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See also: Indo-European migrations and Indo-Aryan migration The commonly proposed period of earlier Vedic age is dated back to 2nd millennium BCE.[8] After the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilisation, which ended ca. 1900 BCE,[9][10] groups of Indo-Aryan peoples migrated into North-western India and started to inhabit the northern Indus Valley.[11] The Indo-Aryans were a branch of the Indo-Iranians, which originated in the Andronovo culture[12] in the Bactria-Margiana era, in present northern Afghanistan.[13] The roots of this culture go back further to the Sintashta culture, with funeral sacrifices which show close parallels to the sacrificial funeral rites of the Rig Veda.[14] The Indo-Aryans split-off around 1800-1600 BCE from the Iranians,[15] where-after they were defeated and split into two groups by the Iranians,[16] who dominated the Central Eurasian steppe zone[17] and "chased them to the extermities of Central Eurasia."[17] One group were the Indo-Aryans who founded the Mitanni kingdom in northern Syria[13] (ca.1500-1300 BCE). The other group were the Vedic people, who were pursued by the Iranians "across the Near East to the Levant (the lands of the eastern Mediterranean littoral), across Iran into India."[18] The knowledge about the Aryans comes mostly from the Rigveda-samhita,[19] which was composed between ca. 1500-1200 BCE.[20][21][13] They brought with them their distinctive religious traditions and practices.[22] The Vedic beliefs and practices of the pre-classical era were closely related to the hypothesised Proto-Indo-European religion,[23][24] and the Indo-Iranian religion.[25] According to Anthony, the Old Indic religion probably emerged among Indo-European immigrants in the contact zone between the Zeravshan River (present-day Uzbekistan) and (present-day) Iran.[26] It was "a syncretic mixture of old Central Asian and new Indo-European elements",[26] which borrowed "distinctive religious beliefs and practices"[27] from the Bactria–Margiana Culture.[27] At least 383 non-Indo-European words were borrowed from this culture, including the god Indra and the ritual drink Soma.[28] According to Anthony, Many of the qualities of Indo-Iranian god of might/victory, Verethraghna, were transferred to the adopted god Indra, who became the central deity of the developing Old Indic culture. Indra was the subject of 250 hymns, a quarter of the Rig Veda. He was associated more than any other deity with Soma, a stimulant drug (perhaps derived from Ephedra) probably borrowed from the BMAC religion. His rise to prominence was a peculiar trait of the Old Indic speakers.[13] Early Vedic Period (1750–1000 BCE) See also: Rigvedic tribes These migrations may have been accompanied with violent clashes with the people who already inhabited this region. The Rig Veda contains accounts of conflicts between the Aryas and the Dasas and Dasyus. The Rig Veda describes Dasas and Dasyus as people who do not perform sacrifices (akratu) or obey the commandments of gods (avrata). Their speech is described as mridhra which could variously mean soft, uncouth, hostile, scornful or abusive. Other adjectives which describe their physical appearance are subject to many interpretations. However, many modern scholars connect the Dasas and Dasyus to Iranian tribes Dahae and Dahyu and believe that Dasas and Dasyus were early Indo–Aryan immigrants who arrived into the subcontinent before the Vedic Aryans.[29][30] Internecine military conflicts between the various tribes of Vedic Aryans are also described in the Rig Veda. Most notable of such conflicts was the Battle of Ten Kings which took place on the banks of the river Parushni (modern day Ravi). The battle was fought between the tribe Bharatas, led by their chief Sudas, against a confederation of ten tribes— Puru, Yadu, Turvasha, Anu, Druhyu, Alina, Bhalanas, Paktha, Siva, Vishanin.[31] Bharatas lived around the upper regions of the river Saraswati, while Purus, their western neighbours, lived along the lower regions of Saraswati. The other tribes dwelt north–west of the Bharatas in the region of Punjab.[32] Division of the waters of Ravi could have been a reason for the war.[31] The confederation of tribes tried to inundate the Bharatas by opening the embankments of Ravi, yet Sudas emerged victorious in the Battle of Ten Kings.[33] Purukutsa, the chief of Purus, was killed in the battle and the Bharatas and the Purus merged into a new tribe Kuru after the war.[32] Later Vedic period (1000–500 BCE) Modern replica of utensils and falcon shaped altar used for Agnicayana, an elaborate srauta ritual originating from the Kuru Kingdom,[34] around 1000 BCE. After the 12th century BCE, as the Rig Veda had taken its final form, the Vedic society transitioned from semi–nomadic life to settled agriculture. Vedic culture extended into the western Ganges Plain.[35] The Gangetic plains had remained out of bounds to the Vedic tribes because of thick forest cover. After 1000 BCE, the use of iron axes and ploughs became widespread and the jungles could be cleared with ease. This enabled the Vedic Aryans to settle at the western Gangetic plains.[36] Many of the old tribes coalesced to form larger political units.[37] The Vedic religion was further developed when the Indo-Aryans migrated into the Ganges Plain after c. 1100 BCE and became settled farmers,[34][38][39] further syncretising with the native cultures of northern India.