Later Vedic Period: Politics,

Social and Economic Life –

Explained!
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The period that followed Rig Vedic Age is known as Later Vedic Age.

This age witnessed the composition of three later Veda Samhitas

namely, the Samveda Samhita, the Yajurveda Samhita, the
Atharvaveda Samhita as well as Brahmanas and the Upanishads of all
the four Vedas and later on the two great epics—the Ramayana and the
Mahabharata.

All these later Vedic texts were compiled in the Upper Gangetic basin
in 1000—600 B.C. During the period represented by Later Samhitas
the Aryans covered the whole of Northern India, from the Himalayas
to the Vindhyas.
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The Aryans of Vedic age had reached the highest stage of civilization.
This age had excelled in every walks of life. All the valuable things in
man’s life—philosophy, religion, science and code of conduct were all
developed in the Vedic age.

The spread of Aryans over the whole of India completed before 400
B.C. Of the new kingdoms in the east, the most important were Kurus,
Panchalas, Kasis, Kosalas and Videhas.

Gradually the Aryans moved towards South India. It is believed that

their southern movement began during the period of Brahmana
literature, about 1000 B.C. and went on steadily till they reached the
southernmost extremity of the Peninsula in or sometime before fourth
century B.C.

The great grammarian Katya Yana who flourished in the fourth

century B.C had knowledge about the countries of south such as
Pandya, Chola and Kerala. But the Aryan colonization in the South
was not as complete as in the north. With the progress of the Aryans in
Northern India, their centre of civilization was shifted towards east.
The territory between Saraswati and Ganga was the seat of Aryan
civilization.

Political Organisation:
Rise of Big States:
With the progress of Aryan settlements in the eastern and southern
part of India, the small tribal states of Rig Vedic period replaced by
powerful states. Many famous tribes of Rig Vedic period like Bharatas,
Parus, Tritsus and Turvasas passed into oblivion and new tribes like
the Kurus and Panchalas rose into prominence. The land of the
Yamuna and Ganga in the east which became the new home of the
Aryans rose into prominence.

Growth of Imperialism:
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With the emergence of big kingdoms in the Later Vedic Age the
struggle for supremacy among different states was of frequent
occurrence. The ideal of Sarbabhauma or universal empire loomed
large in the political horizon of ancient India. The sacrifices like
Rajasuya and Asvamedha were performed to signify the imperial sway
of monarchs over the rivals. These rituals impressed the people with
the increasing power and prestige of the king. The Rig Vedic title of
“Rajan” was replaced by the impressive titles like Samrat, Ekrat, Virat,
Bhoja etc. These titles marked the growth of imperialism and feudal
ideas.

Origin of Kingship:
There were two theories regarding the origin of kingship. The Aitareya
Brahmana explained the rational theory of election by common
consent of origin of kingship. Side by side the Taittiniya Brahman
explained the divine origin of kingship. It explained how Indra,
“though occupying a low rank among the gods, was created their king
by Prajapati.”

Growth of Royal Power:

The king had absolute power. He became the master of all subjects. He
realized taxes like “bali”, “sulka” and “bhaga”. The Satapatha
Brahmana described the king to be infallible and immune from all
punishment. The sabha of the Rig Vedic Period died. The king sought
the aid and support of the Samiti on matters like war, peace and fiscal
policies. There are references to the Samiti sometimes electing or re-
electing a king.

The authority of the government in the later Vedic period was perhaps
more democratic in the sense that the authority of the leaders of Aryan
tribes was recognized by the king. However in spite of the existence of
the popular assemblies the powers of the king went on increasing due
to the growth of large territorial states and the evolution of an official
hierarchy.

Administrative Machinery:
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The growth of the royal power was largely reflected in the enlarged
outrage of the king. In the work of administration the king was
assisted by a group of officers who were known as Ratnins (Jewels).
They included the Bhagadugha (collector of taxes), the Suta
(charioteer), the Akshavapa (superintendent of gambling), the kshattri
(chamberlain), the Govikartana (king’s companion in the chase), the
Palogala (courtier) the Takshan (Carpenter), the Rathakara (Chariot
marker) in addition to the ecclesiastical and military officials like the
Purohita (chaplain) the senani (general), and the Gramani (leader of
host or of the village).

In the Later Vedic Period Gramani was both a civil and military officer
Gramani was the medium through which the royal power was
exercised in the village. According to Frasna Upanishada Adhikrita
was the village officer and was lowest in the rank. The king
administered justice. Occasionally he delegated his judicial power to
Adhyakshas. In the villages, Gramyavadin (Village judge) and Sabha
(court) decided the cases. Punishments for crimes were severe.

The father was the head of the property of the family. In case of
inheritance of property the law of primogeniture was applied. By this
rule the eldest son would inherit the property of the deceased father.
Neither the women nor the sudras had any right to property.

Social Condition:
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Changes of far greater significance were gradually taking place in their

society.

