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DAILY
CLASS NOTES
Ancient History

Lecture – 13
Vedic Culture
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Vedic Culture
Note/Aspects 1: Discuss the political life of early Aryan.
❖ Area:
➢ As we know, Aryans came from outside, and early Aryans settled in the land of seven rivers. This place
is called the Sapta Sindhu Region (Pradesh).
➢ Early Aryans were also called Rig Vedic Aryans because the Rig Veda is the source of Early Aryans.
➢ Early Aryans mainly settled between Saraswati and Yamuna, which means they shifted from Sapta
Sindhu (Saindhava) Pradesh to the area between Saraswati and Yamuna.
❖ Characteristics:
➢ Aryans were divided into Jana (Tribes). Initially, they were divided into 5 tribes called Panch Jana.
They were:
✓ Anu
✓ Druhyu
✓ Yadu
✓ Puru
✓ Turvasha
➢ They were fair and white, tall, and had developed noses, etc.
❖ Role of King:
➢ The head of the Jana was called King, and the monarchical system was there.
➢ Raja was also called Rajan, The King was the protector of his Jana.
➢ His main work was to protect Jana and to protect cows.
➢ He was the head of Jana rather than land and territory, and it's crucial to remember that Jana was
dynamic and not bound to a fixed location.
➢ He was elected, but his office was not hereditary (Initially his office was not hereditary but later his
office became hereditary).
➢ The post of the king was not considered a divine post.
➢ The members of Jana elected him.
➢ The King arranged a yagya, where every individual from the community was required to participate
and present an offering, known as Bali, to the king. It was voluntary and compulsory.
➢ In Rig Veda, it is written that the King was the head of the tribe or Jana, not territory.
❖ Provincial Units: There were mainly five provincial units to support kings in various matters:
➢ Kul: It is the smallest political unit, and it is also called family, and the father or head of the family
was called Kulup.
➢ Gram: Many kuls formed gram, and the head of the gram was called Gramini (He had to perform
both political and Military work).
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➢ Vish: It is a bigger unit than Gram, and the head of the Vish was called Vishyapatui.
➢ Jana: Many Vish formed Jana, and the head of the Jana was called Janapati/Raja.
➢ Rashtra: Rashtra word used for country or State, and Rashtra can be small or big. Basically, the
Rashtra word was used for Jana. Ten Janas were also called Rashtra, and they used to fight with one
another.
❖ War of 10 Kings:
➢ It is written in Rig Veda in the seventh mandal (there are a total 10 mandals). Mandals stand for
chapters.
➢ It is fought on the bank of Parushni or Ravi River.
➢ It was fought between Puru and Sudas.
➢ Sudas was the king of Bharat Jana, whose priest was Vashishtha.
➢ Puru was another king whose priest was Vishwamitra.
➢ Puru had ten Jana such as Anu, Druhyu, Yadu, Puru, Turvasha, Anil, Bhalanas, Pakya, Shiva,
Vishanin.
➢ Bharat Jana won the battle of ten kings.
➢ This war was fought on the issue of successorship.
➢ This is the earliest battle recorded in the world.
❖ Assemblies:
➢ In total, we have five assemblies such as Vidhat, Sabha, Gana, Samiti, and Parishad.
➢ Women could take part in Vidhat and Sabha, and Samiti used to elect Kings.
❖ Officials:
➢ The King had a relatively light workload, leading him to appoint only four ministers: Purohit,
Senani, Gramini, and Spy.
❖ Judiciary:
➢ We do not have exact information about the Judicial system in early Vedic Aryans.
➢ The head of the Judiciary was the King, who made decisions after taking advice from the priest.
➢ Rig Veda tells us that people indulge in theft, dishonesty, cheating, etc.
➢ Animals or cattle were stolen at night, and the death penalty was absent.
➢ The Corporal punishment and fine were there.
Aspects 2: Discuss the political life in the later Vedic period.
❖ In the later Vedic period after 1000 BC, old Janas were merged, and new Janas emerged like Kuru, Panchal,
Kashi, Videh, Magadh (Magadh was out of Vedic culture but false under the Vedic period), etc.
❖ Changing Role of the king:
➢ In this period, the role of the king was changed. He became the head of a large territory rather than a
tribe. Though he was elected, and later his office became hereditary.
➢ The king started assuming sounding titles like Rajadhiraja, Samarat, Virat, etc.
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➢ The king performs large yajanas like Rajasuya, Vajpayee, and Aswamedha.
➢ During the King's coronation, a chariot race known as the Vajpayee was conducted, and the royal
chariot emerged victorious.
➢ Aswamedha: The horse was left to control the territory. For example: Lord Rama performed and
Lav and Kush captured the horse.
❖ Officials:
➢ The responsibility of the king was increased as a result he had to keep many officials, they were called
12 Ratnin.
❖ Assemblies:
➢ Their role was changed because the king assumed power. In this period, they were only advisory
councils or assemblies.
➢ In Atharva Veda, Sabha and Samiti were called two daughters of Prajapati.
❖ Tax:
➢ In this period, Bali became Bhag.
➢ Bhag was a tax that was not voluntary, it was compulsory.
