The civilization that is based on Vedic
literature is known as Vedic civilization.
The Vedas are considered to be our earliest
literature. The Vedas were composed by
many Sages or rishis. Some vedic hymns
were composed by women.
Vedic literature is in Sanskrit. Vedic
literature is very rich and diverse. The
Rigveda is considered to be the first text. It
is in the form of verses. There are four
Vedas - Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda
and Atharvaveda. The Vedic texts are
known as Samhita. ‘Vid’ means ‘to know’.
The term ‘Veda’ derives from vid. It means
‘knowledge’. The Vedas have been
preserved through the oral tradition. The
Vedas are also called as Shruti.
Rigveda Samhita : Each verse of the
Veda is known as a richa. So, the Veda
consisting of richas is called ‘Rigveda’.
Richa means a verse composed to praise a
deity. When a number of richas are put
together to praise a particular deity, the
poetic composition is called a sukta. The
Rigveda consists of many suktas composed
to praise different deities.
Yajurveda Samhita : The Yajurveda
contains mantras uttered during a yajna.
Yajurveda provides guidance about how
and when the different mantras must be
chanted during yajna rites. This text
includes the verses or poetic incantations
and their explanation in prose.
Samaveda Samhita : The Samaveda
provides guidance on singing Rigvedic
verses to a set rhythm and tune at the time
of yajna rites. The Samaveda has
contributed in a major way in laying the
foundation of Indian music.
Atharvaveda Samhita : The
Atharvaveda is named after Atharva rishi.
This Veda is different from the other three
Vedas. It is more concerned with many
things in the day-to-day life of the people. It
includes solutions to adversities and
diseases. It also provides information about
medicinal herbs. The Atharvaveda provides
guidance to a king about the way he should
administer his kingdom.
The Brahmana texts, Aranyakas and
Upanishads were written after the
composition of the Samhitas. They are also
included in Vedic literature.
Brahmana texts : They were composed
to provide guidance on using Vedic mantras
in yajna rituals. Each Veda has independent
texts called Brahmanas .Aranyakas : Aranyakas consist of the
reflections or thoughts expressed after
meditating with deep concentration in
forests or wilderness. The Aranyakas are
concerned with accurate performance of
yajna rites.
Upanishads : The term Upanishad
indicates knowledge acquired by sitting at
the feet of the teacher. Human beings have
always wondered about events like life and
death. It is not easy to find answers to them.
The Upanishads discuss such serious and
profound issues.
The four Vedas, Brahmanas,
Aranyakas and the Upanishads were
composed over a period of one thousand
and five hundred years. During this long
period, the Vedic civilization underwent
many changes. The Vedic literature is an
important source for the study of those
changes and of the day-to-day life in the
Vedic period.
4.2 Family system, day-to-day life
Joint family system was prevalent in
the Vedic period. The grihapati was the
head of the family, a man responsible for
the family. His family included his old
parents, wife and children and also the
families of the children, the younger
brothers and their families. This family
system was patriarchal. In the initial period,
there are references to women scholars such
as Lopamudra, Gargi and Maitreyi in Vedic
literature. However, slowly the restrictions
on women went on increasing and their
position in the family and society became
secondary.
The houses during the Vedic period were
earthen or wattle and daub constructions.
Wattle means woven lattice of wooden strips
which is daubed with clay mixed with
cowdung. A house was called griha or shala.
The diet of the people mainly consisted
of cereals like wheat, barley and rice. From
this, they made different preparations.
Words like yava, godhoom, vrihi, etc. can
be found in the Vedic literature. Yava means
‘barley’, godhoom - wheat, vrihi - rice. The
Vedic musical instruments
Vedic people relished milk, yoghurt, ghee,
butter, honey. Black gram (udad), lentil
(masoor), sesame and meat were also a
part of their diet.
People in the Vedic period used cotton
and woolen garments. They also used
valkals or clothes made from barks of trees.
Similarly, animal skins were also used as
clothing. Men and women used ornaments
of gold, flower garlands, strings made of
beads, etc. A kind of pendant called nishka
seems to have been popular. It was also
used as a currency.
Singing, playing musical instruments,
dance, board games, chariot-race and
hunting were the means of recreation. Their
main musical instruments were veena,
shat-tantu, cymbals and the conch.
