The Vedas:
The first Veda was composed around 3500 years ago.
There are four Vedas, viz.
Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Athravaveda. Out of them, the Rigveda was the first Veda to be composed.
Rigveda contains more than 1000 hymns and each hymn is called ‘sukta’.
The term ‘sukta’ means well said. These hymns are in praise of gods.
Three main gods have been mentioned in the Rigveda.
Agni is the god of fire, Indra is the god of rains and Soma was named after a plant.
This plant was used for making a special drink.
The hymns in the Rigveda show the importance of rain and fire for the people.
We know that rain is required for good harvest. Rain is also necessary for getting adequate drinking water.
Fire is useful for cooking and for various other purposes.
The hymns were composed by sages (rishi); who were highly learned men.
Some of the hymns were also composed by women.
An older form of Sanskrit was used for writing the Rigvedas.
The Sanskrit which we use today is entirely different from the Sanskrit in the Rigveda.
Some Major Families of Languages:
- Indo-European Family: German, French, English, Spanish, Greek, Sanskrit, Hindi, Bangla, Assamese, Gujarati, Sindhi, Punjabi, etc. belong to this family.
- Tibeto-Burman Family: Languages of this family are spoken in the north-eastern part of India.
- Dravidian Family: Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam belong this family.
- Austro-Asiatic Family: Languages of this family are spoken by tribes in Jharkhand and in some parts of central India.
How Historians Interpret the Rigveda:
Various important information can be taken out from the Rigveda. The lesson in the NCERT book shows an excerpt from the Rigveda which is a dialogue between Vishwamitra and rivers. Following is a loose translation of the dialogue:
The sage has compared the river with horses, cows and chariots. He wants to cross the river. He is praying to the river for his safe journey. This shows following things:
- The people of that period lived in an area where rivers were present.
- Horses and cows were important animals for people.
- Chariot was being used for transportation.
- Wading through a river was probably the only means to cross it.
- There must have been risk to life while crossing a river.
The Rigveda mentions Indus and its tributaries.
River Saraswati has also been mentioned in the Rigveda.
The Ganges and the Yamuna are mentioned only once in the Rigveda.
Based on this information, we can make some conclusions.
Most of the people lived near the Indus and its tributaries; when the Rigveda was composed.
But people were also aware about the Ganges and the Yamuna.
Cattles, Horses and Chariots:
The Rigveda has many prayers for cattle, horses and children (especially sons).
This shows that cattle and horses were valuable for the people of that period.
This also shows the importance of a male child.
Cattle were used for farming operations and for transportation.
Horses were used for pulling chariots.
Horse-riding was also one of the many ways of traveling long distances.
Horses and chariots were also used during battles.
Battles were fought for land, cattle and for water.
Barley could ripen quickly and could survive tough conditions.
Hence, barley was a preferred crop.
Yajna
Wealth obtained from conquering a battle was distributed among all sections of the society.
Some of this wealth was also used for performing rituals (yajnas).
Yajna was an elaborate ritual.
Sacrifices were made during yajnas.
Ghee and grains were offered to the fire.
Animal sacrifice was also performed.
Most of the male members were expected to take part in the battle.
There was no practice of maintaining a regular army.
The army was made up of people from different occupations.
A person was chosen from them to lead the army.
Words to Describe People:
In the Rigveda; two groups of people are described in terms of their work.
The priests were the people who performed rituals.
They were also known as Brahmins.
The ruler was called the raja.
Rajas of that period were not like the rajas of later periods.
They did not have a capital city, nor did they have a palace and they did not collect taxes.
Moreover, it was not necessary that a son of a raja automatically become a raja after his father.
Priests:
People who performed rituals were called the Brahmins (priests).
The Brahmins held important position in the society.
Raja:
The ruler was called the raja.
The kings of that period were not like the kings of later periods.
They did not have a capital city.
They did not have a palace.
They did not collect taxes.
It was not mandatory that a son of a raja would become a raja after his father.
Jana:
The common people were called the jana or vish.
