0

1

A PREMIER INSTITUTE OF CIVIL SERVICES

UPSC/MPPSC(Pre)

INDIAN HISTORY

By- C.M. MISHRA

Rudra’s IAS

2

Indus Valley civilization

Indus valley is one among the oldest civilizations of world. It is one among the main civilizations of

Ancient period such as Mesopotamia, Egypt and China. With radio carbon dating its period is

recognized in between 2600 BC to 1900 BC. Indus valley civilization is the first urban civilization of

India. This was the first narration of Harappa civilization by Charles Masson in 1842, which revealed

fact that there is an oldest civilization in Harappa.

However, the discovery of Charles Masson could not attract any Archaeological interest for many

years in 1872 Charles Alexander Cunningham published the first Harappan seal about half a century

later in 1912 more Harappan seals were discovered by J Fleet. Later in 1921 an Excavation campaign

was carried out under Sir John Marshall and his assistant Daya Ram Shahni who thrown light on the

ancient civilization of Harappa.

The Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilization or Harappan Civilization was the culmination of a long and

sustained cultural evolution in the Indus Valley and surrounding areas. The term ‘Indus Valley

Civilization’ was used by John Marshall for the first time. The people of this civilization were

definitely in touch with the other civilizations especially with Mesopotamian civilization.

Extent

As the three of the world’s civilizations developed along the river banks (Egyptian on Nile,

Mesopotamian on Tigris–Euphrates, Chinese on the Yangts), the Indus valley civilization was

developed on bank of Indus and several other nearby rivers such as Ghaghar, Saraswati and

the Drasadvati. Centre of the civilization was in Sind and Punjab and from there, it spread in all

directions.

Its westernmost point was Sutkagan Dor in South Baluchistan while easternmost point was

Alamgirpur in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh. In North, it was extended up to Manda of Jammu and

Kashmir at the bank of Chenab river. While in South, its extended was up to Daimabad of

Maharashtra state. This civilization was largest of the four ancient urban civilizations of Egypt,

Mesopotamia, South Asia and China and covered an area of around 1.3 million square kilometres.

This area is triangular in shape and no other ancient civilization was extended to such a large area.

3

Important sites of Indus Valley

Harappa

Harappa is the first discovered site of this civilization excavated in 1921 by a team led by Daya Ram

Sahni. It was a major urban centre during its mature phase surrounded by extensive walls. It is located

in Punjab Province, Pakistan, on an old bank / bed of the River Ravi. Its location along old course of

Ravi provided access to trade networks, aquatic food and water for drinking and cultivation. Due to

this, Harappa remained occupied for a long time. Further, Harappa was also a meeting point of trade

routes coming from east.

The important material findings at Harappa include pottery, copper or bronze implements, terracotta

figurines, seals and sealing, weights, etc. This apart, the two rows of granaries with brick platforms, a

citadel on elevated platform, a supposed workmen’s quarter, vanity case, furnaces, crucibles for

bronze smelting etc. have also been found. Harappa also is the only site which yields the evidence of

coffin burial. A copper bullock cart is another notable finding.

Mohen-jo Daro

Mohenjo-Daro (means mound of dead) was excavated by a team led by R.D. Banerjee in 1922. It is

located in the Larkana District of Sindh Pakistan on bank of Indus River. Notable findings at

Mohenjo-Daro are the magnum opus Great Bath, uniform buildings and weights, hidden drains and

other hallmarks of the civilization. This is the site where most unicorn seals have been found.

Mohenjo-Daro is also sometimes known as largest urban center of the civilization. The famous bronze

dancing girl, seal of supposed Pashupati, steatite statue of bearded priest, numerous terracotta

figurines are another notable findings of Mohenjo-Daro.

The most famous building found at Mohenjo-Daro is a great bath. It is a 6×12 meter specimen of

beautiful brick work. The water for the bath was provided from a well in an adjacent room. The floor

was made up of bricks. Floor and outer walls were bituminized so that there is no leakage of water.

There is open porch on four sides of the bath. There is use of Burnt bricks, Mortar and Gypsum in the

Great bath but no use of stone is there.

Kalibangan

Kalibangan (black bangles) is in Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan. It was located on the banks of

now dried up Sarwaswati River; and flourished for at least 5 centuries. The site was first discovered by

Italian Luigi Pio Tessitori and was later excavated extensively by A Ghosh.

The oldest ploughed field, evidence of earliest recorded Earthquake (which might have ended this city

itself), Fire-Altars, tiled floor, two kinds of burials (circular and rectangular graves), and bones of

4

camels are important findings of Kalibangan. Further, this site was different from Harappa and

Mohenjo-Daro in the following respects:

The bricks in other sites were baked ones, while Kalibangan bricks are earthen ones. There was no

drainage system in Kalibangan. Due to these, Kalibangan is not considered a well-planned city as

comparable to other important sites of Indus Valley.