Percussion instruments like damru and
mridanga were also used. 4.3 Agriculture, animal husbandry,
economic and social life
Agriculture was the main occupation
during the Vedic period. Many oxen were
yoked together to plough the fields. The
plough had iron ploughshares. The
Atharvaveda considers insects, pests and
other animals that destroy crops and
suggests certain remedies. Cowdung was
used as manure.
During the Vedic period, animals like
horses, cows and dogs had special
importance. Cows were used as means of
exchange. That is why, cows were highly
priced. People took special care to ensure
that their cows would not be stolen. The
horse was valued because of its speed. The
Vedic people were skilled in taming the
horses and harnessing them to the chariots.
Chariots in the Vedic period had spoked
wheels which are lighter than solid wheels.
The horse drawn and spoked wheel chariots
of the Vedic period were swift and speedy.
‘Horse power’ is a unit of measuring
power - the rate at which work is done
by an engine.
In this period, apart from agriculture
and animal husbandry, several other
occupations had also flourished. Artisans
and people practising various occupations
were an important part of the social system.
They formed independent organizations
known as shrenis or guilds. The head of
the guild was known as shreshthi. However,
slowly, the status of skilled artisans
became secondary.
During this period, there were four
varnas - Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and
Shudra. A varna was determined by the
occupation of the people. In the later period,
the varnas came to be determined on the
basis of birth. This gave rise to castes. The
caste system led to inequality in the society.
During the Vedic period, certain notions
about leading an ideal life had become well
established. There were four stages or four
ashramas, from birth to death. The first
ashrama was the brahmacharyashrama, or
the period of staying with the Guru to learn
from him.
The next stage after the successful
completion of brahmacharyashrama was
grihasthashrama. It was expected that
during this period, a man would carry out
his duties towards his family and society
with the help of his wife. The third stage
A chariot was vanaprasthashrama when a man was expected to detach himself from the
household, retire to a solitary place and
lead a very simple life. The fourth stage
was the sanyasashrama. At this stage, the
convention was to renounce all relations,
lead life in order to understand the meaning
of human life, and not stay in one place.
4.4 Religious ideas
In the religious ideas of the Vedic
period, forces of nature such as the sun,
wind, rain, lightning, storms and rivers
were given the form of deities. Vedic
compositions pray them to become life
giving forces. The Vedic people put offerings
into the yajna fire to please them. These
offerings were called havi. Yajna is the act
of offering havi into fire. Initially, the yajna
rites were simple. Later on, the rules of
yajna became harder and harder. The
importance of priests went on increasing.People in the Vedic period had thought
about how the natural phenomena occur.
Summer is followed by the rainy season
and the rainy season by winter. This is a
regular cycle in nature. The cycle in nature
and the life cycle that moved with it were
termed by the Vedic people as rita. The life
of all living beings is a part of the cycle in
nature. Disturbance in the cycle of nature
leads to calamities. Everyone should be
careful not to let it happen. Nobody should
break the laws of nature. It was believed
that following these rules was to follow
dharma. 4.5 Political System
In the Vedic period, each village had a
head known as gramani. A group of villages
formed a vish, whose head was called
vishpati. Several vish formed a jana. Later,
when the jana settled into a specific region,
it came to be known as a janapad. The head
of the jana was known as nripa or raja
(king). The main duties of the king were to
protect the people, collect taxes and run the
administration efficiently.
In order to run the administration
smoothly, the king appointed various
officers. The purohit (priest) and the
senapati of the army were officers of special
importance. The officer who collected the
taxes was known as bhagdugh. Bhag means
share. The person who collected the king’s
share of the produce of a jana was called
bhagdugh. There were four institutions who
guided the king - sabha, samiti, vidath
and jana. The people of the State participated in
their working. Women, too, participated in
the working of sabha and vidath. The sabha
consisted of senior citizens of the State
whereas the samiti was a general body of
the people.
Later on in the Vedic thought, Smriti
and Puranas were composed. After a period
of time, the religious stream based on the
Vedas, Smritis, Puranas and local traditions
came to be known as Hinduism.
Along with the Vedic stream, there
were other religious trends which took a
different position from the Vedic one,
regarding yajna rites and the varna system.
We will learn more about them in the next
chapter.
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