Class-6 Subject –History/Civics

L-2 The Vedic Civilization

(From 2000 B.C to 600 B.C)

The coming Of Indo Aryans:

The Indian civilization, being one of the most ancient in the world, has

survived many invasions and seen rise and fall of many empires. The first

people to inherit the legacies of the people of the Indus Valley Civilization

were the Aryans. These Aryans originally lived in Central Asia and the

region around the Caspian Sea. Forced by the shortage of food and

fodder, many of them migrated to Europe, while many came into north-

west India through the Hindu Kush Pass in a series of waves between

2000 and 1500 B.C.

This culture race of light-skinned nomads came to be known as the Indo

Aryans. The Civilization developed during this period came to be known as

the Vedic Civilization.

Early Settlements:

The Aryans occupied the whole of the north India in a gradual manner.

They first settled in the Sapt-Sindhu (the seven rivers) region and then

moved forward along the course of the rivers Ganga and Yamuna,

gradually occupying the entire northern region.

This period of the Aryans settling down in the Gangetic valley is known as

the later Vedic Age roughly between 1,000 B.C to 600 B.C. It was during

this period that events related to the two great epics-The Mahabharata

and The Ramayana took place.

The Vedas:

The Vedas are the sacred books of the Aryans. Veda is a Sanskrit word

which means knowledge. The Vedas are a collection of hymn, prayers,

charms, litanies and sacrificial formulae over the years. There are four

Vedas, Namely:

1. The Rig-Veda (the oldest)

2. The Sama Veda

3. The Yajur Veda

4. The Atharva Veda

The Brahmans, the Upanishads, the Puranas and two epics-The

Mahabharata and Ramayana are some of the other religious books of the

Aryans, collectively known as Vedic literature.

Brahmavarta-The Vedic Age:

The period during which the Vedas and other Vedic literature were

written is known as the Vedic age.

During this period, the Aryans permanently settled down in India, and

gave birth to the Vedic Civilization. It is called Vedic Civilization because

our knowledge about this civilization comes chiefly from the Vedas. It is

divided into two periods:

A.The Early Vedic period or the Rigvedic Age

B.The Later Vedic period or the Epic Age.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LYioyRKZT0&t=292s

The Social Conditions:

1. The Village:

The Aryans lived in well planned villages.

A village consisted of a number of joint families and was called a

gram.

Most of the villages were rectangular in shape. There was usually a

stockade around the village.

There was one main entrance gate in a village. It had well laid out

streets.

The houses were constructed in a systematic way. These houses were

made of wood, bamboo, straw and reeds .These were, in fact,

thatched huts, tied together by ropes, bars and pegs.

A group of villages was called the vish.

The village community was made up of families.

The Aryans attached great importance to family as a unit in social

organization.

The king interfered very little in village life .Every village had, what

we today call, local self-government, or something similar to it.

2. The Family and status of women:

The family was the primary unit of society.

There was the joint family system.

Often three generations lived together-the father, the grandfather

and the grandchildren. The eldest male member was the head of the

family and was called the grihapati. He had full authority over all the

members of the joint family. It was also his duty to look after the

family members.

Thus, it was a patriarchal system of family, a system in which the

male head held the final authority.

Vish: A group of villages.

Grihapati: The head of the family

Women held and important position.

No religious ceremony could be perform unless the wife joined the

husband.

There was no purdah system and women did not have to cover their

faces with a veil.

Women of noble families were given education and training in fine

arts.

Women even composed Rigvedic hymns.

Women could choose their own husband in a ceremony called

Swayamvar by garlanding the chosen groom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j3LJ9fjtHo

3. Division of the society: The Aryan society was divided into four classes:

(a) The Brahmins learned the Vedas and performed religious

ceremonies and taught the people.

(b) The Kshatriyas were the ruling and the warrior class. Their

function was to governed and defend their land.

(c) The Vaishyas followed the occupation of agriculture, cattle-

rearing and trade.

(d) The Shudras were the class who made their living by doing

manual and other unskilled jobs to serve the other three classes.

4. Food and food habits: The Aryans ate simple but nourishing food.

Wheat, maize and barley were their staple diet.

They had milk and milk products such as butter, ghee, curd

and cheese. They also consumed honey, fruits, vegetables

and meat.

They even served special food to special guests on special

occasions.

Among drinks, they had soma and sura juice, which were

intoxicating strong drinks. The former drink was even offered

to gods in religious ceremonies.

5. Games and amusements:

The Aryans found time for games and amusement. Hunting, horse-

racing, chariot-racing, wrestling, dancing, music and dice gambling were

their favourite recreations.

ECONOMIC LIFE

1. AGRICULTURE: The Aryans were primarily agriculturist.

Their main occupation was the cultivation of land.

Rain was the most important source of irrigation. Wells, canals

and lakes were other important sources of irrigation.

They carried on cultivation of land with the help of a pair of

oxen.