Society (Vedic Age):
❖ Society can be understood under five heads: Position of family, Role of women, Varna system, Caste
system, Gotra system, and Ashram system.
Position of Family:
Rig Vedic Age Later Vedic Age
❖ In the Rig Vedic Age, the family was a basic unit ❖ In the later Vedic age, the family was a basic unit
of society. of society.
❖ In the Rig Vedic age, the position of family was ❖ In the later Vedic age also, the position of family
not nuclear. was not nuclear.
❖ The father was the head of the family, and was ❖ The father was the head of the family, and was
responsible for all work, and after his death son responsible for all work, and after his death son
was responsible. was responsible.
❖ The Mother, and sister were equally respected in ❖ The Mother, and sister were equally respected in
the Rig Vedic age. the later Vedic age.
❖ The nature of the society was patriarchal. ❖ The nature of the society was patriarchal in the
Later Vedic age.
❖ The family was also called Kul. ❖ In this age, the family was called Kul.
❖ Nript was a common word used for relatives in ❖ Nript was a common word used for relatives in
the Rig Vedic age. the Later Vedic age.
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Aspects: Discuss the position of the family in the Rig Vedic and Later Vedic Periods.
Family in Rig Vedic Age:
❖ The family was a basic unit of society as well as the polity, and administration of early Aryans.
❖ As we know, people lived in groups, and Early Aryans were divided into Jana and they lived in a group
as a result the concept of joint family was seen.
❖ Father was called the head of the family and after the death of the father the whole responsibility fell on
the elder son.
❖ Rigvedic society was a patriarchal society in which the father and brother got important roles.
❖ We always keep one thing in mind in the Rig Vedic period, Jana indulged in wars and whenever we had
a war period, we found a patriarchal society, on the other hand, Indus society was matriarchal society
i.e. it was a peace-loving society.
❖ In a patriarchal society, the mother and sister get proper respect.
❖ We do not find different words for different relations. We have a common word in the early Vedic period
for all relatives called Nript.
Family in later Vedic age:
❖ Above seven points were continued in later Vedic period.
Position of Women:
Aspect Rig Vedic Age Later Vedic Age
Society Type ❖ Patriarchal ❖ Patriarchal
Respect for Women ❖ Respected ❖ Respected
Educational Rights ❖ Educational rights were evident ❖ Educational rights were evident
during that time, exemplified by the during that time, exemplified by the
presence of scholarly women like presence of scholarly women like
Ghosha, Vishwara, Apala, and Gargi and Maitreyi.
Lopamudra.
Marriage Rights ❖ After puberty, free to choose a life ❖ After puberty, free to choose a life
partner. partner
❖ Right not to perform marriage ❖ Right not to perform marriage
❖ Monogamy preferred ❖ Monogamy preferred
Social Practices ❖ No Sati system ❖ No Sati system
❖ Widow remarriage allowed ❖ Widow remarriage allowed
Political Rights ❖ Participation in assemblies ❖ Limited or no political rights
Property Rights ❖ No rights on property ❖ Limited or no property rights
Scholarly ❖ Not explicitly mentioned ❖ Gargi had a scholarly discussion with
Discussions Rishi Yagyavalkya (First evidence of
violence against women)
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Position of Women:
❖ IVC Period:
➢ In the IVC period, the women enjoyed high positions.
➢ During the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) era, a matriarchal society thrived, centered around the
veneration of a mother goddess.
❖ Rig Vedic Period:
➢ In this age, the position of women declined.
➢ During the Rig Vedic era, a Patriarchal society was there, though we have learned women like Apala,
Lopamudra, Vishwara, etc.
❖ Later Vedic Period:
➢ In the later Vedic age, their position also declined.
➢ During the Later Vedic era, a Patriarchal society was there, and violence against women was also there
though we have learned about women like Gargi and Maitreyi.
❖ Mahajanapada Period:
➢ In this age also the position of women declined.
➢ Women were not to take part in Sangha.
❖ Mauryan Period:
➢ In the Mauryan period, their position declined.
➢ In the Mauryan period, states earned money through Ganika Adyaksha (prostitution).
❖ Post-Mauryan:
➢ In the Mauryan period, the position of women was stable.
➢ In the post-Mauryan period, it was continued.
❖ Gupta period:
➢ In the Gupta period, the position of women again inclined.
➢ In the Gupta period, women were inclined because of Samudragupta's coin (He depicted Saraswati
while playing Veena), and they used their mother's name before their name.
❖ Post-Gupta Period:
➢ In the Post-Gupta period, the position of women was stable.
❖ Medieval period:
➢ In the Medieval Period, the position of women declined.
➢ In the Medieval Period, the position of women declined because of the Advent of Islams (Number of
attacks that happened).
❖ Modern Period:
➢ In the modern period, the position of women was again inclined.
➢ The status of women experienced a positive shift in the modern era, because of the efforts of Ishwar
Chand Vidyasagar and Raja Ram Mohan Roy.
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❖ Present Day:
➢ Now, the position of women is more inclined.
➢ The position of women is more inclined because initiatives such as Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, Ujwala
Yojana, Janani Suraksha Yojana, and others have contributed to a positive shift in the status of women.
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