Vedic Age: Aryan Settlements

VEDIC AGE
The Vedic period, or Vedic age (c. 1500 – c. 500 BCE), is the period in the history of the
northern Indian subcontinent between the end of the urban Indus Valley Civilization and
a second urbanisation which began in the central Indo-Gangetic Plain c. 600 BCE. It was during
this period that in the history of India the Vedas, oldest sacred texts of Hinduism, were being
composed. The Aryans were a people from central Asia who spoke an Indo-European language. They
brought with them into India a religion based on the worship of many gods and goddesses. This ancient
religion is depicted in collections of oral poetry and prose – hymns, prayers, chants, spells and
commentaries – known as the “Vedas”. Vedic age gets its name from the Vedas, which are
liturgical texts containing details of life during this period that have been interpreted to be
historical and constitute the primary sources for understanding the period. The Vedas were
composed and orally transmitted with precision by speakers of an Old Indo-Aryan language who
had migrated into the northwestern regions of the Indian subcontinent early in this period. The
Vedic society was patriarchal and patrilineal. Vedic civilization was centered in the northern
and northwestern parts of the Indian subcontinent. Its early phase saw the formation of various
kingdoms of ancient India. In its late phase (from ca. 600 B.C.E.), it saw the rise of
the Mahajanapadas, and was succeeded by the Maurya Empire (from ca. 320 B.C.E.) the
classical age of Sanskrit literature, and the Middle kingdoms of India. It is also the formative
period when the basic foundations of Indian civilization were laid down. These include the
emergence of early Hinduism as the foundational religion of India, and the social/religious
phenomenon known as caste.
Aryan settlements
In about 1500 bc the Aryans, a nomadic people from Central Asia, settled in the upper reaches
of the Indus, Yamuna, and Gangetic plains. They spoke a language from the Indo-European
family and worshiped gods similar to those of later-era Greeks and northern Europeans. It is
generally believed that the Aryans came to India in groups that settled in the areas of North-
Western Province in Pakistan and the Punjab which they had then named Sapt-Sindhu or the
'land of seven rivers', namely, the Indus, the Sutlej, the Ravi, the Beas, the Chenab, the Jhelum
and the Saraswati. Later, they called this area Brahmavarta or 'the land of Brahma'. The Aryans
were found to have been occupying the whole of the present region of Punjab from about 1500
B.C. The first group of Aryans fought against the Dravidians and other inhabitants whom they
defeated and are supposed to have been pushed down towards south of India. The Aryans
were also victim of infighting and inter-tribal wars. The Aryans are particularly important to
Indian history because they originated the earliest forms of the sacred Vedas. By 800 bc the
Aryans ruled in most of northern India, occasionally fighting among themselves or with the
peoples of the land they were settling. As the Aryans slowly settled into agriculture and moved
southeast through the Gangetic Plain, they relinquished their seminomadic style of living and
changed their social and political structures. Instead of a warrior leading a tribe, with a tribal
assembly as a check on his power, an Aryan chieftain ruled over territory, with its society
divided into hereditary groups. This structure became the beginning of the caste system, which
has survived in India until the present day. The four castes that emerged from this era were the
Brahmans (priests), the Kshatriyas (warriors and rulers), the Vaisyas (merchants, farmers, and
traders), and the Sudras (artisans, laborers, and servants). The Aryans pushed their way along
the river Ganga and Yamuna from Sapt Sindhu and by and by occupied the whole of Northern
India from the Himalayas to the Vindhayas. The area was called as Aryavartha or 'the land of
the Aryans'.
Vedas
The Aryans were a people from central Asia who spoke an Indo-European language. They brought with
them into India a religion based on the worship of many gods and goddesses. This ancient religion is
depicted in collections of oral poetry and prose – hymns, prayers, chants, spells and commentaries –
known as the “Vedas”. The Vedas are a collection of hymns and other ancient religious texts
written in India between about 1500 and 1000 BCE. It includes elements such as liturgical
material as well as mythological accounts, poems, prayers, and formulas considered to be
sacred by the Vedic religion. These were composed at around the time of the Aryan entry into India
and in the centuries following. They were written down many centuries later, long after the “Vedic Age”.
The word Veda means the supreme knowledge. The Aryans believed that the Vedas were the
words of God. Heard from the voice of God they were also called Shruti. The Vedas were
transmitted from generation to generation orally and from memory. The Vedas were four in
number. They were Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda. Each Veda has been
subclassified into four major text types – the Samhitas (mantras and benedictions),
the Aranyakas (text on rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices and symbolic-sacrifices),
the Brahmanas (commentaries on rituals, ceremonies and sacrifices), and
the Upanishads (texts discussing meditation, philosophy and spiritual knowledge).[15][17][18] Some
scholars add a fifth category – the Upasanas(worship). The earliest, namely, the Rig Veda was
composed about 2000 B.C. It contained 1017 hymns which were divided into 10 Mandalas or
parts. The Sama-Veda has verses that are almost entirely from the Rig-Veda, but are arranged
in a different way since they are meant to be chanted. The Yajur-Veda is divided into the White
and Black Yajur-Veda and contains explanatory prose commentaries on how to perform
religious rituals and sacrifices. The Atharva-Veda contains charms and magical incantations
and has a more folkloristic style.
Comparison of social life

Vedic Age: Aryan Settlements

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VEDIC AGE

Comparison of social life

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