Later Vedic Age (1000 BC-600 BC)

Later Vedic Age (1000 BC-600 BC)         

 During the Later Vedic Age the Aryans thoroughly subdued the fertile plains watered by Yamuna, Ganges and Sadanira. They crossed the Vindhyas and settled in the Deccan, to the north of Godavari.

Political Organisation

. During the Later Vedic Age popular assemblies lost much of their importance and royal power increased at their cost. In other words, chiefdom gave way to kingdom. Formation of large kingdoms made the king more powerful. For all practical purposes, kingship became

hereditary.

. The Vidhata completely disappeared. Sabha and Samiti continued to hold ground, but their character changed and they were no more representative of the will of the majority.

. Women were no longer permitted to attend the assemblies. which came to be dominated by nobles and Brahamanas.

. The term rashtra indicating ‘territory’ first appealed in this period.

Gotra

. The institution of Gotra appeared in the Later Vedic Age.

. Literally meaning cowpen, Gotra signified descent from a common ancestor.

. The Gotra has been regarded as a mechanism for widening the socio political ties,as new relationships were forged between hitherto unrelated people.

. People began to practice Gotra exogamy. In other words, marriage between persons belonging to the same Gotra was prohibited.

Regions and Kings

Eastern King                                       Samrat

Western King                                    Suvrat

Northern King                                   Viral

Southern king                                    Bhoja

King of middle country .                Raja

Pottery

Various types of pottery known:

(a) Black and Red ware

(b) Black Slipped ware

© Plain Grey ware

(d) Red ware

. Red ware was most popular.

. However, the most distinctive type of pottery was Painted Grey Ware. Aranyakas

. There were some sages dwelling in the forests who explained the Vedic scriptures to their pupils in the form of Aranyakas (Aranyaka means belonging to the forest) and they came to be known as forest texts”.

. They explain metaphysics and symbolism of sacrifice.

. They are the forest books and were taught in the forests due to their magical powers.

. They form the concluding part of Brahmanas.

Brahmanas

 The Brahmanas are the prose commentaries on various Vedic hymns. They explain the Vedas in an orthodox way. They explain the hidden meaning behind the hymns They are ritualistic by nature They are expressive of the cause hetu). etymology (nirvachana), censure ninda). dount (samshaya) and injunction (vidhi).

Social Organisation

Society in the Later Vedic Age came became increasingly complex and came to be divided into four Varnas - Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras.

Brahamanas: The growing cult of sacrifice enormously added to the power of Brahmanas, who performed various rituals and sacrifices for their clients. In the beginning, they were merely one of the sixteen classes of priests, but later on they overshadowed others.

Kshatriyas: They constituted the warrior class. Majority of the rulers belonged to this class.

Vaisyas: They were the agriculturists, cattle-rearers, traders, artisans and metal workers, which formed the bulk of population. In some texts, the Kshatriyas are represented as living on the tributes collected from the Vaisyas.

Sudras: They were the lowest in social hierarchy and were meant to serve the upper three varnas.

. The upper three varnas were known as the Dvijas (twice born).

. The upper three varnas were entitledto ‘upanayana’ or investiture with the sacred thread.

. Education began with upanayana ceremony. Sometimes the girls were also initiated. The age of panayana was 8 years for Brahamana. 11 for Kshatriya, and 12 for Vaisyas.

. Certain sections of artisans such as Rathakara or chariot-maker enjoyed high status and were entitled to the sacred thread ceremony.

. In Later vedic Age, polygamy was prevalent and there were instances of child-marriage.

. The term Nagara appears for the first time in the Later Vedic Age, showing faint beginnings of town life.

Vedic Literature

. The word Veda is derived from the Sanskrit word Veda meaning, to know or knowledge par excellence.

. Vedic texts are divided between Sruti (based on hearing), which is distinct from  Smriti (based on memory).

. Four Vedas and their Samhitas, the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the Upanishads form a class of literature known as Sruti.

 Rig Veda

. It is divided into 10 Books or Mandalas. Books II to VII are considered the oldest. Book I, VIII and X seem to be later additions.

. A collection of 1028 hymns of a number of priestly families.

. Written between 1700-1500 B.C. when Aryans were still in Punjab.

