{"id":4130,"date":"2026-01-05T09:14:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T03:44:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/?p=4130"},"modified":"2026-01-06T12:13:39","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T06:43:39","slug":"later-vedic-period","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/later-vedic-period\/","title":{"rendered":"Later Vedic Period, History, Features, Polity, Economy, Life"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The\u00a0<strong>later Vedic period<\/strong>\u00a0is placed between 1000 BC and 600 BC. The 10th mandala of the Rigvedic Samhita and the Samaveda, the Yajurveda, and the Atharvaveda Samhitas belong to the Later Vedic period. During the later Vedic phase, agriculture became the mainstay of the Vedic people. The geographic focus of the later Vedic corpus moves from the Sapta Sindhu region into the Ganga\u2013Yamuna Doab and the territories on its fringe.<\/p>\r\n<h2>Compilation of three Vedas during the Later Vedic Period<\/h2>\r\n<p>During this period, three Vedas were composed, i.e., the\u00a0<strong>Samaveda, the Yajurveda, and the Atharvaveda<\/strong>, which serve as literary works of the later Vedic period.<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Samaveda:\u00a0<\/strong>The Samaveda is the shortest of all the four Vedas and is closely connected with the Rigveda.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Sama Veda is the\u00a0<strong>Veda of melodies and chants<\/strong>. It is compiled exclusively for ritual application, specially intended for the\u00a0<strong>Udagatr priest.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Some of the important Sama-Brahmanas are\u00a0<strong>Daivatam, Vamshabrahmanam, Tandyam,<\/strong>\u00a0etc.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The available Aranyaka of Samaveda is the\u00a0<strong>Talavakara-Aranyaka<\/strong>. The\u00a0<strong>Chandogyopanisad<\/strong>\u00a0also belongs to Samaveda.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Yajurveda:\u00a0<\/strong>It is in prose form and serves as a prayer book for the\u00a0<em><strong>Adhvaryu<\/strong><\/em><strong>\u00a0priest<\/strong>. It is solely meant for the purposes of sacrificial rituals.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>There are two divisions of Yajur, namely\u00a0<strong>Krishna Yajurveda and Shukla Yajurveda.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Atharvaveda: The Atharvaveda is a collection of magic spells and charms to ward off evil spirits and diseases.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li>The Atharvaveda is thought to be the\u00a0<strong>origin of Ayurveda<\/strong>, the Indian science of medicine. Atharvaveda is also known as\u00a0<strong>'Brahmaveda<\/strong>,' or the Veda of the Brahma priest.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Atharvaveda is the only Veda that is related to both worldly happiness and spiritual knowledge.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2>Later Vedic Period\u00a0Features<\/h2>\r\n<p>During the later Vedic period,\u00a0<strong>Aryans\u00a0<\/strong>gradually\u00a0<strong>moved eastward<\/strong>; they came to occupy\u00a0<strong>eastern U.P. (Kosala) and north Bihar (Videha).<\/strong>\u00a0The later Vedic texts, i.e., Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda, along with archaeological material, are used to reconstruct the society, economy, and polity of the later Vedic period.<\/p>\r\n<h3>Later Vedic Period Polity<\/h3>\r\n<p>The concept of\u00a0<em>Janapada<\/em>\u00a0emerged in the later Vedic period. Janapada refers to the tribe's settlement area. In the Later Vedic texts, the word\u00a0<strong>Rashtra\u00a0<\/strong>was also used for the first time.<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Tribal Chiefs and Warriors:<\/strong>\u00a0The\u00a0<strong>Rajan\u00a0<\/strong>or chief, now emerged as the\u00a0<strong>protector of the territory<\/strong>\u00a0where his tribesmen settled. The rajanya now became the<strong>\u00a0\u2018Kshatriya\u2019, i.e., those who held power over dominions.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Taxes:Bali, Bhaga, and Shulka<\/strong>\u00a0gradually assumed the form of regular tributes and taxes.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Bali:<\/strong>\u00a0levy probably on agricultural produce<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Shulka:<\/strong>\u00a0tolls and customs<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Bhaga:\u00a0<\/strong>share of the produce.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Tribal Assemblies<\/strong>: The\u00a0<strong>sabha\u00a0<\/strong>became more important than the\u00a0<strong>samiti\u00a0<\/strong>during this period. The\u00a0<strong>office of the raja<\/strong>\u00a0or the chief was not based solely on\u00a0<strong>birth<\/strong>, but the choice of\u00a0<strong>rajas\u00a0<\/strong>was restricted to the\u00a0<strong>Kshatriyas<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Raja\u2019s Legitimacy:<\/strong>\u00a0The\u00a0<strong>chiefship had become hereditary<\/strong>. The chief authority was established through elaborate coronation rituals such as vajapeya and rajasuya.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Position of Brahmins:<\/strong>\u00a0With the rising importance of\u00a0<strong>Rajanya<\/strong>, the Brahmanas too became important. The status of the\u00a0<strong>officiating priests\u00a0<\/strong>became at par with the gods in the later period and the officiating brahmana had to be satisfied with\u00a0<strong>dana<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3>Later Vedic Period Society<\/h3>\r\n<p>The<strong>\u00a0patriarchal family<\/strong>\u00a0was well established, and the\u00a0<strong>grihapati\u00a0<\/strong>acquired a special status.<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Gotra System:<\/strong>\u00a0During this time, the institution of Gotra arose. This means that people with the same gotra descended from the same ancestor, and no marriages between members of the same gotra were permitted.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Marriages:<\/strong>\u00a0Monogamous marriages were preferred, even though polygamy was frequent.