Vedic Period: Vedic Economy, Religion and Polity

Vedic Economy, Religion and Polity

Vedic Economy

• Initially, the Vedic Aryans worked as pastoralists. Their principal activity was cattle raising.
• They raised cattle, sheep, goats, and horses to provide milk, meat, and skins.
• Many words stem from the word “ga” which signifies cow.
• A wealthy individual was known as gomat, and his daughter was known as duhitri, which means “cow milker”.
• Gavishti means “hunt for cows”, but it also means “war” because many battles were fought over cattle.
• In comparison to pastoral activity, there is little evidence of agriculture in its early stages, with most insertions occurring later. Several authors claim that they were aware of agriculture and used it to supplement their food supply.
• They grew yava (contemporary jau or barley), a broad name for cereals at the period.
• People worked in a range of industries outside cattle ranching and small-scale agriculture.
• Hunting, carpentry, tanning, weaving, chariot-making, metal smelting, and other businesses were mentioned.
• Barter was utilized to exchange the results of these activities. Cows, on the other hand, were the most common form of commerce.
• The Atharva Veda addressed economic issues. It described a series of prayers intended to bring economic prosperity to farmers, shepherds, businesspeople, and others.
• The Atharva Veda describes ploughing, sowing, rains, an increase in animals, affluence, and the exorcism of beasts, wild creatures, and robbers.
• Sira was the name of the plough, while Sita was the name of the furrow.

Vedic Religion

• Nature of Worship

  • Early Vedic Period

    • Religion was materialistic, with the Rigvedic people primarily concerned with praying to gods for bodily protection and material gain.
    • There wasn’t any temple or idol worship.
    • They practiced primitive animism (worshipped natural forces like wind, rain, and water).

  • Later Vedic Period

    • The religion got extremely convoluted -Speculative notions like transmigration of the soul, salvation, karma, etc grew to dominate Vedic religion.
    • Idolatry gained prominence.
    • Sacrifice grew more elaborate and essential.
    • Brahmans increased in status and retained their supremacy.
    • They performed yajnas like Ashvamedha and Vajapeya to assert their control over the leaders and their domain.

• God

  • Early Vedic Period

    • Indra (most important): God of thunder/ rain
    • Agni: God of fire
    • Varuna: God of water
    • Soma: God of plants
    • Yama: God of death
    • Vishnu: Benevolent god

  • Later Vedic Period

    • Indra and Agni lost importance, and Prajapati (the deity of creation) emerged supreme.
    • Vishnu and Rudra, who were formerly minor deities, gained prominence. For example, Pushan, the god of cattle, became the god of the Shudras.

Vedic Polity

Early Vedic Period

• The Kula (family) was the foundation for social and political groups.
• The Grama was above the Kula, followed by the Jana and Rashtra.
• A Grama (village) was formed by a collection of Kula (families), and so on.
• Janas was led by a ‘Rajana,’ who was assisted by Purohit, Gramani, and Senani, as well as popular organisations like ‘Sabha,’ ‘Samiti,’ ‘Vidhata,’ ‘Gana,’ and ‘Sardha.’
  • Samiti: A popular assembly of a diverse range of individuals that held a pre-eminent role in discussing social and political issues during the Vedic period. Samitis did not meet regularly but was called together on exceptional occasions to discuss critical topics.
  • Sabha: This was a gathering made up of elders or great men. This was a permanent body where political issues were discussed.
• Janas were further divided into ‘Vis’ and ‘Vis’ in turn was divided into many ‘Kul’ or ‘kutumb’; kul has ‘Griha’ as its unit and ‘Kulapa’ as its head while the ‘Griha’ was headed by ‘Grihapati’ or ‘Dampati’.
• The Rashtra was ruled by a King or Rajan.
• The king had religious duties also. He was the upholder of the established order and moral rules.

Later Vedic Period

• Janas’ evolved into ‘Janapadas’; Hastinapur and Indraprastha were Kuru ‘janapada’ capitals.
• These ‘janapadas’ waged frequent conflicts over territory.
• Kingship became hereditary.
• Popular control over the affairs of the kingdom was exercised through Sabha and Samiti, as in the Rigvedic period. 
• During this time, a formal system of province governance was also established. 
• The Sthapati is responsible for the administration of aboriginal-occupied remote districts.