History Optional (Ancient India-Vedic Period) by Shivlal Sir

Model Answer

Question #1. Discuss the important features of Rigvedic religion and how it stood apart from religion in Indus valley civilisation and Later Vedic period. 10 marks (150 words)

Approach:

• Introduce about Rig-Veda era and Rigvedic religion ( 50 words)
• Enumerate important features of Rigvedic religion(110 words)
• Make comparison between the religions of Indus valley civilisation and Post Vedic period with Vedic period. ( 90words)

Hints:

The Vedic age (c. 1500 – c. 500 BCE) refers to the period between the end of the urban Indus Valley Civilisation and a second urbanisation which began in the central Indo-Gangetic Plain. It gets its name from the Vedic Sanskrit texts those were composed during the period. The Rig Vedic religion represents the ideas and practices are found in the Vedic texts, and they were one of the major influences that shaped contemporary Hinduism.

Salient features of Rigvedic religion:

• Temples and idol worship was not present during the early Vedic period. There was also no priestly class acting as intermediaries for performing the religious rites.
• Prayers were offered to the gods in the form of sacrifices or ‘Yajna’. Ghee, milk and grain were given as offerings. People observed elaborate yet simplistic rituals during the worship.
• Worshipping of deities was not meant for the spiritual upliftment of the people, or for any other abstract philosophical concept rather was invoked to grant material gains. Praja (children), pashu (cattle), food, wealth, health remained the centre of prayers of the Rig-Vedic Aryans.
• The Rig Vedic hymns had no proper clarity on life after death. Thus, concepts of reincarnation and rebirth were not established well.
• The Vedic people believed in monotheism. The idea of single supreme entity governing the universe is believed to have been emerged during this time.
• Despite being monotheistic, the people worshipped and personified the natural forces into gods such as Prithvi (Earth), Agni (Fire), Vayu (Wind), Varuna (Rain) and Indra (Thunder).
• Indra was the most important God and was also known as Purandara (the destroyer of forts) and God of rain. Agni was second in importance only to Indra. He acted as the intermediary between the Gods and the worshipper. Soma was the God of plants. The Marut personified storm. Very few female dieties were venerated such as Aditi and Usha. The religion thus reflected the patriarchal society and was that of primitive animism.
• The growing importance of priests and rituals surrounding sacrifices in the later Vedic age can be attributed, in fact, to Vedic period due to the gradually rising importance attached with the rituals done during sacrificial ceremonies. An unintended effect of proliferation of Sacrifices were the growth and development in the knowledge of mathematics and animal anatomy.
• Rigvedic religion was not based on magico-ritual formulae, rather it stressed direct communication with the gods through sacrifices, hymns etc. Gods were not worshipped for the spiritual upliftment of the peole, or for any other abstract philosophical concept, but were invoked to grant material gains.

Difference between Harappan and Post Vedic religion and Vedic religion:

• Unlike Vedas, Harappan culture lacked a recorded description of religious beliefs such as the Vedas.
• The Indus Valley people were icon-worshippers, whereas the people of Vedic civilization didn’t follow icon-worship. The common gods of the Indus Valley people were Mother-goddess, Pashupati, tree, animals unlike the naturalistic Gods of Vedic religion as discussed above.
• Importance of fire worship and Yajnas was predominantly seen in Rig Vedic age which was not the case with religious practices of Indus valley culture. Large scale Yagnas like Rajsuyagna, Vajpeya and Ashwamedh were performed during the former culture.
• Also, terracotta figures of deities like Mother Goddess were found in IVC excavated sites. Material objects of worship of Vedic civilisation are not found.
• In Rigvedic period, offerings to the deities were not bound by strict rituals as was seen in later Vedic age and also the magical power of the word was not considered much important.
• In later period religion became more complex with Brahmins taking dominant roles and requiring number of expensive sacrifices which were out of common people’s reach.
• Idol worship gained momentum in the later Vedic period and the worship of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva was noticeable. Indra and Agni and other naturalistic Rigvedic deities lost relevance and importance. 
• Later vedic age experience negative features that stratified the society, promoted inequality and degraded the position of women. Emergence of Buddhism and Jainism was a result of divergence of religion towards Brahminical dominance as witnessed during later Vedic period that was absent in the Vedic age.