Chanhu-Daro

Chanhu Daro is situated 130 kms south of Mohenjo-Daro in Sindh and is the only Harrapan city which

does not have a fortified citadel. The Chanhu Daro has given evidence of factories of various

figurines, seals, toys, bone implements so it has been interpreted that it was a settlement with lots of

artisans and was an industrial town.

Lothal

Lothal is located in Ahmadabad, Gujarat. It was a coastal town {three important coastal towns of

Indus Valley Civilization are Lothal, Suktagendor and Balakot} and had different type of town

planning. The city was divided into six sections and each section was built on a wide platform of

unripe bricks. In other sites of Indus valley cilization entry to the houses were from back of main road

but here it was from front.

Important findings of Lothal include an artificial dockyard (which makes it an important sea link), rice

husk (rice husk has been found only at Lothal and Rangpur), bead making factory etc. Lothal is

thought to have direct sea trade links with Mesopotamia because of finding of an Iranian seal from

there.

Banawali

Banawali is located in Hissar district of Haryana. High quality barley has been found at Banawali.

Ropar

Ropar in Punjab was excavated under Y D Sharma. There is another site Bara near Ropar, which

shows an evidence of the decaying culture of pre Harrapan era.

Surkotda

Surkotda is located in the Bhuj area of Gujarat and has provided evidence of the first actual remains of

the horse bones.

Dholovira

Dholavira is located in Rann of Katch of Gujarat. It is relatively a new discovery, excavated in 1990s

by a team led by R S Bisht. It had several large reservoirs; an elaborate system of drains to collect

5

water from the city walls and house tops to fill water tanks.One of the most important findings of

Dholavira has been a signboard with Indus Script.

Suktagendor

Suktagendor was located around 55 kms from the shore of Arabian Sea on the Bank of Dasht

River near the Iran Border. It was an important coastal town along with Lothal and Balakot (in

Pakistan) and is considered to be the western border of Indus Valley Civilization. It was originally a

port and later cut off from the sea due to coastal upliftment. The conclusion has been drawn up that

Suktagendor had trade relationships with Babylon.

Rakhigarhi

Rakhigarhi in Hissar, Haryana is one of the largest sites of Indus Valley.

Important Features of Indus valley civilization

Town Planning

The most remarkable feature of the Harappan civilization was its urbanization. Each city was divided

into a citadel area where the essential institutions of Civil and religious life were located and the lower

residential area where the urban population lived.

In Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, the citadel was surrounded by a brick wall. At Kalibangan, both the

citadel and the lower city were surrounded by a wall. Usually, towns or cities were laid out in a

parallel grammas form. The use of baked and unbaked bricks of standard size shows that the brick

making was a large-scale industry for the Harappans.

Drainage

The bathrooms were connected by drains with sewers under the main street. The drainage system is

one of the most impressive achievements of the Harappans and presupposes existence of some kind of

municipal organization. The houses were constructed with the kiln-made or Kuccha bricks, not stones.

The bathrooms and drains were invariably built with pukka bricks made waterproof by adding

gypsum.

Agriculture

The Harappans cultivated wheat and barley, peas and dates and also sesame and mustard which were

used for oil. However, the people cultivated rice as early as 1,800 B.C. in Lothal. The Harappans were

the earliest people to grow cotton. Irrigation depended on the irregular flooding of the rivers of Punjab

and Sind.Canal irrigation was not practiced. The evidence of a furrowed field in Kalibangan indicates

6

that the Harappans were using some sort of wooden plough. It has also suggested that the Harappan

people used a toothed harrow.

Trade and Its Network

There was extensive inland and foreign trade. It has also been reasonably established that this trade

might have been overland as well as maritime. It is proved by the occurrence of small terracotta boats,

and above all, by the vast brick built dock at Lothal.

As there is a no evidence of coins, barter must have been the normal method of exchange of goods.

But the system of weights and measures was excellent. The weights followed a binary system in the

lower denominations: 1, 2, 4, 8 to 64.

What they imported must have been goods locally unavailable such as copper (from South India,

Baluchistan and Arabia), gold (South India, Afghanistan and Persia), Silver (Afghanistan and Iran),

lapis lazuli (Badak-shan in north east Afghanistan) turquoise (Iran), Jade (Central Asia), amethyst

(Maharashtra), agate, chalcedony and carnelian from Saurashtra and western India. Harappan seals

and other small objects used by the merchants and traders for stamping their goods have been found in

Mesopotamia.

