With the decline ofthe Harappan Civilization around 1900 BC; the evidences of new people are found which are known asAryansorIndo-Aryans.
Location
The origin of the Aryans is still controversial because many scholars believed that theAryans migrated from central Asia.However, some scholars still argue that the Aryans were the indigenous people of Indiaand that they did not come from outside because the ‘Rig Veda’ book compiled by Aryans does not give inkling of any migration of Aryans from any other area.
Year
The Vedic civilization is divided into phases- Rig Vedic or early Vedic period (1500-1000 BC) and later Vedic period (1000-600 BC).
Rig Vedic period:
The Aryans initially lived in the region known as the ‘Sapta-Sindhu’or ‘Land of Seven Rivers’,the area of seven rivers which included Sindhu (Indus), Vitasta (Jhelum), Asikni (Chenab), Parushni (Ravi), Vipash (Beas), Shutudri (Sutlej) and the Sarasvati.The early Aryans were Pastoral and nomadic.A cattle rearing was the main occupation of early Aryans. The family was the basic unit of the Rig Veda society which was patriarchal in nature. The family was part of a larger grouping calledvisorclan.One or more than one clans madejanaor tribe.
Thejanawas the largest social unit inRig Veda.The Rigvedic society was largely an egalitarian society where women enjoyed respectable position.She could take part in the proceedings of the tribal assemblies calledsabhaandsamiti.The village was headed byGraminiwho used to represent village insabhaandsamiti.A large number of words are derived from the wordgaumeaningcow.A wealthy person was known asgomatand the daughter calledduhitriwhich meansone who milks the cow.
The wordgaveshanaliterally means search for cows, but it also meansbattle, since many battles were fought over cattle.The cows were thought of as providers of everything. Prayers are offered for increase in the number of cattle. All the above and many more references show that a cattle breeding was the most important economic activity of the RigVeda Aryans. There was no caste division. Occupation was not based on birth. However, certain differences did exist during the period.Varnaorcolourwas the basis of initial differentiation between the Vedic and non-Vedic people.
Later Vedic period:
The later Vedic period is the name given to the periodwhen the three laterveda Samhitas, namely theArthvaveda, SamavedaandYajurvedaas well as theBrahmanasandUpanishadswere composed. During the later Vedic periodAryans, gradually moved eastward and occupied western and eastern U.P. (Kosala) and north Bihar (Videha) covered by the Ganga-Yamuna doab. During this phase, agriculture became the mainstay of the Vedic people. Many rituals were introduced to initiate the process of agriculture. It also talked about the ploughing with yokes and oxen’s. Use of iron tools also became common by 1000-800 B.C.The tribal settlements were replaced by strong kingdoms known asjanapadas.At the end of the RigVeda the society divided into four classes based on theVarna systemwhich was initially based on occupation later became hereditary.TheBrahmanswere at the top in the Varna hierarchy and the growing number of rituals and sacrifices made them more powerful.Thekshatriyas, next in the social hierarchy, were the rulers. Thevaishyas,were engaged in agriculture as well as in trade and artisanal activities.Theshudras, were at the bottom of the social hierarchy.They were ordained to be in the service of the three upper varnas. Women were no longer permitted to attend assemblies.The later Vedic people also used potteries which were of four kinds-blackandred ware, black-slipped ware, painted grey wareandred ware.
Vedic Text:
The most important source of Vedic literature areVedas, through which we come to know about the early life of Aryans.The wordVedaoriginated from the root‘vid’signifyingknowledge.Therefore,‘Veda’ means the sacred knowledge contained in the texts known as Vedic text. The Vedic text consists of three successive classes of literary creations those are: i)Vedas, which are the collection of hymns, prayers, charms, litanies and sacrificial formulae. ii)The Brahmanas, which contain details about the meaning of hymns, their application, stories of their origins.Brahmanasare also known asshrutior ‘hearing’, as they passed from generation to generation through verbal transmissions. iii)AranyakasandUpanishads, the Aranyakas (literally forest treatises) and the Upanishads (sitting down beside) are mainly appendices to the Brahmanas. These are also known as theVedanta(end of the Veda) and contain philosophical discussions.
The Vedas are categorised into four parts namely,theRig Veda- collection of 1028 hymns divided into10 mandals.The 10thMandalcontains the famousPurushsuktawhich explains the fourVarnas(Brahmans, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra),Samveda- collection of songs mostly taken from Rig Veda,Yajurveda- collection of sacrificial formulae,andAtharvaveda- collection of spells and charms.Rig Vedais the earliest compositions and hence depicts the life of the early Vedic people in India.
