An Explanation About Vedic Society

The Vedic period or Vedic age is the period between 1500 BC and 600 BC. They were the next major civilization after the Indus Valley Civilization. During this period Vedas, the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism, were composed in the northern Indian subcontinent. The Vedas are religious texts which form the basis of Hinduism. The Vedas also explain how the people used to live in that period and how their behaviour was. 

These documents help in studying the Vedic society and its culture. The Vedic period can be categorised into two parts: The Early Vedic Period or Rig Vedic Period and the Later Vedic Period or Painted Grey Ware Phase. The societies during both these times have different characteristics. In this article, we will tell you more about these two societies in great detail.

The Aryans

• The Aryans are the foreigners who had migrated to the Indus Valley and Ganges Plain
• Now, it is not sure where the Aryans came from. Some believe that their homeland is in the Caspian Sea in Central Asia, others believe they come from the Russian Steppes
• The word ‘Aryan’ comes from the Sanskrit language which means ‘noble people’
• The Indo-Aryans represented the Indo-Iranian tribes
• The Vedic age started with the Aryans. These people spoke Sanskrit and lived semi-nomadic

Early Vedic Period or Rig Vedic Society (1500 BC – 1000 BC):

• In the start, the Aryans used to live on the land which is commonly referred to as the ‘Sapta Sindhu’ which means the Land of the Seven Rivers. These seven rivers are as follows:
  • Sindhu (Indus)
  • Vipash (Beas)
  • Vitasta (Jhelum)
  • Parushni (Ravi)
  • Asikni (Chenab)
  • Shutudri (Satluj) 
  • Saraswati

Let’s understand their living structure in detail:

Political Structure:

• The government was structured with a King which was known as Rajan
• Rashtra was the largest political unit
• When multiple families were formed together they were referred to as ‘grama’ and the leader of this group was called ‘gramani’
• Groups of villages that were formed together were called ‘visu’ and the leader of the group was referred to as ‘vishayapati’

Social Structure:

• During this time women were respected and had the authority to become part of major committees in the society such as Sabhas and Samitis. Most of the women were poets: Ghosa, Viswavara, Apala and Lopamudra
• Among all the cattle, cows were given more importance
• Monogamy which means having a relationship with one partner at a time was practised
• Although royal people were practising polygamy which means they were getting married to multiple people

Economic Structure:

• The main occupation was agriculture and most of them were pastoral and cattle-rearing people
• Horse chariots and ploughs were also present
• To make cotton and woollen fabrics spinning was used
• The barter system prevailed at first but, later it was transformed into gold coins called ‘nishka’
• Rivers were used for transportation

Religion:

• People used to worship natural forces like earth, fire, wind, rain, and thunder
• The most prominent god was Indra (thunder)
• The natural forces were given a name of god which are as follows: Prithvi (earth), Agni (fire), Varuna (rain) and Vayu (wind) and the female gods were Ushas and Aditi
• There are no temples and idol worship

Later Vedic Civilization or Painted Grey Ware Phase (1000 BC – 600 BC):

• In this period the Aryans had settled in the western and eastern UP (Kosala) and Bihar.

Political Structure:

• The political committees Samiti and the Sabha were not present
• The larger kingdoms were given two names: ‘Mahajanapadas’ and ‘rashtras’
• The power of the king had increased and various sacrifices and rituals were performed by him like Rajasuya (consecration ceremony), Asvamedha (horse sacrifice), and Vajpeyi (chariot race)

Social Structure:

• The Varna system became an important part and the society was divided into four divisions: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras
• The Brahmins and Kshatriyas had higher positions and were given more respect
• Women were not given a lot of power and authority and were considered inferior to men. They were also not allowed to attend political assemblies
• Child marriages were common

Economic Structure:

• Forests were cut down to make the land for cultivation
• Agriculture was still the main occupation
• Carpentry, pottery, leatherwork and metalwork had become significant
• Two gold coins i.e. satamana and nishka were used for trading
• Silver coins like krishnala had also become a part of trading
• Foreign trading with the regions that were far off like Babylon and Sumeria also started

Religion:

• Prajapathi (the creator), Vishnu (the protector) and Rudra (the destroyer) were worshipped by the people instead of Indra and Agni
• People started praying to God
• The priestly class had more power than others and they started making the rules of the rites and rituals
• People were unhappy with this and started protesting against the priestly class. Due to this Buddhism and Jainism emerged

Vedic Literature:

The four Vedas are as follows:

Rig Veda:

• The Rig Veda was composed during the Early Vedic Age and is one of the oldest known Vedic Sanskrit texts. It consists of 1028 hymns and is classified into 10 mandalas

Yajur Veda:

• In Yajur Veda there were formulas and mantras written. These rules need to be followed during sacrifices

Sama Veda:

• The Sama Veda has a collection of melodies and chants. The words of Rig Veda are basically converted into music

Atharva Veda:

• Atharva Veda consists of spells, prayers, charms, and hymns. The hymns help in curing illness with herbs, gaining a lover or partner, maintaining world peace and describing the nature of good and evil

Mahabharata and Ramayana were also composed during this period.

Conclusion

As you can see Vedic period has given us so much literature. Their method of living forms the basis of modern-day living. The style of living and approach to life was very different in the Early Vedic society and Later Vedic society.

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