Wheat, barley, rice, cotton and oil seeds were the main

products from their fields.

2. Domestication of animals: The Aryans were shepherds by occupation.

Cattle- rearing was their favourite activity. The cattle was the

measure of their wealth, property and status. The cow was the main

and highly valued animal. The status of the family was judged from

the number of cows it had. The cow was used even as the medium

of exchange of goods. The cow was called AGHNYE. Injuring or

killing of cows was prohibited. Besides cow, the Aryans reared bulls,

oxen, horses, asses, sheep, goats and dogs.

3. Trade and commerce: some Aryans engaged themselves in trade and

commerce. Trade was done mainly through the barter system. The

value of a thing was measured in terms of the cows. Thus the cow

was the standard value. Of course, a sort of coin, known as NISHKA,

was also in use during those days. Trade was carried mainly on land.

But sea trade was also unknown to them.

4. The use of Metals: The discovery of iron was a great contribution of

this period. Being a harder and stronger metal than copper or

bronze, the Aryans used iron for making different types of tools for

all trades, especially for their weapons.

Thus iron proved very helpful in their economic life as also giving

them superior armies, equipped with better quality weapons like

swords, arrow heads and spears. Copper, known as ayas, was also

used the srenis of craftsman came into existence.

NISHKA: A type of coin in used during the Rigvedic period.

5. Other occupations: The Aryans made a lot of progress in different arts

and crafts. The Rigveda mentions about the potters, weavers,

carpenters, jewellers, iron and gold smiths, leather workers, metal

crafters, chariot makers.

These were the other occupations of the Aryans. There are

references of physicians also. But, one striking point was that no

profession was regarded below dignity. People were free to choose

their occupation and profession and change it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCzulW_kGMk&t=109s

GURUKULS:

The Aryans paid special attention to the education of the sons of the

family. The students would live in the house of the teacher or Guru. They

would perform all the household duties and regarded the guru as their

spiritual father. The house of the guru known as the gurukul was

generally situated out of the town or village. The guru imparted education

orally and no fee was charged from the students’ .However, at the end of

the course, the students would give a gurudakshina.

RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND PRACTICES:

The Aryans were religious people. They worshipped many gods but

believed that ultimately there was one god .Actually they saw many in

one and one in many. The Aryans offered all worships in the open .They

made no temple, shrines or idols for the purpose. Prayers were offered in

the form of yajna, both individually and collectively. Often the priest or

the Brahmin helped in performing the yajna. He was given a parting gift

or “dakshina” after the yajna was performed. The Aryans were attracted

towards nature, which they saw around them. So they worshipped the

forces or powers of nature as gods.Varuna, the sky-god, was the

sovereign of the universe .He had knowledge of everything and nothing

could be hidden from him. Indra was the god of rain, thunder, war and

prosperity.

POLITICAL LIFE:

1. THE KING: In the Rigvedic civilization, a number of joint families made a

village (gram).A group of villages (grams) formed a clan (vish), and

several clans formed a tribe (Jana).Each tribe had a king. The king was not

a despot, nor was he all-powerful. He had to rule according to the wishes

of the tribe. He had to lead and defend the tribe during war and maintain

internal peace.

People would give gifts to the king on special occasions known as Bali

(voluntary gift).Later on Bali became a regular tax known as Shulkas”.As

wars among tribes were frequent, the king had to fight such wars. Before

they went out to fight, they performed yajnas, and did the same after

victory.

DAKSHINA: A PARTING GIFT GIVEN TO A PRIEST AFTER HE PERFORMED YAJNA

DESPOT: A KING OR A RULER HAVING ABSOLUTE POWERS.

GRAMANI: THE VILLAGE HEADMAN.

2. MINISTERS ADVISERS AND OFFICIALS:

The king was assisted by ministers, advisers and officials in discharge of

his duties. The chief among them was the Purohita, who advised the king

in religious matters, and those relating to moral conduct.

Next to him was the Senani, who was the head of the Army, equal to the

modern Commander-in-chief of the forces. He led the forces in times of

war. Then there was the Gramani, the village headman who helped the

king in looking after the affairs of a village. There was decentralization of

power and the king interfered very little in the village administration.

3. THE SABHA AND THE SAMITI:

There were two assemblies, called the Sabha and the samiti.The sabha

was a small selected group of elders of the families, This could be called

the council of the elders of the village. The sabha was in direct and close

contact with the king. The samiti, on the other hand, consisted of all

people of the tribe, where anybody could go and put forward his views or

give his suggestions. The samiti was thus the General Assembly. Both

Sabha and Samiti took up all the important matters relating to the Jana,

and helped the king in the affairs of the tribe.

THE VEDIC LITERATURE AND SCIENCE: During this period, very rich Vedic literature was produced. The Vedas,

Brahmans and Upanishads give us enough idea about scientific

development of Vedics about Mathematics, astrology and astronomy.

