A Brief History of India: Vedas 23/12/2022, 13:52

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A Brief History of India: Vedas
by Abhijit Rajadhyaksha, 29 January 2011

The Vedas literally mean 'supreme knowledge'. The FOLLOWING PAGES:

Brief History: Indian Mythology
early Vedas were passed down from generation to Brief History: Iron Age
generation by means of oral tradition. It was only much The Mauryas: Chandragupta
later that a script was developed (such as the seventh The Mauryas: Ashoka
century BC Brahmi script). RULERS OF INDIA:
India
The earliest Veda we know of is the Rigveda. Although it Indo-Europeans
is attributed to a date of creation of around 2000-1500 Indo-Aryans
BC, its quite possible that it was composed much earlier. Persia

The Vedas is not one book but a collection of texts EXTERNAL LINK:
which were recorded over a period of time. It has Google Books: Ancient India
several authors, known as rishis (sages) who dwelt in
the forests and who composed these texts for the
common man. They provided people with their common
philosophy and acted mainly as a blueprint for
conducting one's life.

The Vedas are categorised as follows:

Samahitas: these contain hymns, chants, prayers, etc

Brahmanas: prose texts containing the meaning of the samahitas

Aranyakas and Upanishads: partially connected to the Brahmanas and

partially separate works which embody the philosophical meditations of
the sages

The samahitas are further classified as: Valmiki, composer of the Ramayana

Rigveda: a collection of hymns

Atharveda: a collection of spells and charms

Samaveda: a collection of songs taken from the Rigveda

Yajurveda: containing sacrificial formulae

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A Brief History of India: Vedas 23/12/2022, 13:52

Also present separately was the Parishta (an appendix

for the Samahitas).

Then there is another form of work which is known as

the Vedanga. The Vedangas are differentiated into six
subjects: Shiksha (covering pronunciation), Chhandas
(meter), Vyakrana (grammar), Nirukta (glossary),
Jyotisha (astronomy), and Kalpa (regarding
ceremonies).

On top of that there is another form of literature which

is known as the Sutras which consisted of a series of
concise formulae. There were also the Upavedas:
Ayurveda (medicine), Dhanurveda (military science),
and Gandharveda (classical art).

Ramayana and Mahabharata

The epic Ramayana was composed by the sage, Valmiki,
hundreds of years prior to the Mahabharata. Dates vary
for the Ramayana. Some say it was composed in the
seventh or eighth centuries BC based on remembered
events, while some have given it a fourth century BC
date of composition. No full agreement exists on a
preferred date. What's more, on the shaky basis of
astronomical data, some Indologists maintain that the
Ramayana was actually composed nine thousand years The Kurukshetra from the
Mahabharata
ago!

The Mahabharata was composed by the sage, Vyasa,

but there is a great deal of debate over its dating. The
dates given are very different according to different
sources: 1400-1000 BC for the Puranic literature, the
tenth century BC for the Basham (or 836 BC by B B
Lal), 3130-3102 BC for the Aryabhata, and 2449 BC for
the Varahamira.

The Upanishads were initially referred to as the

Vedanta, but later Vedanta came to be known as an
interpretation of the Upanishads. A good many sub-
schools of thought sprang up from the Vedanta, such as
Advaita (dualism), Dvaita (monism), Vishishtadvaita,
Dvaitadvaita, and Shuddhadvaita.

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A Brief History of India: Vedas 23/12/2022, 13:52

A section of a manuscript showing the Vedas, written down over the

course of several centuries after being composed and maintained
through oral tradition

Amongst the latter texts were Panini's classical Sanskrit

(a book on grammar) composed at some point after 500
BC, and the Puranas, which was composed after the
beginning of the first millennium AD. Puranas such as
the Vishnu Purana, Bhagwat Purana, and Vayu Purana
also give us a great deal of insight into the Vedic period.

Varna system

Indo-Aryan society practiced what came to be known as

the Varna system. This was mainly a division of
professions which eventually created the caste system
in India.
The basic classification in Vedic society involved the
brahmanas or imbibers of the holy scriptures and its
teachers, the kshatriyas or warrior class which defended
the region and its people, the vaishyas or trader class,
and the shudras or labourer class.

Initially all Indo-Aryans were considered as being dvija

or twice born, and non-Indo-Aryans were advija. Later,
the first three Indo-Aryan classes of society all came to
be dvija, with the second 'birth' coming after a holy

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A Brief History of India: Vedas 23/12/2022, 13:52

thread initiation ceremony called the upanayana. For

non-Indo-Aryans to be included into the Indo-Aryan
fold, they had to undergo an ceremony called the
Vratayastoma yagna.

As dictated in a Rigvedic hymn, the Brahmana was the

mouth of God, the rajanyas or kshatriyas were his
arms, the vaishya formed his thighs, while the shudras
were his feet.