[40] However, the development of the varna system, which created a hierarchy of priests, warriors, and free peasants, ultimately led to the excluding of indigenous peoples by labelling their occupations impure.[41] The Kuru Kingdom, the earliest Vedic "state", was formed by a "super-tribe" which joined several tribes in a new unit. To govern this state, Vedic hymns were collected and transcribed, and new rituals were developed, which formed the now orthodox Srauta rituals.[42] Two key figures in this process of the development of the Kuru state were the king Parikshit and his successor Janamejaya, transforming this realm into the dominant political and cultural power of northern Iron Age India.[34] The most famous of new religious sacrifices that arose in this period was the Ashvamedha (horse sacrifice). This sacrifice involved setting a consecrated horse free to roam the kingdoms for a year. The horse was followed by a chosen band of warriors. The kingdoms and chiefdoms in which the horse wandered had to pay homage or prepare to battle the king to whom the horse belonged. This sacrifice put considerable pressure on inter–state relations in this era.[43] This period saw also the beginning of the social stratification by the use of Varna, the division of Vedic society in Kshatriya, Brahmins, Vaishya and Shudra.[42] The Kuru kingdom declined after its defeat by the non-Vedic Salva tribe, and the political centre of Vedic culture shifted east, into the Panchala kingdom on the Ganges.[34] Later, the kingdom of Videha emerged as a political centre farther to the East, in what is today southern Nepal and northern Bihar state in India, reaching its prominence under the king Janaka, whose court provided patronage for Brahmin sages and philosophers such as Yajnavalkya and Uddalaka Aruni.[2] Second urbanisation By the sixth century BCE, the political units consolidated into large kingdoms called Mahajanapadas. The process of urbanization had begun in these kingdoms and commerce and travel, even over regions separated by large distances became easy.[44] Anga, door step of modern day West Bengal, a small kingdom to the east of Magadha, formed the eastern boundary of the Vedic culture.[45] Yadavas expanded towards the south and settled in Mathura. To the south of their kingdom was Vatsa which was governed from its capital Kausambi. The Narmada River and parts of North Western Deccan formed the southern limits.[46][47] The newly formed states struggled for supremacy and started displaying imperial ambitions.[48] The end of Vedic India is marked by linguistic, cultural and political changes. The grammar of Pāṇini marks a final apex in the codification of Sutra texts, and at the same time the beginning of Classical Sanskrit.[49] The invasion of Darius I of the Indus valley in the early 6th century BCE marks the beginning of outside influence, continued in the kingdoms of the Indo-Greeks.[50] Meanwhile, within India, the shramana movements (including Jainism and Buddhism) challenged the authority and orthodoxy of Vedic scriptures and ritual.[5] Culture Society Rig Vedic society was relatively egalitarian in the sense that a distinct hierarchy of socio–economic classes or castes was absent.[51][52] However, political hierarchy was determined by rank, where rajan stood at the top and dasi at the bottom.[52] The words Brahamana and Kshatriya occur in various family books of the Rig Veda, but they are not associated with the term varna. The words Vaishya and Shudra are absent. Verses of the Rig Veda, such as 3.44-45, indicate the absence of strict social hierarchy and the existence of social mobility:[29] O, Indra, fond of soma, would you make me the protector of people, or would you make me a king, would you make me a sage who has drunk soma, would you impart to me endless wealth. The Vedic household was patriarchal and patrilineal. The institution of marriage was important and different types of marriages— monogamy, polygyny and polyandry are mentioned in the Rig Veda. Both women sages and female gods were known to Vedic Aryans. However, hymns attributable to female sages are few and female gods were not as important as male ones. Women could choose their husbands and could remarry if their husbands died or disappeared.[52] While the wife enjoyed a respectable position, she was subordinate to her husband.[53] People consumed milk, milk products, grains, fruits and vegetables. Meat eating is mentioned, however, cows are labelled aghnya (not to be killed). Clothes of cotton, wool and animal skin were worn.[52] Soma and sura were popular drinks in the Rig Vedic society, of which soma was sanctified by religion. Flute (vana), lute (vina), harp, cymbals, and drums were the musical instruments played and a heptatonic scale was used.[53] Dancing, dramas, chariot racing, and gambling were other popular pastimes.