The Vedic Civilization

 The Vedic Civilization

The Vedic civilization flourished in north - west India and in the fertile region of the Punjab . The Vedic civilization is the civilization of the people who composed the Vedas .

The most remarkable feature of the Vedic civilization is their literature . Such an ancient , rich and diverse literature is rarely found anywhere else . People belonging to the Vedic period composed beautiful verses in Sanskrit since the earliest times .

Their first composition was the Rigveda . Later , the other three Vedas the Yajurveda , the Samaveda , and the Atharvaveda - were composed . Each verse of the Vedas is known as a richa . The Brahmanas , the Aranyakas and the Upanishads were composed during the subsequent period .

Rigveda

The Rigveda consists of verses composed in praise of various forces in nature , looked upon as deities . The verses contain very poetic descriptions of nature .

Yajurved

The Yajurveda contains information about yajna . It includes the mantras used in yajnas and also their explanation in prose .

Samaveda

The Samaveda provides guidance on the singing of the Rigvedic verses to a set rhythm and tune . It is considered to be the foundation of Indian music .

Brahmanas

The Brahmanas were composed to explain the use of Vedas in rituals .

Aranyakas

Aranyakas are works composed in aranyas or forests. There is an old Indian tradition of leaving behind routine life and going deep into the forest to meditate. It originates from the' sages who composed the Aranyakas.

Upanishads

The term 'Upanishad' indicates knowledge acquired by sitting at the feet of the teacher. Such knowledge as the disciples acquired from their Gurus is included in the Upanishads. Profound questions such as the creation of the universe, the nature of God, etc are discussed in them.

We learn about the Vedic philosophy through this literature. It also throws light on the social life of the Vedic people.

Economic life

Agriculture was the main occupation of the people living in the Ganga-Yamuna basin during the Vedic period. Farmers gave a sixth part of their produce to the king, by way of tax.

Agricultural techniques improved in the later period. Oxen were now yoked together to plough the fields. Farmers usually raised one or two crops. They included barley, wheat, cotton and mustard. As agricultural production increased, trade, too, developed. The barter system was commonly used in trade. The weights in use shatamana, etc. were krishnal, mana,

Occupation

Use of iron increased during this period. Many iron tools and weapons came to be used leading to an increase in agricultural and other production. Artisans like chariot-makers, carpenters, potters were the backbone of the economic and social life of India. It was at about this time that skilled artisans belonging to each occupation came together to form their shrenis or guilds.

The political system

The king was the head of the State. His main duties were protecting his subjects, collecting taxes and smoothly running the State administration. During the Vedic period, there were two organs, the Sabha and the Samiti to keep the king under control. The Sabha consisted of senior citizens in the State while the Samiti was a general body of the people.

There were various officers to help the king run the State administration smoothly. The Gramani was the head of a village. The Gramvadi administered justice with the help of the Gramani. A group of villages formed a Vish and its head was called Vishpati. The Purohit or the Priest and the Senapati or the Commander-in-Chief were important officers. The army consisted of infantry as well as charioteers. The money required for managing the affairs of the State was collected in the form of taxes. The officer who collected taxes was called Bhagdugh.