Crafts

The various occupations in which the people were engaged spanned a wide range – spinning and

weaving of cotton and wool, pottery- making, bead-making and seal making metal working was

highly skilled. They made fine jewelry in gold, bronze implements, copper beakers, saws, chisels and

knives of different metals. Stone sculptures were rare and undeveloped. The Bearded Head in stone

from Mohenjo-Daro is a well-known piece of art.

Science

The Harappans knew mining, metal works and the art of building construction. Some of which were

higher than two stories. They also used gypsum cement to join stones and even metals. They knew

how to make long-lasting paints and dyes.

The Indus Script

The Harappan script has not been deciphered so far, but overlaps of letters on some of the potsherds

from Kalibangan show that the writing was boustrophedon or from right to lift and from left to right in

alternate lines.

Religion

Clay figures of the mother Goddess, worshipped by the people as the symbol of fertility, have been

found. A seated figure of a male god, carved on a small stone seal, has also been found. The seal

7

immediately brings to mind the traditional image of Pashupati mahadeva. Certain trees seem to have

been treated as sacred, such as the pipal. They also held the bull scared.

Decline of civilization

Around 1,800 B.C. the major cities in the core region decayed and were finally abandoned. The

settlements in the outlying regions slowly de- urbanized. Some of the plausible theories for the decline

of the Harappan civilization are the given here along with their pros and cons.

Floods and Earthquakes

It has been postulated that floods and earthquakes destroyed the civilization. The theory has been

criticized on various grounds:

1. Decline of settlements outside the Indus Valley cannot be explained by this theory.

2. A river cannot be damaged by tectonic effects.

Change in Course of the Rivers

Another theory is that Mohenjo-Daro was destroyed by the change in the course of river Indus. The

people of the city and the surrounding food producing village deserted the area because they were

starved of water. According to this theory, silt observed in the city is actually the product of wind

action.

Vedic Culture

After decline of Indus valley civilization, a new Civilization was immerged on the land of India. This

civilization was completely different to its preceding Indus valley civilization. Indus valley civilization

was an urban civilization while it was a completely rural civilization. This civilization was established

by Aryans who compiled Vedas. So, this civilization is also known as Vedic civilization. In Hindi the

Antonym of Arya is Anarya. Whose literal meaning is ‘Anari’ means one who does not have

knowledge. It indicates that Aryans were intelligent or excellent. Sanskrit was the speaking language

of Aryans. It is the reason Max Mueller called them a linguistic group.

It has long been a matter of controversy as to what region the Indo-Europeans inhabited before the

arrival of one or more of their branches to India. Ganganath Jha tried to prove that the Vedic Aryans

were neither foreigner nor did they migrate into India, but were the indigenous people, who regarded

Sapta Sindhu as their original home. Gangadhar Tilak suggested the Polar region as the original home

of the Aryans.

8

Some inscriptions of about 1350 BC found at Boghaz- Koi in Cilicia (Asia Minor), the capital of the

ancient Hittites, mention some Aryan deities such as Indra, Varuna, Mitra and Nasatyas (Aswins).

Max Mueller Central Asia

B.G.Tilak Arctic Region

A.C. Dass Sapta Sindhu or the Punjab region

Swami Dayanand Saraswati Tibet

Aryans were initially established in Sapta Sandhva region means the region of 7 Rivers. When they

shifted towards the region between Sutlej and Yamuna they called Brahma Varta to this region,

gradually they shifted towards the Ganga-Yamuna Doab they gave it name Brahma Rishi. According

to Pandit Ganga Nath Jha aryans were original dweller of Bramha Rishi Desh. When Aryans were

extended in entire North India this region was called Arya Varta.

Name of Vedic Rivers

Modern Name Rig Vedic Name

Indus Sindhu

Jhelum Vitasta

Chenab Asikni

Ravi Parushni

Beas Vipasa

Sutlej Sutudri

Gomti Gomal

Kurram Krumu

Ghaggar Drisshadvati

In Rig-Veda Saraswati is considered as the most Holy River. It is given name Naditama. Indus river is

mentioned by the most number of times Ganga river is mention only Once. Yamuna has been mention

for three times.

9

The Dasarajana Yudha

The entire territory of the Vedic Aryans was divided into a number of tribal principalities, ruled

normally by the leaders. The Bharatas were the most important Aryan tribe, after whom the India

came to be known as Bharata. In connection with the famous Dasrajna Yudha or the battle of ten

kings, mentioned in various hymns of the Rig-Veda, many important Vedic tribes and their

personalities are found mentioned.

The battle of ten kings was between Sudas, a Bharata king of the Tritsu family and the confederacy of

ten well-known tribes- Puru, Yadu, Turvasa, Anu, Druhyu, Alina, Paktha, Bhalanas, Shiva and

Vishanin. The former five are said to be Aryan tribe while the latter five are said to be Non-Aryan

tribes. In the bloody and decisive battle on the banks of river Parusni, the Bharatas emerged victorious.