. Books II to VII are earliest and are also called as family books. They are attributed to Gritsamada, Visvamitra, Vasudeva. Am. Bhardwaj, Vashishtha. Kanva and Angiras.

. The IX Mandala is dedicated exclusively to Soma

. The X Mandala contains the famous Purushsukta hymn that explains the origin of four Varnas.

 Yajur Veda

. A ritualistic Veda.

. It is divided into Shukla Yajurveda and Krishna Yajurveda.

. Atharvaveda mentions beliefs and practices of non-Aryans.

. In Atharvaveda, Sabha and Samiti are described as uterine sisters – the two daughters of Prajapati.

. Written in prose, it deals with procedure for performance of sacrifices and contains rituals as well as hymns.

 Sama Veda

. Sam Veda derives its roots from Saman. which means a melody.

. A collection of melodies.

. A collection of 1603 hymns. Except 99, all others were derived from Rig Veda.

Atharva Veda

. A collection of 711 hymns, it is divided into 20 Kandas.

. It is the latest Veda.

. Atharva Veda is a book of magical formula.

. It contains charms and spells to ward-off evil and disease.

. Its content throws light on the practices of non-Aryans.

The Upanishads

. The term Upanishada indicates knowledge acquired by sitting close to the teacher. They consisted of discussions on several problems such as the creation of the universe, the nature of God. the origin of mankind etc. They are anti-ritualistic and define the doctrine of Karma (Action), Atman (Soul) and Gad (Brahma).

. They are spiritual and philosophical in nature.

. They are called the Vedanta or the end of Vedas. They advocate J nana Marga and are anti-ritualistic in nature.

. There are 108 Upanishads. Generally, the period from 800 to 500 BC is known as the period of upanishads.

. The Aitareya and Kaushitaki Upanishads belong to Rig Veda.

. Chhandogya and Kena Upanishad belong to Sama Veda. Taittiriya. Katha and

Svetasvatara Upanishad belong to the Krishna Yajur Veda.

. Brihadaranyaka and Isa belong to the Shukla Yajur Veda.

. Prasna. Mundaka and Mundukya belong to the Atharva Veda.

The Upanishads

. The term Upanishada indicates knowledge acquired by sitting close to the teacher. They consisted of discussions on several problems such as the creation of the universe, the nature of God. the origin of mankind etc. They are anti-ritualistic and define the doctrine of Karma (Action), Atman (Soul) and Gad (Brahma).

. They are spiritual and philosophical in nature.

. They are called the Vedanta or the end of Vedas. They advocate J nana Marga and are anti-ritualistic in nature.

. There are 108 Upanishads. Generally, the period from 800 to 500 BC is known

as the period of Upanishads.

. The Aitareya and Kaushitaki Upanishads belong to Rig Veda.

. Chhandogya and Kena Upanishad belong to Sama Veda. Taittiriya. Katha and Svetasvatara Upanishad belong to the Krishna Yajur Veda.

. Brihadaranyaka and Isa belong to the Shukla Yajur Veda.

. Prasna. Mundaka and Mundukya belong to the Atharva Veda.

Ashramas

. The ashrama system is found mentioned for the first time in the Aitareya Brahman a.

. Meant mainly for regulating the life of the male members of the higher castes, they consisted of four stages: (a) Brahmacharin or student life; (b) Grihastha or life of the householder; © Vanaprastha or partial retirement and Sanyasin or complete retirement (ascetic life).

. Full recognition of the fourth stage was done only in the post-Vedic period.

Kalpa Sutras

 These are the treatises dealing with Vedic rituals on one hand, and with customary law on the other They are written in a laboriously compressed style, sometimes approaching the structure of algebraic formulas, unintelligible without the help of authoritative commentaries. With a view to conveying to the future generations the ancient and contemporary literature, the Aryan sages invented a special concise method called the Sutra style. Thus the massive Vedic texts were condensed into short, terse formulae, which could be easily remembered and transmitted orally - from father to son or from Guru to Shisya. Most of the Vedic literature was handed down orally in this manner.

