Early Vedic Period 

The Vedic period or the Vedic age of ancient India is the period in the late bronze epoch and early iron epoch of history. Vedic culture is divided into two ages: the early Vedic period, also known as Rigveda, and the later Vedic period, also known as the Epic age. Historically, the early Vedic age is dated from 1500–1100 BCE. 

In the time of the early Vedic culture, people used to praise different natural forms as gods like sun, earth, moon, wind, rain, and other natural occurrences. This was because there was no scientific clarification for natural occurrences like rain, thunder, wind, etc. Thus, people feared these phenomena and worshipped them at the same time. 

During the early Vedic period, people were relatively impartial in the perception that a definite ranking of social and economic category or castes was absent. The life of people in this period was tribal and democratic, with the head of the tribe called Rajan being elected by the people. The Rajan was controlled by four groups: Sabha, Samiti, Vidhata, and Gana. The Rajan’s duties were to protect the people of the tribe and the cattle. In this time period, the Dasarajna war was fought, which is the battle of ten kings.

Early Vedic Culture

The period when Aryans settled in India is known as the early Vedic period. Early Vedic culture formed around 1500–500 BCE. At this point in time, political organisations such as many tribes (Janas) led by Rajan were seen. These tribes comprised many villages (gramas), and each grama included many families. Rajan was the head of the tribe who was elected by the people. It was the Rajan’s responsibility to keep the tribes safe from enemies. 

Women were also able to take part in political activities. In the early Vedic period, women played a very important role in society. The concept of monogamy was practised during this period. There was no child marriage, and even widows were allowed to marry any male that they wanted to. 

A joint family system was also present at this time. As women held a relevant role in early Vedic culture, they enjoyed equal rights as men. This period saw no discrimination between the sexes. 

In early Vedic culture, there was no rigid caste system. They only worshipped different forms of nature as gods, such as the sun, moon, earth, rain, wind etc. The chanting of prayers and sacrifice of animals in the name of religion was a common practice to invoke God’s blessings. The early Vedic culture had a Verna system which included four categories:

• Brahmana (expert in education and religious activities)

• Kshatriyas (protection of tribes from enemies)

• Vaishyas (providing goods and foods to others)

• Shudras (menial work or serving other upper class)

Early Vedic Texts

The early Vedic texts are a huge body of Hindu texts found in the northern part of India. The Rigveda was composed in 1200 BCE, and its other two parts, Samhita and Brahmanas, were completed before 800 BCE. The early Vedic texts were the collection of Vedic Sanskrit anthems. These texts account for the previous sheet of Sanskrit literature and the oldest holy word of the god of Hinduism. 

Hindus regard the Vedas to be apaurusheya, which refers to ‘not of a man, superhuman, unbiased and authorless.’ The knowledge in the Vedas is trusted in Hinduism to be immortal and uncreated. It is neither written by humans nor by the spiritual source but seen, heard, and transferred by scholars. Vedic texts are categorised into four: the Rig Veda (the knowledge of the verses), the Sama Veda (book of songs), the Yajur Veda (collection of Vedic Sanskrit prose), and the Atharva Veda (storehouse of knowledge). The first text, the Rig Veda, is regarded as the primary text. The four Vedas are altogether known as the Chathurveda.

Migration of Indo-Aryans in the Early Vedic Period

Indo-Aryans are an Indo-European population movement from Central Asia into South Asia in the second millennium BCE, which moved into and out of the Hindu Kush mountain of the region where the Harappa civilisation was already destroyed by natural disasters. The Aryans entered India slowly and moved south into the subcontinent. Gradually, their religion, language, and traditions spread throughout India. This introduced the Indo-Aryan language to the country, which comprised the group of Indo-European languages including Sanskrit. Sanskrit is still known by many people in India. It is also the basis of Hindi, the national language of India. Hinduism is the most common religion in India is based on the religion and culture of Aryans. 

The Indo-Aryans were advanced in their knowledge and technology and used stone, copper, and bronze which led them to move east towards the Indo-Gangetic plains. The Proto Indo-Iranians, from which the Indo-Aryans arise, are recognised with the Sintashta civilisation. The Aryans developed their Sanskrit language and Hinduism became the main religion.

Conclusion

The Vedic period or the Vedic age of ancient India is the period in the late bronze epoch and early iron epoch of history. It is divided into two ages: the early Vedic period, also known as Rigveda, and the later Vedic period, also known as the Epic age. In this period, people worshipped natural elements, like the rain, thunder, wind, etc. The early Vedic texts were the collection of Vedic Sanskrit anthems. Sanskrit originated from the migration of Indo-Aryans into the subcontinent. This movement caused their religion, language, and tradition to spread throughout India. Sanskrit is still known by many people in India, and it is also the basis of Hindi.