The Purus was another very important tribe in the days of the Rig-Veda. They were closely connected

with Tritsus and the Bharatas, and lived on either side of the Saraswati. The Anus, Druhyus, Yadus

and Turvasas were the allies of the Purus against the Bharatas. These five are the five peoples

(Panchjanah) of the Rig-Veda. The Name Yadu and Turvasa normally occur together in the Rig-Veda.

Political Organisation

The lowest unit of the Rig-Vedic society was the patriarchal family. A number of families bound

together by ties of blood formed a clan, several classes formed a Jan, and a number of Jans composed a

tribe, the highest political unit.

The ‘grama’ consisted of several families. It was under a headman known as ‘gramani’. During war or

battle he used to lead the soldiers from his village. He attended the meetings of the ‘Sabha’ and ‘Samiti’.

Several villagers formed a ‘vis’. It was placed under a ‘visapati’. He was a military leader.

A group of ‘vishes’ formed a ‘jana' whose members were bound together by real or supposed ties of

kinship. ‘Gopa’ was the head of one ‘jana’. Rig Veda mentions about various Jans such as Bharatas,

Matsyas, Krivis and Tritsus. But the tribes which acquired great importance are the Purus, Trigvasas,

Yadus, Aus and Drahyus. Several Janas formed a ‘janapada’ or ‘kingdom’. The ‘Rajan’ or the king was

the head of the Janapada.

Unit Vedic name Head

Family Kul Kulap

Collection of families Gram Gramni

10

Collection of Grams Vish Vishpati

Collection of Vishs Jan Rajan

Form of Government

Monarchy was the normal form of Government. Kingship was hereditary. But there was a sort of

hierarchy in some states, several members of the royal family exercising the power in common. There

were references of democratic form of government and their chiefs were elected by the assembled

people.

The King

The kingdom was small in extent. The king enjoyed a position of pre-eminence in the tribe. Kingship

was hereditary. He was anointed by the priest as king in the ‘Abhishka’ Ceremony. The king had the

duty to protect the life and property of his people. He was required to be ‘Indra’ in valour, ‘Mitra’ in

kindness and ‘varuna’ in virtues. He maintained justice with the help of Purohitas. He collected tributes

known as ‘Bali’ in kind from his subjects.

Officials

In the work of administration the king was assisted by a number of functionaries like the Purohita

(priest), the Senani (general) the Gramani (village headman) and the Spsa (spies). Purohita was the most

important officer of the state.

The Army

The army was mainly consisting of Patti (infantry) and Rathins (chariots). The weapons used by the

soldiers were bows, arrows, swords, axes and spears. These weapons were made up of irons. The

soldiers were organised into units known as Sardha, Vrata and gana.

Popular Assemblies

Two popular assemblies of Vedic period were Sabha and Samiti. In the work of administration king was

consulted by these two bodies and act according to their suggestions. Sabha was a selected body of

elders. Sabhapati was the head of the sabha. It also functioned as a court of law and tried the cases of

criminals and punished them.

The Samiti was the most popular assembly and included common people. The head of Samiti was

known as ‘Pati’. The Samiti mainly dealt with the political business of the state. It was also responsible

for election of king.

11

Social Life

Family

The family was regarded as the social and political unit. It was the nucleus of the social life of the early

Aryans. The father was the head of the family and he was known as ‘grihapati’. The Aryans had joint

families.

Position of Women

In the early Vedic age women enjoyed an honored place in the society. The wife was the mistress of the

household and authority over the slaves. In all religious ceremonies she participated with her husband.

Prada system was not prevalent in the society. Sati system was also not prevalent in the Vedic society.

The education of girls was not neglected. The Rig-Veda mentions the names of some learned ladies like

Viswavara, Apala and Ghosa who composed mantras and attained the rank of Rishis. The girls were

married after attaining puberty. The practice of ‘Swayamvara’ was also prevalent in the society.

Monogamy was the general Practice.

Education:

In the Rig-Vedic age great importance was given to education. There were Gurukulas which imparted

education to the disciples after their sacred-thread ceremony. Entire instruction was given orally. The

Vedic education aimed at proper development of mind and body. The disciples were taught about ethics,

art of warfare, art of metal and concept of Brahma and philosophy, and basic sciences like agriculture,

animal husbandry, and handicrafts.

Caste System

In the early Vedic age there was no caste system. Member of same family took to different arts, crafts

and trades. People could change their occupation according to their needs or talents. There was hardly

any restriction in intermarriage, change of occupation. There, was no restriction on taking of food

cooked by the sudras. A late hyman of the Rig-Veda known as Purushasukta refers to four castes. But

many scholars reject the theory that caste system existed in Rig Vedic age. According to them

Purushasukta is a late hymen and caste system was never rigid and hereditary.