Mathematics was divided into various branches like arithmetic’s,

geometry and algebra. Arithmetic was known as anka ganita.Algebra as

beej ganita.the people were also aware of various types of mathematical

calculations like cubes, cube roots, square roots and under roots. The

concept of zero was known to them. The decimal system was also used.

During the Vedic period, astronomy was well developed. The people

know about solar and lunar eclipse. They knew about the movements of

earth i.e., its rotation and revolution. They also knew about the

movement of other heavenly bodies and calculated their positions at

different times. They had prepared an accurate calendar.

ASTRONOMY-THE SCIENCE WHICH DEALS WITH HEAVENLY BODIES

SAMITI-ALL PEOPLE OF THE TRIBE UNDER THE VEDIC AGE.

SABHA-A SELECTED GROUP OF LEADERS OF THE FAMILIES DURING THE VEDIC AGE.

ARYAVARTA –THE LATER VEDIC AGE

From the Sapt-Sindhu region, the Aryans pushed forward and slowly

occupied the whole of Northern India. They settled in the valleys of river

Ganga and Yamuna. The period during which they found new

settlements is known as the Later Vedic Period. The span of this period is

considered to be roughly between 1000 B.C and 600 B,C.Most of our

knowledge about this period is drawn from the later Vedic literature

produced during this period. These include the Sutras, the Vedangas, the

Upvedas,the six Darshanas (schools of Indian Philosophy),the Puranas

the Dharma –shastras,and especially the two great epics, namely the

Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Because these great epics were

written during this period, this age is also described as the Epic Age. The

Ramayana and the Mahabharata clearly depot the life and civilization of

this period.

THE IMPACT OF ARYAN CIVILIZATION:

The Aryans had left a great impact on the Indian society and culture:

Sanskrit language, its grammar, phonetics and derivations

developed during this age. Sanskrit remained the unifying force

the subcontinent for centuries together.

The Aryans cleared the forests and gave an agrarian base to

Indian economy, which remains so till today.

The Philosophy of the Vedas, the Upanishads and the ideal set

forth by the two Epics (Ramayana and Mahabharata) are the

foundations of present day Hindu religion and life.

The gods of the later Vedic period like Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva,

Rama and Krishna are worshipped till today. Yajnas are

performed in Hindu ceremonies.

The teachings of Lord Krishna in the Bhagvad Gita continue to

inspire people with its philosophy of selfless action.

Thus the later Vedic Period with its later Vedic literature and

the value system contained in it, has left great impact on

present –day life and society.

WorkSheet: Fill Ups:

1. Our knowledge about the Aryans is based upon Vedic literature.

2. The early Vedic literature consisted of the Rigveda, the Samaveda, the

Yajurveda and the Atharvaveda.

3. The two important ministers and advisers of the king were Purohita,

and Senani.

4. The council of the entire people was called Samiti.

5. The council of selected few family heads was called Sabha.

6. The Brahmins, the Kshatriyas, the Vaishyas, and the Shudras were the

four main castes.

Match the following:

1. Brahmins a. a religious adviser to the king

2. Indra b. chief of the Army

3. Kshatriyas c.The god of rain, thunder and prosperity

4. Varuna d. those who performed yajnas and learnt Vedas

5Purohita e. the warrior class

6. Senani f. the sky-god

Ans1-d, 2-c , 3-e, 4-f, 5-a, 6-b

True or False:

1. The early Vedic Aryans worshipped nature gods. True

2. The Vedic literature was written in Sanskrit verse. True

3. The Aryans worshipped Nature gods. True

4. The Aryan society had started noticing the evils of caste system.

True

5. Sources of knowledge about the Early Vedic or Rigvedic period are

available in four Vedas, of which the Samveda is the oldest.

False

Correct Statement: Sources of knowledge about the Early Vedic or

Rigvedic period are available in four Vedas, of which the Rigveda is the

oldest.

Short Answers:

Q1 Why and when did the Aryans migrate to India?

A1The Aryans migrated to India between 2000 and 1500B.C because of

shortage of food and fodder.

Q2 Who were the Indo Aryans?

A2 The cultured race of the light-skinned nomads were the Indo Aryans.

Q3From where did the Aryans come to India?

A3 The Aryans came to India from Central Asia.

Q4Where did the Aryans settle first in India?

A4 The Aryans settled first in the Sapt-Sindhu region.

Q5Mention the area in which the Aryans settled in the Later Vedic Age?

A5The Aryans settled in the Ganga and the Yamuna region in the later

Vedic Age.

Q6Define Epic

A6Epic means the story of the character and the achievements of heroes.

Q7Name the two great epics of the Epic Age of India.

A7The Ramayana and The Mahabharata.

Q8 Who was grihapati?

A8Grihapati was the head of the family.

Q9Name the two assemblies which took up all the important matters

relating to the jana.

A9The Sabha and The Samiti.

Q10What was Nishka?

A10Nishka was a type of coin in use during the Rigvedic period.