The Sutra literature is divided into three classes: (a) Srauta Sutras - dealing with large public sacrifices. (b) Griha Sutras: dealing with rituals connected with birth, naming, marriage etc. © Dharma Sutras - explain social and local customs. which later on became the basis of Mann Smriti. Dharma-Shastras Dharma-Shastras are the later Vedic Age or Epic Age treatises on ethical and social philosophy. They deal systematically with the proper conduct of life and describe social, ethical and religious obligations. The Dharma-Shastras are, ill fact, another name for Smritis, which are the law books, written in the sloka metre. The chief among them are the Manav Dharma Shastra, the Vishnu Dharma Shastra. the Yajnavalkya Smriti. and the Narad Smriti. Manav Dharma Shastra or Mann Smriti is the oldest and the most famous. Its author Manu is supposed to be the first king and the first law-giver. Later on, some minor Smritis and commentaries like the Mitakshara were compiled.

These books are not merely accounts of civil and criminal laws of the time but they also cover all aspects of the daily life of the individual. They throw considerable light on the social and political life of the age -the caste system, Ashramas of life, economic conditions as also state of professions, arts and crafts, architecture and the working of administration.

Vedangas

In order to understand the Vedic Literature, it was necessary to learn-Vedangas or the limbs of Vedas. These are treatises on science and arts.

They are

a. Shiksha (Phonetics)

b. Kalpa (Ritual)

c. Vyakarana (Grammar)

d. Chhand (Metrics)

e. Nirukta (Etymology)

I. Jyotisha (Astronomy)

. Yaska’s Nirukta (5th century BC) is the oldest Indian linguistic text.

. Panini wrote Ashtadhyayi (4lhCentury BC) on Vyakaran,

Upvedas

There were four Upvedas-

Ayurveda                            dealing with medicine

Dhanurveda                       dealing with the art of the warfare

Gandharvaveda                dealing with music

Shilpaveda                          dealing with art and Literature

Epics

. Mahabharata is older compared to Ramayana and possibly reflects the state of affairs from 10th Century BC to 4th Century . AD.

. Originally Mahabharata consisted of 8800 verses and was called Jayasamhita’. These were raised to 24000 and came to be known as Bharata. The final compilation brought the number of verses to 100,000 and came to be known as Mahabharata.

. The Ramayana of Valmiki originally consisted of 6000 verses which were raised to 12000 and finally to 24.000

. Composition of Ramayana started in 5th century BC. It passed through several stages and attained its present form as late as 12th century AD.

Six System of Philosophy

 1 Nyaya (Analysis)                                          Gautam

2 Vaisesika (Atomic Characteristic)           Kanada

3 Sankhya (Enumeration)                             Kapil

4 Yoga (Application)                                        Patanjali

5. Purva Mimansa (Enquiry)                        Jaimini

6 Uttar Mimansa (Vedanta)                         Vyasa

Later Vedic Religion

. Towards the end of the Vedic Age, a section of society began to resent priestly domination. The Upanishads criticised the cult of rituals and sacrifices and laid stress on Right Belief and Right Knowledge.

. They emphasised that knowledge of self (Atman) should be acquired and relation of Atman with Brahma (God) should be properly understood.

. Deeds of one life affected the next. This gave the theory of Karma.

Puranas

The strikingly varied nature of the contents of Puranas seems to be the result of diverse materials: tales, anecdotes, songs and ballads, traditional lore etc. These include mythology, cosmogony, various legends, genealogical accounts, folk beliefs, law codes and miscellaneous topics. The Puranic literature is thus a unique outcome of the ever-continuing synthesis of various socio-economic formations operative between the 5th century BC and the 12th century AD. Every addition in the Puranic literature brought in its train numerous new deities with images and temples, pilgrimages and vows, sects etc. The change in the mode of worship (from sacrifice to worship of idols), visual appeal of the denies as against the worship of ideas, the fact of idol worship being more satisfying than yajna or sacrifice, revulsion to the violence and bloodshed involved in animal sacrifices-all these explain the socio-religiouseconomic transformations taking place in the Aryan society. The Puranas may be regarded as a unique record of the outcome of continual clash and friction, readjustment and mobilization, conservatism and the accommodating spirit of the Indian society.keen to come to terms with its evolving ethos.