Economic Life

The Village

In the Rig Vedic Age people lived in villages. The houses were made of wood and bamboo. They had

thatched roof and clay floors. The hymns of Rig-Veda refer to Pura. It seems that Puras were fortified

places and served as places of refuge during danger of invasion.

12

There was absence of word nagara (city) in the hymns of Rig-Veda. Gramani was the chief of the

village. He looked after the affairs of the village, both civil and military. There was another officer

known as Vrajapati who led Kulapas or heads of families to battle.

Agriculture

Reference in Rig-Veda shows, that agriculture was the principal occupation of the people. They

ploughed the field by means of a pair of oxen. Rig-Veda even mentions that twenty four oxen were

attached to a plough share at the same time to plough the land. The ploughed land was known as Urvara

or Kshetra. Water was supplied into the fields by means of irrigation canal. Use of manure was known

to them. Barley and wheat were mainly cultivated. Cotton and oil seeds were also grown. Rice was

perhaps not extensively cultivated. Agriculture was their main source of income.

Trade and Commerce

There were trade and maritime activity. Sometimes traders made journey to distant lands for larger

profits in trade. There was probably commercial intercourse with Babylon and other countries in

Western Asia. The principal media of trade was barter. Cow was used as unit of value. Gradually pieces

of gold called ‘mishka’ were used as means of exchange. Trade and commerce was regulated and

managed by a group of people called ‘Pani’.

Religious Condition

The religious life of the Aryans was simple and plain. They worshipped various manifestations of nature

such as the sun, the moon, the sky, the Dawn, the thunder, the wind and the Air. Vedic hymns were

composed in praise of nature. Rigveda mentions that thirty three gods and goddesses were worshipped

by the Aryans. These divinities were placed under three categories namely:

The Terrestrial God Prithvi, Agni, Brihaspati and Soma,

The Atmospheric God Indra, Rudra (lightning), Maruts, Vayu and Parjanya

Celestial God Dyaus (the sky), Varuna, Usha, Asvins and Surya, Mitra, Savitri and

Vishnu

Among the Vedic gods, Indra occupied the chief place, was given the largest number of hymns about

1/4 of the total number of hymns in the Rig Veda. Agni was second importance god. He acted as the

coordinator among all deities. He conveyed to the gods the oblations offered by the devotees. He

received special homage by the people as no sacrifice could be performed without offering to him. He

was also known as Purandara means destroyer of forts. He was also the god of rain. Varuna was

13

regarded as the god of truth and moral order. Maruta was the god of storm. He helped Indra in scattering

away the demons. Usha was the goddess of dawn.

Prithvi was regarded as the goddess of grain and of procreation. Vishnu was worshipped as the god of

three worlds. Surya was regarded as the destroyer of darkness. Apart from these deities, others like

Savitri, Saraswati, Brihaspati and Prajnya were also worshipped.

Types of Marriages

According to Manusmriti there are 8 types of Hindu Marriages. They are Brahma Marriage, Arsha

marriage, Daiva Marriage, Prajapatya Marriage, Asura Marriage, Gandharva Marriage, Paishcha

Marriage and Rakshacha Marriage. Out of these 8 types of Hindu Marriages only the first 4 were

religiously sanctioned. The last four types of Hindu Marriages were condemned by the society.

1. Brahma

In the Brahma Marriage the father of the bride gave her hand to a man who has completed

brahmacharya (25 years of bachelorhood), well versed with the Vedas and has a good conduct.

There was no system of dowry in this type of marriage. Kanyadaan was an important ritual of this

marriage.

2. Daiva

The second type of Hindu Marriage is the Daiva Marriage. In this type of marriage the girl, after a

fruitless wait for a suitable groom, is married off to a priest at a place of sacrifice.

3. Arsha:

In the Arsha Marriage a girl was married off to a sage because her family could not afford to get her

married according to the brahma marriage. The bride’s side would take two cows from the sage in

return of their daughter.

4. Prajapatya

In Prajapatya Marriage the bride’s father would go in search of a suitable groom for his daughter.

However, there was no system of kanyadaan or dowry in this type of marriage.

5. Gandharva

Gandharva Marriage was like Love Marriage of present times. The bride and the groom got married

secretly without the knowledge of their respective families.

6. Asura

In the Asura type of Hindu Marriage the groom was not supposed to be a good match for the bride

but he married her because he could give away a lot of wealth in exchange of the bride.

7. Rakshasa

14

In Rakshasa Marriage the groom fought a battle with the bride’s family and forced the bride to

marry him.

