhita consists of up to ten books or 'Mandalas,' with books II to VII considered to be the earliest and belonging specifically to the Early Vedic Phase.
• Archaeological Sources: Excavations conducted in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and northern Rajasthan, along the Indus and Ghaggar rivers over the last 40 years, have unearthed many post-Harappan/Chalcolithic settlements from these regions.

Sources of the Later Vedic Period

• Literary Sources: Books I, VIII, IX and X are considered later additions to the Rigvedic Samhita. The other Vedic texts assigned to the Later Vedic phase are the later additions, particularly the 10th Mandala of the Rigveda Samhita and the Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda Samhitas.
• Archaeological Sources: The literary sources repeatedly refer to the areas of Western U.P., Haryana and Rajasthan.
  • The Rigveda mentions "ayas," which might be referring to iron; however, archaeological evidence links iron to the Later Vedic period.

Political Life of the Vedic Period

There is no well-defined political hierarchy in the Early Vedic setup; however, changes during the period gave rise to a socio-political hierarchy, which manifested itself in the origin of the Varna system during the 'Later Vedic phase'. Early Vedic society was largely egalitarian and governed by tribal values and norms.

Social Life of the Vedic Period

The Early Vedic Period social structure, which was based on clan relations and was largely egalitarian, became much more complex in the later Vedic period. The early Vedic society was not divided on the basis of caste, while later, Vedic society was divided on the basis of the Varna system.

Religious Life of the Vedic Period

The hymns of the Rigveda reflect the religious ideas of the Vedic people. They revered the natural forces around them (such as wind, water, rain, thunder, fire, and so on) over which they had no control and invested nature with divinity conceived in human forms.

Economic Life of the Vedic Period

The Rigvedic hymns provide vast evidence of the significance of cattle in Vedic society. 

• The word "gau," which means "cow," is the root of many other words.
  • Cattle were the primary measure of wealth, and a wealthy man who owned many cattle was referred to as a "gomat."
  • Conflicts and battles were referred to as gavishti, gavesana, gavyat, and other terms during this time period.
  • The raja, or chief, is known as the 'gopati,' or one who protects cows.
  • “Godhuli’’ is a term used in the Rigveda for a measure of time.
  • Distance is called gavyuti.
• A daughter is referred to as a duhitri, or one who milks the cows.
• Kinship units are labelled as gotra.