Caste Society:
Most important change was the evolution of caste system. Various sub
castes evolved in addition to the traditional four-castes. The
Brahmanas and Kshatriyas emerged as the two leading castes out of
the general mass of population, known as vaisyas. The vaisyas were
superior to the sudras but their position was steadily deteriorating.
The Aitaraya Brahmana clearly indicates the absolute dependence of
vaisyas on the two higher classes. The Sudras were held in great
contempt.

The Brahmanas of the later Vedic age were the intellectual and priestly
class. The Brahmanas retained a high standard of excellence and knew
the details of the rituals. The kshatriyas were the fighting class in the
society. War, conquest, administration of the kingdom was the
principal duties of this class. By their superior learning some
kshatriyas raised themselves to the status of a Brahmana. They
composed hymns and performed sacrifices and also challenged the
supremacy of Brahmanas.

Two Kshatriya kings Janak and Viswamitra attained the status of

Rishi. For a long time the kshatriyas resisted the supremacy of the
Brahmanas and claimed that the priest was only a follower of the king.
Vaisyas were engaged in trade, industry and agriculture, and animal
husbandry. They are debarred from the privileges which were enjoyed
by the Brahmanas and kshatriyas. However the richer people among
the vaisyas known as Sresthin were highly honored in the royal court.

The condition of the Sudras was very miserable. They had to serve the
other three castes. They were untouchables. They had no right to
approach the sacred fire, i.e., perform sacrifice, or to read the sacred
texts. They were further denied the rite of burning the dead body. The
structure of the caste system became hereditary.

Education:
A vast mass of vedic literature as well as a highly developed
intellectual life speaks abundantly about a well planned system of
education in the later Vedic Period. The students had to learn Vedas,
Upanishad, grammar prosody, law, arithmetic and language.

After the Upanayana or sacred thread ceremony and initiation to

studies the students were sent to the Gurukula for their education.
They had to live in the house of the teacher (guru) and lead the chaste
life of a Brahmacharin whose principal duties were study and service
to the teacher. The students received free boarding and lodging at the
house of the Guru. At the completion of their study they paid fees
(guru-dakshina) to the teachers.

Position of women:
The women lost their high position which they had in the Rig Vedic
Age. They were deprived of their right to the Upanayana ceremony and
all their sacraments, excluding marriage, were performed without
recitation of Vedic mantras. Polygamy prevailed in the society. Many
of the religious ceremonies, formerly practiced by the wife, were now
performed by the priests. She was not allowed to attend the political
assemblies. Birth of a daughter became undesirable—for she was
regarded as a source of misery. The custom of child marriage and
dowry crept in. The women lost their honored position in the society.

Food and Dress:

In the later Vedic age rice became staple food of the people. Gradually
the practice of eating meat was declined. Killing of cow was looked
with disfavor. Wool was used in addition to cotton.

Economic Condition:
Like political and social conditions, the economic condition of the
Aryans of the later Vedic period also underwent significant changes.
Due to the emergence of caste system various occupations also
appeared.

Agriculture:
The Aryans of the later Vedic period lived in the villages. In the
villages small peasant owners of land were replaced by big landlords
who secured possession of entire villages. Agriculture was the
principal occupation of the people. Improved method of tilling the
land by deep ploughing, manuring and sowing with better seeds were
known to the Aryans. More lands were brought under cultivation.

The cultivator yielded two harvests a year. Varieties of crops like rice,
barley, wheat, maize and oil seeds were raised. But the cultivator was
not free from trouble. Dangers of insects and damage of crops through
hail-storm very badly affected the land of kurus and compelled many
people to migrate.

Trade and Commerce:

With the growth of civilization, the volume of trade and commerce had
increased by leaps and bounds. Both inland and overseas trades were
developed. Inland trade was carried on with the Kiratas inhabiting the
mountains. They exchanged the herbs for clothes, nattresses and
skins. The people became familiar with the navigation of the seas.
Regular coinage was not started.

The coins which were in circulation were “Nishka”, “Satamana” and

“Krishnala”. The unit value of goods was a gold bar called “nishka”
weighing three hundred and twenty ratis, which was also the weight of
a satamana. A ‘Krishnala’ weighed one rati, i.e. 1.8 grams. There was a
class of merchants called ‘Pani’ who controlled the trade. References to
“ganas” or corporations and the “sreshthins” clearly speak of the
formation of guilds or corporations for facilitating trade and
commerce. Usuary and money lending was also practiced in this
period.

Occupation:
The emergence of caste system brought varieties of means of
livelihood. There are references about money lenders, chariot makers,
dyers, weavers, barbers, goldsmiths, iron smiths, washer men, bow
makers, carpenters, musicians etc. The art of writing probably
developed in this period. The use of silver was increased and
ornaments were made out of it.