8. Paishacha

Paishacha Marriage was the one in which the marriage was against the wish of the bride and her

family and the bride was usually seduced before her marriage.

Hypergamy (Anuloma): It is the marriage of a woman with a man of higher Varna or superior

caste or family.

Hypogamy (Pratiloma): It is the marriage of high caste man with a low caste woman.

Purusharthas

Purusartha literally means an ‘object of human pursuit’. It is a key concept in Hinduism, and refers to

the four proper goals or aims of a human life. The four purusarthas are Dharma (righteousness, moral

values), Artha (prosperity, economic values), Kama (pleasure, love, psychological values) and

Moksha (liberation, spiritual values).All four Purusarthas are important, but in cases of conflict,

Dharma is considered more important than Artha or Kama in Hindu philosophy. Moksha is considered

the ultimate ideal of human life. At the same time, this is not a consensus among all Hindus, and many

have different interpretations of the hierarchy, and even as to whether one should exist.

Types of Sacrifice (Yajna)

Ashvamedha

Ashvamedha was a horse sacrifice ritual followed by the Śrauta tradition of Vedic religion. It was used

by ancient Indian kings to prove their imperial sovereignty. A horse was accompanied by released by

the king to wander for a period of one year. After one year, if no enemy had managed to kill or capture

the horse, the animal would be guided back to the king’s capital. It was then sacrificed, and the king

was declared as an undisputed sovereign.

Vajapeya

Vajapeya is a Soma Yajna, though it certainly involves minor animal sacrifice too. It is done by the

Brahmins and the Kshatriyas and is one of the greatest Soma yajnas of its kind. The surname of some

Brahmins ‘Bajpai’ or ‘Vajpayee’ derives from this yajna.

Rajasuya

Rajasuya was a yajna or sacrifice, performed by the kings who considered themselves powerful

enough to be an emperor. It is described in detail in the Mahabharata. Rajasuya, like the Ashwamedha,

would occur after the return of the generals of the king (in most cases his own kinsmen, like his

15

brother or son) from a successful military campaign. After conquering the kings of other kingdoms

and collecting tribute from them, the general would invite the vanquished kings to attend the sacrifice

ceremony. All the vanquished kings would in effect consider the performer of these sacrifices as an

emperor. In case of Rajasuya, there is no horse involved. The generals planned their route themselves.

Rajasuya sacrifices were rarer than Ashwamedha sacrifices, since they were riskier and costlier.

Ashram Vyavastha

Four Ashrams of Vedic life was based on an individual's Karma and Dharma. Every doctrine of

ancient India, carved out by the ancient saints, is based on scientific and rational reasoning. The

average life of an Indian was considered to be 100 years. Based on this there were four ashrams of

Vedic life-

Brahmacharya Ashram

Brahmacharya is a period of formal education lasting until around age 25, during which, the student

leaves home to stay with a guru and attain both spiritual and practical knowledge. During this period,

he is called a Brahmachari and is prepared for his future profession, as well as for his family, and

social and religious life ahead.

Grihastha Ashram

This period begins at marriage when one must undertake the responsibility for earning a living and

supporting a family. At this stage, Hinduism supports the pursuit of wealth (artha) as a necessity, and

indulgence in pleasure (kama), under certain defined social and cosmic norms. This ashrama lasts until

around the age of 50. According to the Laws of Manu, when a person's skin wrinkles and his hair

grays, he should go out into the forest.

Vanaprastha Ashram

The Vanaprastha stage begins when a person's duty as a householder comes to an end. He has become

a grand father, his children are grown up, and have established lives of their own. At this age, he

should renounce all physical, material and sexual pleasures, retire from his social and professional life,

leave his home for a forest hut, where he can spend his time in prayers. He is allowed to take his

spouse along but maintains little contact with the rest of the family. This kind of life is indeed very

harsh and cruel for an aged person.

Sannyasa Ashram

16

At this stage, a person is supposed to be totally devoted to God. He is a sannyasi, he has no home, no

other attachment; he has renounced all desires, fears, hopes, duties, and responsibilities. He is virtually

merged with God, all his worldly ties are broken, and his sole concern becomes attaining moksha or

release from the circle of birth and death.

Vedic literature

The word 'Ved' comes from Sanskrit word 'vid' whose litteral meaning is ‘knowledge’. The person who

has knowledge is known as Vidwan. Vedas were compiled by Veda Vyasa (the one who classified the

Vedas) or Krishna Dvaipayana (referring to his dark complexion and birthplace). He is generally

considered the author of the Mahabharata, Vyasa is also considered to be one of the seven Chiranjivins

(long-lived, or immortals), who are still in existence according to Hindu tradition. The festival of Guru

Purnima is dedicated to him. It is also known as Vyasa Purnima, for it is the day believed to be both his

birthday and the day he divided the Vedas.

