Early Vedic Period

The Early Vedic Period (1500–1000 BCE) marks the arrival and settlement of the Aryans in the northwestern and northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. This era is primarily known through the Rigveda, the oldest Indian text, which provides insights into the society, polity, economy, and religious beliefs of the time.

Early Vedic society was pastoral and semi-nomadic, with cattle being the main source of wealth. People lived in small tribal communities (jana) led by chieftains (rajan), and governance was largely decentralized. The society was relatively egalitarian, with Varna (social division) based on occupation rather than birth. Worship was centered around nature gods like Indra, Agni, and Varuna, with elaborate fire sacrifices (yajnas).

Evidences of Migration

• The genetic marker called M17 which prevails in 40% people of Central Asia Steppes is also found in the Hindi speaking area around Delhi, it is found in 35% people It is also reflected from the words of these language which are similar in sound and meaning.
• The Sanskrit word Matri and parti are similar to Mater and Pater.
• The Inar of the Hittite (Turkey) language is similar to Indra of Vedas.
• Suyyash and Maruttash of the Kassite (Mesopotamia) inscription are equivalent of the Vedic Surya and Marut.
• The archaeological evidences of migration come from Ardonovo culture of southern Siberia, this culture flourished in second Millennium BC.
• People from here moved to the north of Hindu Kush and from there they entered India.
• Gangadhar Tilak Argues: Aryan came from Arctic region.

Geographical horizon of Vedic Aryans

 The early Vedic Aryans lived in the area known as Sapta Sindhu the land of 7 rivers which include

• Sindhu- Indus  
• Vitasta- Jhelum  
• Askini – Chenab
• Parushni – Ravi  
• Vipasha – Beas  
• Saraswati
• The gradually moved eastward and come to occupy eastern up Kosala and north Bihar Videha during later Vedic.

Vedic text

• The word Veda means sacred knowledge contained in the text known as Vedic text.
• There are 2 types of text in Vedic literature.
  • Mantra
  • Brahmanna
• Mantra text includes 4 Vedas: Rigveda, Sam Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharvaveda  Rigveda is earliest of four Vedas.
• Brahmana’s contains explanation of mantras as well as sacrificial rituals
• The 4 Vedas along with brahmanas are known as shruti or hearing that were directly heard by the sages.
• The Aryanaka which literally means forest treaties and Upanishad (which meaning sitting down beside) are the appendix of Brahmana’s.
• Upanishad are also known as Vedant the end of the day and they contain philosophical discussions.
• Rigveda is divided into 10 mandalas and has a collection of 1028 Hymns.
• Rigveda: Recently included by UNESCO in list of literature signifying world human heritage.
• Samaveda: Collection of verses mostly taken from the Rigveda but arranged in a poetic form to facilitate singing (Chanting during Sacrifices).
• Yajurveda: The rituals to be performed publicly or individually.
• Atharvaveda: Magic spells and charms to ward off the evil spirits and disease
• Upanishads: There are 108 Upanishads, of which 13 are the most prominent. The Upanishads dwell on the ‘Atman’ and ‘Brahman’, and focus a lot on the philosophy about life, universe, self, body, sacrifice, etc.

Economic Life

• People: pastoralists and cattle rearing were their main occupation
• Domesticated: cattle, sheep, goats and horses for purpose of milk meat and hides
• Gopajanya: (people who revered cows) and large number of words are derived from the world go meaning cow.
• Gomat: wealthy person and daughter was called Duhitri, means one who milks cow.
• Gaveshana: literally means search for the cow but it also means battle since many battles were fought over cattle
• Agriculture: They produce Yava (modern barley) which was rather a generic word for cereals.
• Medium of exchange: was through barter and cows were most favoured medium of exchange.
• With the knowledge and use of iron they were able to clean forests and bring more lands under cultivation.
• Use of metals: Workers in metal made a variety of articles with copper, bronze and iron.  Textile: Spinning was another important occupation and cotton fabrics were made.
• Ornament making: Goldsmiths were active in making ornaments.
• Use of coin in later time: Trade was conducted on barter system. In the later times, gold coins called Nishka were used as media of exchange in large transactions

Society

• Family: ‘Kula’ was the basic unit and patriarchal in nature.
• Marriage: took place after attaining maturity and the wife went to her husband’s house post marriage
• Monogamy was prevalent norm of marriage but the chiefs practiced Polygamy.  Jana: One or more than one clans made Jana which was the largest social unit.
• Hierarchy: The early rig Vedic society was a simple egalitarian society with no caste division and the occupation was not based on birth.
• Varna: The Vedic people were fair and non- Vedic indigenous people work dark in complexion and he spoke a different language
• Rig Veda mentions of Arya Varna and Dasa Varna (slave varna). The Sudras category came into existence only towards the end of rig Vedic.
• Eating of Cow’s meat Prohibited.
• Women: The women in the society enjoyed a respectable position
• They marry to a proper age and could choose a husband of her own choices Equal opportunities as men for spiritual and intellectual development.
• Take part in proceedings of tribal assemblies called Sabha and samiti Women Poets: Apala, Vishwavara, Ghosa, Lopamudra, etc.

Religion

• God: They prayed God for physical protection and for material gains  No temples or idol worship
• Recitation of prayers, chanting of Vedic hymns and sacrifices or yajnas were an important part of the worship.
• All male gods reflecting the patriarchal nature.
• The text mentions only a few goddess such as Pusa, Saraswati, Prithvi etc who plays
• Vidhata: it was important assemble for secular, religious and military purpose secondary position in the pantheon
• Indra is most frequent mentioned God in Rigveda
• They worshipped natural forces like earth, fire, wind, rain and thunder
• Important Rig Vedic gods- Prithvi (Earth), Agni (Fire), Vayu (Wind), Varuna (Rain) and Indra (Thunder)
• Female gods- Aditi and Usha

Polity

• Several families joined to form village or Grama.  Visu: a group of villages
• Vishyapati: Head of Vishas.
• Principal social unit: of aryans was known as Jana the chief of this unit was the political leader called Rajan.
• Organisations: Sabha, Samiti, Vidhata and Gana were the tribal assemblies. Of these, Vidhata was the oldest. These assemblies exercised deliberative, military and religious functions.
• The post of chief was not hereditary and the tribes generally elected him.
• There is no official mentioned as a collector of taxes. The people offered to the chief what is called Bali.
• It was just a voluntary contribution made by ordinary tribesmen on social occasions.  Women attended Sabha and Vidhata in Rig Vedic times.

The Early Vedic Period was a formative phase in Indian history, laying the groundwork for the later socio-political and cultural developments. It was an era of pastoralism, tribal governance, and nature worship, where society was relatively flexible, and Varna divisions were based on occupation rather than birth. Over time, as the Aryans moved eastward, their lifestyle evolved, leading to settled agriculture, increasing political centralization, and social stratification, which became more pronounced in the Later Vedic Period.

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Subject: Ancient History

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