House Building and Transport:

The house had many rooms with a special place for ‘Grahapatha’ fire
which was kept continuously burning. Houses were made of wood.
The Taittiriya Aranyakas refer about a special type of house known as
‘Dhandhani’ (treasure house). The Atharvaveda mentions about
‘Patninam Sadan’ (women’s apartment).
The means of transport and communication developed with the
growth of trade and commerce. Regarding means of transport mention
may be made of wagons drawn by oxen, chariots for war and sport and
rough vehicle known as ‘bipatha’ for transport of goods. Elephants and
horses were also used. Ships and boats were also used as means of
transport.

Religious Condition:
During the later Vedic period the religious spirit underwent a great
change. Religion was overshadowed with rites and rituals. New gods
and goddesses emerged during this period.

New Gods:
The Rig Vedic gods, Varun, Indra, Agni, Surya, Usha etc. lost their
charm. The people worshipped them with less zeal. New gods like Siva,
Rupa, Vishnu, Brahma etc. appeared in the religious firmament of the
Later Vedic Period. The grandeur of the Rigvedic gods passed into
oblivion, though we find in Atharvaveda the omniscience of Varuna or
the beneficence of the Earth goddess.

Certain less important duties of the Rigvedic Period now became

popular with the Common People. One of them was Rudra who
already bore the epithet of Siva. Very soon Rudra came to be
worshipped as ‘Mahadeva’ (great god) and the lord of animate beings
(Pasupati).

Vishnu, the preserver rose into Prominence during this period. He

occupied the place of Varuna, as the most sublime among the
celestials. To attain his “Paramapada” (highest step) became the goal
of the rishis. The worship of vasudeva was also started. He was
regarded as Krishna Vasudev, the incarnation of Vishnu. Semi
divinities like Apsara, Nagas, Gandharbas, Vidyadharas etc. also came
into being. This age also witnessed the beginning of the worship of
Durga and Ganesh.

Rituals and Sacrifices:

During this period the rites and ceremonies of Vedic religion were
elaborated and became complex. In the Rig Vedic age Yanjas were a
simple affair which every householder could do. But in the later Vedic
age sacrifice became an important thing in worship. Now the priestly
class devoted their energy to find out the hidden and mystic meaning
of the rites and ceremonies.

People had a firm belief that gods must submit to the sacrifice if
properly performed. Vedic hymns were regarded as charms to be used
in sacrifice. The belief that gods were satisfied by Yanjas led to a rise in
the number, variety of sacrifices which were prescribed for every
householder. In fact every Aryan performed a number of sacrifices
under the supervision of the Brahmana priest.

Morality and Duty:

The Later Vedic Period prescribed a code of righteous conduct. The
Brahmins had spread the belief that, “man is born with certain rinas or
debts” which he must repay in his life. He has to repay the debts to his
gods, to the rishis, to the munis, to men, to the ancestors and to the
lower creatures. And he redeem himself from these debts, if he
worships the gods and performs Yajnas study Vedas, performs funeral
ceremonies and Sraddha, etc. One should perform all these duties with
selflessness. The first requisite of a good life were prayers and good
works. One should restrain himself from the sins like theft, adultery,
and murder.

Religious Philosophy:
The Later Vedic age witnessed the emergence of a new intellectual
thought. The people thought deeply about the problems of creation,
life and death and arrived at the conclusion that there is one ‘Brahma’
(one Unchanging Principle) beyond the universe—the creator and
controller of the whole order.

It is the universal soul or the Absolute “that dwelleth in everything

that guideth all beings within, the Inward guide, Immortal.” After the
death of a person his soul passes into another body and again into
another and this process continues till it can be liberated from all its
imperfections and merged in the Universal Soul. This is the doctrine of
transmigration of souls.

The Aryans had also faith in the doctrine of Karma. It lays down that
all actions, good or bad, reap their proper fruits. Souls have to be born
again and again and bear the fruits of the actions (Karma) of their
previous lives. There is also doctrine of ‘Moksha’. It is a state of birth-
lessness and deathlessness at a point when a soul is liberated from the
cycle of births and deaths and mingled into the universal soul.” It was
essential for a man to attain moksha. All these are embodied in the
Upanishad which were composed in the Later Vedic Period.

Ascetic Life:
The later Vedic Aryans developed the concept of ascetic ideal of life as
the rites and ceremonies were not the only means of attaining success
in this world or bliss in heaven. So there developed the ideas of Tapas
and Brahmacharya (celibacy) leading to the same or even more
important results. Tapa means meditation, accompanying by physical
tortures.

An ascetic person renounced the worldly life and retired to the

solitude and exercised all the ascetic practices with the belief that they
would not only obtain heaven, but also develop, “mystic, extra-
ordinary and superhuman faculties.” This asceticism was widely
practiced in the Epic age.

The Aryans of Vedic age had reached the highest stage of civilization.
This age had excelled in every walks of life. All the valuable things in
man’s life—philosophy, religion, science and code of conduct were all
developed in the Vedic age. In fact Aryans served as the torch-bearers
of Indian civilization throughout the ages.