Vedas are also known as 'shruti' (to hear) as they were passed from generation to generation through

verbal transmission. Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda four Vedas. The first three

Vedas are collectively known as 'Vedtrayi' or 'trio'.

Rig Veda

It is oldest religious text in the world. It was composed around 1700 BC. It is a collection of hymns.

These were recited at the time of sacrificial rites and other rituals with utmost devotion. It contains 1028

hymns and is divided into 10 mandates among which II to VII are the earliest mandalas, each of which

is ascribed to a particular family of seers (rishis) - Gritsamada, Visvamitra, Vamadeva, Atri, Bharadvaj,

and Vashistha. VIII mandala is ascribed to the Kanvas and Angiras. The IX mandala is completely

devoted to the Vedic God soma. I and X are considered the later additions.

The X mandala contains the famous Purushsukta which explains that the 4 varnas (Brahmans, Kshatriya,

Vaishya and Shudra) were born from the mouth, arms, thighs and feet of the creator, Brahma.

Words in Rig Veda: Om (1028 times), Jan (275 times), etc. 250 hymns are dedicated to Indra while 200

are dedicated to Agni. The third mandala contains the Gayatri Mantra (addressed to sun). Saraswati is

the deity river in Rig Veda. Aiterya is the Brahrnanas of Rigveda. Aitareya Upanishads and Kaushitaaki

Upanishad are the Upanishads of Rigveda. Hotri is the Priest related to Rigveda. Ayurveda is Upveda of

Rigveda.

Sama Veda

17

It is derived from the word Saman, i.e. 'melody'. It is a collection of melodies. It has 1603 verses but

except 99 all the rest have been borrowed from Rig Veda. The Sama Veda prescribes the tunes for the

recitation of the hymns of the Rig Veda. It may be called the book of Chants (Saman). This book is an

evidence of the development of Indian music during this period.

Yajur Veda

Yajur means sacrifice or worship. This Veda is concerned mostly with rites and mantras of different

sacrifices. It gives directions for the performance of the yajnas. It has both poetic and prose renderings.

Being a treatise on rituals, it is the most popular of the four Vedas. There are two major branches of

Yajur Veda, namely Shukla and Krishna Yajur Veda i.e. Vajasaneyi Samhita and Taitriya Samhita. This

text reflects on the social and religious condition of India at that time.

Atharva Veda

The Atharva Veda is also known as the Brahma Veda. It contains treatment for ninety-nine diseases.

The source of this Veda is traced to two rishis called Atharvah and Angiras. The Atharva Veda is of

immense value as it represents the religious ideas at an early period of civilisation. It has two branches,

the Paippalada and the Saunaka. This book gives detailed information about the family, social and

political life of later Vedic period.

Upavedas

There are four upavedas:

Upveda Attached with Subject

Ayurveda RigVeda Deal with Medicine

Gandharvaveda Samveda Deals with art and music

Dhanurveda Yajurveda Deals with art of warfare

Shilpaveda Atharvaveda Deals with Architecture

The Brahmanas

These texts are the explanation of Vedas in very simple and understandable manner.

Brahman Concerned Veda Subject Compiler

Aitreya Rigveda Rules of Coronation Mahidas

Kaushetki Rigveda Code of Conduct Sankhayan

Panchvish Samveda - -

Sanvish Samveda Earthquake famine Sayan

Jemineya Samveda - Jaimini

18

Taitriya Yajurveda Human Behavior Maharshi Bhardwaj

Shatpatha Yajurveda Different forms of

Rituals

Yagyavalkya

Gopath Atharvveda Procedure of Rituals Gopath Rishi

Vedangas

There are six Vedangas. For centuries they taught and continue to teach Vedic students how to recite the

Vedic hymns, understand their meaning and perform the various rituals and ceremonies strictly

according to the established procedures.

(1) Nirukta Vedanga

Nirukta is the science of etymologies. It explains the word-roots and derivation of meanings of

words in different contexts.

Text: Yaska’s Nirukta.

(2) Vyakarana Vedanga

Vyakarana is Grammar. Panini’s Astadhyayi is the authority on Sanskrit Grammar. It was not

written in Sanskrit but Panini used a meta-language called Upadesa to define the grammar of

Sanskrit in about 8000 sutras/rules.

Text: Panini’s Astadhyayi.

(3) Siksha Vedanga

Siksha deals with phonetics, the pronunciation and accent. There are two variations to plain

pronunciation, called Udatta and Anudatta. Altering the pronunciation alters the meaning of what

is being chanted and the results of chanting.