The word ‘jana’ is still used as synonymn for ‘people’ in Hindi.
The term ‘vaishya’ has originated from ‘vish’.
The Rigveda mentions many jana or vish, e.g. the Puru Jana, the Bharatha Jana and the Yadu Jana.
Aryans:
People who composed the hymns called themselves as aryas.
They termed their opponents as dasas or dasyus.
Dasas spoke a different language and did not perform yajnas.
In due course of time; the term ‘dasa’ or ‘dasi’ was being used for slaves.
Prisoners of war had to serve as slaves for the rest of their life.
The Aryans were nomadic people who lived in Central Asia.
They came to India around 1500 BC.
Initially, they settled around the region of Punjab.
The original inhabitants; who lived at that time in India; were called Dravidians.
In due course of time, the Aryans spread to other parts of the country; like western Uttar Pradesh and further towards east.
The Dravidians were forced to move to the south of the Vindhyas.
Silent sentinels: the megaliths:
Megaliths are stone structures.
They were used to mark a burial site.
A single large stone or several stones could be used to compose a megalith.
Some megaliths could be seen above the ground, but some could be underground as well.
The practice of erecting megaliths began around 3000 years ago.
This practice was prevalent in the Deccan, the south India, the north-east and Kashmir. Megaliths were probably erected to serve as a signpost.
This helped in easily locating the burial site.
The dead were usually buried along with distinctive pots.
These were called the read ware and black ware.
Iron tools and skeletons of horses have also been found from some burial sites.
This shows that iron was being used by the Aryans.
This also shows the importance of horse for the people.
Moreover, ornaments of gold and stone have also been found from the burial sites.
Difference in social status:
There is an important megalithic site in south India; called Brahmagiri.
From one of the graves, skeleton have been found with 33 gold beads, 2 stone beads, 4 copper bangles and one conch shell.
Other skeletons have been found with only a few pots.
These remains reveal some interesting insights.
There were differences in social status of people.
People usually buried the personal belongings with the dead body.
Family Burial Site:
Some of the burial sites have revealed many skeletons.
Historians guess that these were family burial sites.
Stone circles or boulders were placed on the surface.
They worked as signposts to easily locate the burial site.
Inamgaon: A special burial site
Inamgaon is in the modern state of Maharashtra.
This is located about 89 km to the east of Pune.
Inamagon is situated near the Ghod river.
Ghod river is a tributary of Bhima.
Inamgaon was occupied between 3600 and 2700 years ago.
Usually adults were buried at this site.
The dead body was laid straight; with the head facing towards north.
Some of the burial was done inside the house.
People used to place vessels along with the dead.
The vessels probably contained food items.
From one of the sites; a four-legged jar had been found.
A skeleton was inside that jar.
The jar was placed in the courtyard of a five-room house.
This was among the largest houses at the site.
A granary was also present in the house.
The man was laid to rest in a cross-legged position.
Historians guess that it must have been an important and rich person.
The person could have been a rich farmer or the head of the village.
Occupations of People at Inamgaon:
Remains of wheat, barley, lentils, millets and sesame have been found from the Inamgaon site.
Remains of various animals have been found; like cattle, buffalo, goat, sheep, dog, horse, ass, pig, sambhar, spotter deer, blackbuck, antelope, hare and mongoose.
Remains of birds, crocodiles, turtles, crab and fish have also been found from this site.
Many animal bones show cut marks.
This suggests that these animals were used as food.
Archaeologists have also found the evidence of use of ber, amla, jamun, dates and many other fruits.
The above findings show that farming was the main occupation of people of Inamgaon.
Animals were domesticated for milk and meat.
Wild animals were also killed for meat.
How do Historians Study the Skeleton:
The skeletons of an adult and a child can be easily differentiated.
But it is difficult to differentiate between the male and female skeletons.
The pelvic bone (hip bone) is wider in women; for child bearing purposes.
Thus the relative size of the pelvic bone gives a clue about male or female skeleton.