Question #2. Despite the gap of thousands of years the present Indian culture finds similarities in the past Vedic culture. Examine with respect to society and culture of Vedic times. 15 marks (250 words)

Approach:

• Introduce with writing about Vedic culture.( 25 words)
• Write about Vedic society & cultural life. Write similarities between contemporary  Indian culture and ancient Vedic culture.(40 words)
• Briefly, explain the divergence between the present culture which is an assimilation of many cultures that formed part of the Indian subcontinent and how it is different from the ideological purity of Vedic cultures.(60 words)
• (25 words)

Hint:

The Vedic culture refers to the cultural life of Aryans in India that spanned from the period of 1500 BC to 600 BC and can be further divided into 2 parts:

• Early Vedic period (1500 BC to 1000 BC)
• Later Vedic period (1000 BC to 600 BC)

The Vedic culture comprised of a relatively egalitarian society with political organizations being organized into tribes rather than kingdoms with religious traditions defined in Vedic literature.

About Vedic culture:

• The economy was sustained by both pastoralism and agriculture. The source of income was the domestication of animals for food and milk and agriculture with Rigveda mentioning a crop named yavan along with leveling of fields, seed processing and storage of grains in large jars. War booty was also a source of income.
• Cattle played very important role in Vedic culture with related terms like Gavishthi (conflict or search for cows), Goghina (crime due to lifting of animals), Godhuli (onset of evening), Goghana (guest served with beef) etc.
• Vedic literature consisted of Vedas namely Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda along with Samhitas consisting of hymns, Brahmanas which were explanation to hymns, Aryankas composed by sages in forests and Upanishads which were philosophical teachings.
• Paintings in Vedic age consisted of Painted Grey Ware pots having geometric and floral designs of light colours and pots were generally bowls and dishes.

About Vedic society:

• The Early Vedic Society was a tribal society, in which social relations based on kinship ties were predominant. The rajas (kings), the purohitas (priests), the artisans etc. were parts of the clan networks. The tribe was referred to as the Jana. There was no concept of the state as people were mainly nomadic and were ruled by the head called Rajan. The autonomy of Rajan was restricted by tribal councils called Sabha and Samiti which were responsible for the governance of tribe.
• During the later Vedic period, with the shift in the geographical focus, the Vedic people encountered many non-Vedic tribes and considerable interaction must helped in the formation of a composite society.
• At least the Atharvaveda depicts a host of non-Vedic religious practices that were sanctioned by the priests. However, tribal endogamy with strict marriage rules was the aim to maintain the purity of the tribe.
• People believed in monotheism with mention of 33 gods and goddesses in Vedas. There is no record of idol worship and no temples. They were mainly nature worshippers with increased dominance of priestly class in the later Vedic period.
• Even though society was patriarchal, women had also important position in it. They were educated and they had access to the assemblies. There are also instances of women who composed hymns.
• Polygamy increased in the later Vedic period with decreased participation of women in political institutions like Sabha and Vidhat. Widows were allowed to remarry but it was not very frequent implying the non-existence of Sati.

Comparison with present Indian culture:

• Caste system still exists in Indian society with people identifying themselves on the base of Jatis despite following different religions e.g. Jatis such as Julaha and Kayasth existing even in Muslim community.
• Conditions of women have gone better in society compared to what it was in the Vedic society but it still lags behind compared to the requisite outcomes of gender equality. The main reason lies in male dominated patriarch nature of Indian society where women are still considered inferior to men in major regions of India.
• Brahminical dominance is not as as it was visible prevalent in the Vedic period due to penetration of education in all the strata of society. Affirmative actions by government like reservations for Dalits and backward classes in jobs and education, laws like SC/ST prevention of atrocity act has helped in the upliftment of lower classes in society.
• People still trying to find their roots in traditional Vedic culture like giving importance to cows, worship of deities albeit in idol form etc. The importance of Yagnas still exists but has declined over the period.
• Vedic society saw a transition from Pastoral society to Agrarian society which was reflected in the emergence of literature like Upanishads which questioned the significance of sacrifice which is also reflected in present context.

Divergence with present culture:

• In terms of religion, present culture involves major role of temples in terms of worship of deities which was totally absent in Vedic culture.
• The concept of caste ideology has changed whereby it was based on erstwhile puritanical concepts but in present times the concept and notion of purity has changed due to assimilation of people based on education and work culture.
• Modern religion that most of Indians follow derives its continuity more from Bhaktism/philosophies of medieval India rather than the purity of Vedic principles as religion reflects the change in consciousness of the present society.
• Overall life has become more materialistic with the advent of new technology and globalization whereby movement of people and ideas have made people more adaptive to new cultures.
• Nature worship being transformed into idol worship with India becoming a country where 33 crore gods and goddesses exist.
• Sanskrit is no longer the language of priestly class along with advent of multiple languages.

Conclusion:

Thus, it could be said that the remnants of Vedic culture of ancient India still exist in the present Indian society despite a major shift in practices of society, culture and material life due to multiple factors.