Text: Panini’s Siksha.

(4) Chandas Vedanga

Chandas is the science of metres. The chandas of a mantra determines its usage, such as its

purpose and context. But it acts more as an error-correcting mechanism. Since the Veda is an oral

tradition, any aberration in the chandas because of error in text or the swara, can be easily

identified and corrected.

Text: Pingala’s Chandassastra.

(5) Jyotisha Vedanga

Jyotisha deals with the astronomical and astrological aspects of fixing auspicious date and time to

perform various Vedic rites and rituals including the sacraments or rites of passage. The treatise of

19

Aryabhata, known as Aryabhatiya, (600 AD) and the Panchasiddhantika of Varahamihira are other

important works.

Text: Lagadha’s Vedanga Jyotisha.

(6) Kalpa Vedanga

The method and the manner in which the sacrificial ceremonies and daily household rituals have

to be performed are established in a compendium of sutras or aphorisms known as Kalpa Sutras,

categorized together as sruti literature. Kalpa literally means sacred rule or law or ordinance and

sutra means a thread. Sutras are threads of knowledge or short statements used as memorial rules.

In the absence of written language, the sutras acted as mental hooks and helped the students

remember the intricacies of performing Vedic sacrifices and observing the daily rituals.

Vedanga Subject

Shiksha Deals with pronunciation

Kalpa Deals with rituals

Vyakarana Deals with grammar, The oldest Grammar of Sanskrit is Asthadhyayi. Compiled

by Panini.

Nirukta Deals with Etymology, Nighantu is the oldest book of Etymology. Compiled by

Yashka.

Chhanda Deals with Structure of Poetry

Jyotisha Deals with astronomy

Smritis

These texts deal with the rules and regulations of the Vedic life. Main smrities are Manusmriti,

Naradsmriti, Yagyavalkyasmriti and Parasharsmriti.

The difference between shruti and smriti literature

The ancient literature is the crowning glory of the Indian civilization. No other part of the world has

produced such voluminous literature of knowledge and wisdom. The Vedas are the most celebrated

possessions of the mankind. The Rig Veda is the oldest literary work in the history of the world. The

Vedas are the exquisite expressions of the Divinity. They are the first significant utterances on the lips

of man. The ancient Indian literature is the glorious gift of the Indian civilization to the world. It

comprises of the illustrious scriptures.

20

The Indian scriptures can be broadly classified into two categories:

(1) The Shruti literature (2) The Smriti literature.

Shruti is concerned with ‘the heard’ or ‘the revealed’.Smriti is concerned with ‘the remembered.’ The

Vedas and the Upanishads are considered as theShruti literature. The Sanskrit root ‘shrut’ means ‘to

hear’. In ancient times, while doing their tapasya and sadhana, the great sages ‘heard’ the divine

truths. Whatever was ‘heard’ was presented in the Vedas and the Upanishads.

Thus they came to be known as the Shruti literature. Smriti literature is concerned with ‘that what is

remembered’. The literature which was based on the knowledge acquired through the experience or

the tradition was the Smriti literature. Generally, the Smriti literature is based on the Shruti.

The famous Manu-Smriti and other smritis and shastras constitute the Smriti literature. The guidelines

for ethics, moral obligations, social codes, customs etc. are found in the Smriti literature. The great

epics Mahabharata and Ramayana also belong to the Smriti literature. While the Shruti literature is

veritable and inviolable, theSmriti literature may get modified under the influence of time and place.

Puran

Total number of Purans is 18. Matsya Puran is the oldest puran. Bhagwat Puran, Vishnu Puran, Shiv

Puran, Varun Puran, Garun Puran, and Vayu Puran are the famous puran.

The Upanishads:

The word Upanishad is derived from upa (nearby), and nishad (to sit-down), that is, ‘sitting down

near’. Groups of pupil sit near the Guru to learn from him in the Guru-shishya parampara or tradition.

The Upanishads mark the culmination of Indian thought and are the final parts of the Vedas. As the

Upanishads contain abstract and difficult discussions of ultimate philosophical problems, they were

taught to the pupils at the end. That is why they are called the end of Vedas.

Vedas start with the worship of the manifest, as that is obvious and then slowly transform to the

knowledge of the unmanifest There are more than 200 known Upanishads, one of which, the Muktika,

gives a list of 108 Upanishads – this number corresponds to the holy number of beads on a mala or

Hindu rosary.

The Upanishads form an important part of our literary legacy. They deal with questions like the origin

of the universe, life and death, the material and spiritual world, nature of knowledge and many other

questions.

The earliest Upanishads are the Brihadaranyaka which belongs to the Sukla Yajur Veda and

Chandyogya which belongs to the Sama Veda. Some of the other important Upanishads are the