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Four Varnas:<\/strong>\u00a0The four varnas in which society came to be divided were the\u00a0<strong>Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras.<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Brahmanas:<\/strong>\u00a0They conducted various rituals, including those related to different stages of\u00a0<strong>agricultural operations<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>The Kshatriyas<\/strong>\u00a0were the rulers.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The\u00a0<strong>Vaishyas\u00a0<\/strong>were involved in agriculture, trade, and artisanal activities.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>The Shudras<\/strong>\u00a0were at the bottom of the<strong>\u00a0social hierarchy.<\/strong>\u00a0They were ordained to be in the service of the<strong>\u00a0three upper varnas<\/strong>\u00a0and were not entitled to the<strong>\u00a0ritual of upanayana samskara<\/strong>\u00a0(investiture with sacred thread necessary to acquire education).<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The other three varnas were also entitled to such a ceremony, and thus they were referred to as dvijas.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Ashrama or different stages of life:<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Brahmacharya\u00a0<\/strong>(student life),<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Grihastha\u00a0<\/strong>(householder)<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Vanaprastha\u00a0<\/strong>(hermitage) stages are mentioned in the texts.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Later on,\u00a0<strong>Sannyasa,<\/strong>\u00a0the fourth stage, was added. It became known as varna-ashrama dharma when combined with varna.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Status of Women:<\/strong>\u00a0They were regarded as inferior to men and were not involved in major decision-making.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Their participation in<strong>\u00a0public meetings<\/strong>\u00a0was restricted.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Child marriages<\/strong>\u00a0were becoming more common.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3>Later Vedic Period Religion<\/h3>\r\n<p>Changes in material lives inevitably resulted in a shift in people's attitudes toward gods and goddesses.<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>As a result, Vishnu and Rudra, who were minor deities in the Rigveda, rose to prominence.\u00a0<strong>Pushan,<\/strong>\u00a0who had previously protected cattle, became the Shudras' god.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>There was an increase in the frequency and number of the\u00a0<strong>yajna,\u00a0<\/strong>which generally ended with the\u00a0<strong>sacrifice\u00a0<\/strong>of a large number of animals. These yajnas brought the\u00a0<strong>Brahmans\u00a0<\/strong>a large amount of wealth in the form of\u00a0<em><strong>dana<\/strong><\/em>and\u00a0<em><strong>Dakshina<\/strong><\/em>.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Important yajnas were - ashvamedha, vajapeya, Rajasuya, etc.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Towards the end of this period, a strong reaction against<strong>\u00a0priestly dominance<\/strong>\u00a0over the complexities involved in the\u00a0<strong>yajnas\u00a0<\/strong>resulted in the formulation of a\u00a0<strong>philosophical doctrine\u00a0<\/strong>that is enunciated in the\u00a0<strong>Upanishads<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3>Economy of Later Vedic Period<\/h3>\r\n<p>The evidence from the Later Vedic period indicates a shift from a pastoral to a sedentary agrarian society.<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Iron Technology: Socketed axes<\/strong>\u00a0made of iron, iron-tipped ploughshares, and hoes increased the efficiency of\u00a0<strong>agriculture.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Agriculture:\u00a0<\/strong>Rice was the people's staple diet. The Vedic texts mention Vrihi, Tandula, and Sali, all of which denote rice.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>It appears that\u00a0<strong>double cropping<\/strong>\u00a0was now practiced, and the fields grew both barley and rice. Apart from barley, people now grow\u00a0<strong>wheat, rice, pulses, lentils, millet, sugarcane<\/strong>, and other crops.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>The importance of pastoralism declined<\/strong>\u00a0in this period, and\u00a0<strong>mixed farming,<\/strong>\u00a0which included cultivation and\u00a0<strong>herding,\u00a0<\/strong>was the occupational norm of this period.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Domestication of animals:<\/strong>\u00a0The\u00a0<strong>buffalo\u00a0<\/strong>had been domesticated for agricultural purposes.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The\u00a0<strong>God Indra<\/strong>\u00a0acquired a new epithet,<strong>\u00a0\u2018Lord of the Plough\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0in this period.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>The elaborate sacrifices of this period,<\/strong>\u00a0e.g., the\u00a0<strong>Rajasuya<\/strong>, include offerings of grain along with milk, ghee, and animals. The twelve sacrifices prescribed in the\u00a0<strong>Atharvaveda recommend the gifts of<\/strong>\u00a0cows, calves, oxen, gold, cooked rice, thatched houses, and well-cultivated fields to the\u00a0<strong>Brahmanas<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Later Vedic Period (1000-600 BC) includes 10th Mandala of Rigveda Samhita, Samaveda, Yajurveda &#038; Atharvaveda Samhitas, marking significant Vedic texts. Check about Later Vedic Period, History, Features, Polity, Economy, Life<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":7992,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[218,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-4130","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-quest-level-3","8":"tag-later-vedic-period","9":"tag-quest"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4130"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4130\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19554,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4130\/revisions\/19554"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}