Location
The origin of the Aryans is still controversial because many scholars believed that theAryans migrated from central Asia.However, some scholars still argue that the Aryans were the indigenous people of Indiaand that they did not come from outside because the ‘Rig Veda’ book compiled by Aryans does not give inkling of any migration of Aryans from any other area.
Year
The Vedic civilization is divided into phases- Rig Vedic or early Vedic period (1500-1000 BC) and later Vedic period (1000-600 BC).
Rig Vedic period:
The Aryans initially lived in the region known as the ‘Sapta-Sindhu’or ‘Land of Seven Rivers’,the area of seven rivers which included Sindhu (Indus), Vitasta (Jhelum), Asikni (Chenab), Parushni (Ravi), Vipash (Beas), Shutudri (Sutlej) and the Sarasvati.The early Aryans were Pastoral and nomadic.A cattle rearing was the main occupation of early Aryans. The family was the basic unit of the Rig Veda society which was patriarchal in nature. The family was part of a larger grouping calledvisorclan.One or more than one clans madejanaor tribe.
Thejanawas the largest social unit inRig Veda.The Rigvedic society was largely an egalitarian society where women enjoyed respectable position.She could take part in the proceedings of the tribal assemblies calledsabhaandsamiti.The village was headed byGraminiwho used to represent village insabhaandsamiti.A large number of words are derived from the wordgaumeaningcow.A wealthy person was known asgomatand the daughter calledduhitriwhich meansone who milks the cow.
The wordgaveshanaliterally means search for cows, but it also meansbattle, since many battles were fought over cattle.The cows were thought of as providers of everything. Prayers are offered for increase in the number of cattle. All the above and many more references show that a cattle breeding was the most important economic activity of the RigVeda Aryans. There was no caste division. Occupation was not based on birth. However, certain differences did exist during the period.Varnaorcolourwas the basis of initial differentiation between the Vedic and non-Vedic people.
Later Vedic period:
The later Vedic period is the name given to the periodwhen the three laterveda Samhitas, namely theArthvaveda, SamavedaandYajurvedaas well as theBrahmanasandUpanishadswere composed. During the later Vedic periodAryans, gradually moved eastward and occupied western and eastern U.P. (Kosala) and north Bihar (Videha) covered by the Ganga-Yamuna doab. During this phase, agriculture became the mainstay of the Vedic people. Many rituals were introduced to initiate the process of agriculture. It also talked about the ploughing with yokes and oxen’s. Use of iron tools also became common by 1000-800 B.C.The tribal settlements were replaced by strong kingdoms known asjanapadas.At the end of the RigVeda the society divided into four classes based on theVarna systemwhich was initially based on occupation later became hereditary.TheBrahmanswere at the top in the Varna hierarchy and the growing number of rituals and sacrifices made them more powerful.Thekshatriyas, next in the social hierarchy, were the rulers. Thevaishyas,were engaged in agriculture as well as in trade and artisanal activities.Theshudras, were at the bottom of the social hierarchy.They were ordained to be in the service of the three upper varnas. Women were no longer permitted to attend assemblies.The later Vedic people also used potteries which were of four kinds-blackandred ware, black-slipped ware, painted grey wareandred ware.
Vedic Text:
The most important source of Vedic literature areVedas, through which we come to know about the early life of Aryans.The wordVedaoriginated from the root‘vid’signifyingknowledge.Therefore,‘Veda’ means the sacred knowledge contained in the texts known as Vedic text. The Vedic text consists of three successive classes of literary creations those are: i)Vedas, which are the collection of hymns, prayers, charms, litanies and sacrificial formulae. ii)The Brahmanas, which contain details about the meaning of hymns, their application, stories of their origins.Brahmanasare also known asshrutior ‘hearing’, as they passed from generation to generation through verbal transmissions. iii)AranyakasandUpanishads, the Aranyakas (literally forest treatises) and the Upanishads (sitting down beside) are mainly appendices to the Brahmanas. These are also known as theVedanta(end of the Veda) and contain philosophical discussions.
The Vedas are categorised into four parts namely,theRig Veda- collection of 1028 hymns divided into10 mandals.The 10thMandalcontains the famousPurushsuktawhich explains the fourVarnas(Brahmans, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra),Samveda- collection of songs mostly taken from Rig Veda,Yajurveda- collection of sacrificial formulae,andAtharvaveda- collection of spells and charms.Rig Vedais the earliest compositions and hence depicts the life of the early Vedic people in India.
0 comments:
Post a Comment