It is believed that the people who had been enslaved by

the Indo-Aryans were later added to the shudra fold.
They were mostly non-followers (or believers) of the
Vedas, known as the dasas, mlechas (barbarians), and
panis (cattle stealers). Later they came to form an
untouchable class, a more impure class called
chandalas. A scene from the Ramayana

Earlier there were instances in which the shudras could

attain higher status, even that of brahmana. The sage
Valmiki was one such example. Then there is an
example of Sage Vishwamitra, a kshatriya who became
a brahman. But later the caste system became
extremely rigid and some shudras were reduced to the
lowest echelons of Indo-Aryan society. Ages later they
came to be known as the dalits.

It should be noted that Indo-Aryan religion can be [ 1 ] Astika simply means a belief in
referred to as the Vedic religion, but it is not Hinduism the Vedas while Nastika means non-
as we know it today. Hinduism as such is a western belief. But belief in the Vedas was

name given to what were actually diverse philosophies later considered to be synonymous
with a belief in God.
that included the Vedic religion (in which the Vedas
were considered supreme), Shaivism (in which Shiva is [ 2 ] Shaivism and Bhagwatism
the supreme god), Bhagwatism (in which Vishnu is the gained popularity due to their non-
supreme god), Advaitism (monism), Dvaitism adherence to many of the principles
(dualism), Tantra (the esoteric worship of Shakti and of Vedic Brahanism and their belief in
social equality.
Shiva), Nastika / Charvaka / Samkhya / Mimansa
(atheist philosophies), plus Ajivika, Jatilaka, and so on.
[1] [2]

Early Indo-Aryan society was not very dogmatic. All

philosophies coexisted and were debated.

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A Brief History of India: Vedas 23/12/2022, 13:52

The word 'Hinduism' is derived from the word 'Hindu'

which was used to describe the people living beyond the
River 'Indu' or 'Sindhu' (the Indus). The people from the
far west of India (Persia and beyond) referred to the
people of 'Indu' as 'hindu'.

Jainism and Buddhism

In the last millennium BC offshoots from the Vedic line

Another scene from the Ramayana
of thinking emerged. These mainly involved Jainism,
which was started by Vardhamana Mahavira, and
Buddhism, which was started by Gautama Buddha.

These offshoots negated the hegemony of the Vedas

and the Brahmanas of Vedic Brahmanism and adopted
newer customs and rituals. Both stressed non-violence,
purity of thought, control over desires, meditation, and
the shunning of the Varna (caste) system. These ideas
gained popularity, mainly amongst the non-Brahmana
community, and were also patronised by several kings.

Later a divide appeared in Jainism, with the appearance [ 3 ] The term 'Jain' is derived from
of sects such as that of Digambara (formed by the the word 'Jina' which means a
followers of Bhadrabahu using the original teachings of conqueror of one's passions.

Mahavira - the monks renounced all materialistic things

[ 4 ] Jainism spread through the
including garments), and Shvetambara (formed by the east mainly via Bihar, Bengal, and
followers of Sthulabhadra - the monks were dressed in Orissa, heading westwards via
white and even wore a mask to cover their mouths). Gujrat, and Rajasthan, and
southwards through Karnataka.
Similarly, following the death of Gautama, Buddhism
segregated into Hinayana (those who believed in the [ 5 ] Only two of these tirthankaras,
Mahavira and Parshwa (born two or
original teachings of Buddha and did not venerate three centuries earlier) have any
Buddha as a god), Mahayana (propagated by historical basis, while the rest are
Nagarjuna, Asanga, Vasubandhu and others who considered to be mythological.
worshipped Buddha as a god and who believed in the
Bodhisatvas, vis-à-vis the incarnations of Buddha who
had not attained Buddhahood), and Vajrayana (which
added tantric/esoteric beliefs to Buddhism). [4]

But eventually they were reconciled with the concepts

of Hinduism and even adopted several Hindu gods.
Although Mahavira remained sceptical about the
concept of 'God', his later followers came to accept
Mahavira as a god's incarnation along with twenty-three
of his predecessor tirthanaras (prophets). [5]

Buddhism spread to all corners of the world. While

Hinayana found followers in China, Japan, Afghanistan,
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A Brief History of India: Vedas 23/12/2022, 13:52

and Central Asia, Mahayana spread through Sri Lanka

and South-East Asia. Vajrayana came to be followed in
Bengal and Bihar in India, plus Tibet, Mongolia, and
further afield.

Main Sources
Majumdar, R C - Ancient India, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Ltd, 1987
Prasad, L - Studies in Indian History, Cosmos Bookhive, Gurgaon, 2000

Thapar, Romila - Penguin History of India, Volume 1, Penguin Books, London,

1990 Continued in Part 5

Text copyright © Abhijit Rajadhyaksha. An original feature for the History Files.

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