[52] The emergence of monarchical states in the later Vedic age, led to a distancing of the rajan from the people and the emergence of a varna hierarchy. The society was divided into four social groups— Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. The later Vedic texts fixed social boundaries, roles, status and ritual purity for each of the groups. The Shatapatha Brahmana associates the Brahmana with purity of parentage, good conduct, glory, teaching or protecting people; Kshatriya with strength, fame, ruling, and warfare; Vaishya with material prosperity and production–related activities such as cattle rearing and agriculture; Shudras with the service of the higher varnas. The effects of Rajasuya sacrifice depended on the varna of the sacrificer. Rajasuya endowed Brahmana with lustre, Kshatriya with valour, Vaishya with procreative power and Shudra with stability. The hierarchy of the top three varnas is ambiguous in the later Vedic texts. Panchavamsha Brahmana and verse 13.8.3.11 of the Shatapatha Brahmana place Kshatriya over Brahmana and Vaishya, whereas, verse 1.1.4.12 places Brahmana and Vaishya over the Kshatriya and Shudra. The Purusha sukta visualized the four varnas as hierarchical, but inter–related parts of an organic whole.[54] Despite the increasing social stratification in the later Vedic times, hymns like Rig Veda IX.112, suggest some amount of social mobility: "I am a reciter of hymns, my father a physician, and my mother grinds (corn) with stones. We desire to obtain wealth in various actions."[55][56] Household became an important unit in the later Vedic age. The variety of households of the Rig Vedic era gave way to an idealized household which was headed by a grihapati. The relations between husband and wife, father and son were hierarchically organised and the women were relegated to subordinate and docile roles. Polygyny was more common than polyandry and texts like Tattiriya Samhita indicate taboos around menstruating women. Various professions women took to are mentioned in the later Vedic texts. Women tended to cattle, milked cows, carded wool; were weavers, dyers, and corn grinders. Women warriors such as Vishphala, who lost a leg in battle, are mentioned. Two female philosophers are mentioned in the Upanishads.[57] Patrick Olivelle, in his translation of the Upanishads, writes that "the fact that these women are introduced without any attempt to justify or to explain how women could be engaged in theological matters suggests the relatively high social and religious position of at least women of some social strata during this period."[58] Political organisation Early Vedic Aryans were organised into tribes rather than kingdoms. The chief of a tribe was called a rajan. The autonomy of the rajan was restricted by the tribal councils called sabha and samiti. The two bodies were, in part, responsible for the governance of the tribe. The rajan could not accede to the throne without their approval. The distinction between the two bodies is not clear. Arthur Llewellyn Basham, a noted historian and indologist, theorises that sabha was a meeting of great men in the tribe, whereas, samiti was a meeting of all free tribesmen. Some tribes had no hereditary chiefs and were directly governed by the tribal councils. Rajan had a rudimentary court which was attended by courtiers (sabhasad) and chiefs of septs (gramani). The main responsibility of the rajan was to protect the tribe. He was aided by several functionaries, including the purohita (chaplain), the senani (army chief), dutas (envoys) and spash (spies).[59] Purohita performed ceremonies and spells for success in war and prosperity in peace.[60] In the later Vedic period, the tribes had consolidated into small kingdoms, which had a capital and a rudimentary administrative system.[61] To aid in governing these new states, the kings and their Brahmin priests arranged Vedic hymns into collections and developed a new set of rituals (the now orthodox srauta rituals) to strengthen the emerging social hierarchy.[34] The rajan was seen as the custodian of social order and the protector of rashtra (polity). Hereditary kingship started emerging and competitions like chariot races, cattle raids, and game of dice, which previously decided who was worthy of becoming a king, became nominal. Rituals in this era exalted the status of the king over his people. He was occasionally referred to as samrat (supreme ruler). Rajan's increasing political power enabled him to gain greater control over the productive resources. The voluntary gift offering (bali) became compulsory tribute, however, there was no organised system of taxation. Sabha and samiti are still mentioned in later Vedic texts, though, with increasing power of king, their influence declined.[62] By the end of the later Vedic age, different kinds of political systems such as monarchical states (rajya), oligarchical states (gana or sangha), and tribal principalities had emerged in India.[62] The Vedic period (or Vedic age) (ca.1750–500 BCE) was the period in Indian history during which the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, were composed.[note 1] During the early part of the Vedic period, the Indo-Aryans settled into northern India, bringing with them their specific religious traditions. The associated culture (sometimes referred to as Vedic civilization[note 2]) was initially a tribal, pastoral society centred in the northwestern parts of the Indian subcontinent; it spread after 1200 BCE to the Ganges Plain, as it was shaped by increasing settled agriculture, a hierarchy of four social classes, and the emergence of monarchical, state-level polities.[3][4] The end of the Vedic period witnessed the rise of large, urbanized states as well as of shramana movements (including Jainism and Buddhism) which challenged the Vedic orthodoxy.[5] Around the beginning of the Common Era, the Vedic tradition formed one of the main constituents of the so-called "Hindu synthesis"[6] |
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