Anceint India.docx

The Indus Valley Civilization was followed by the Aryan and Vedic eras, for which we have little archeological but a great deal of textual evidence. These nomadic peoples from south-central Asia spoke an early Indo-European tongue that was an ancestor of modern European languages. Aryan culture deve...

The Indus Valley Civilization was followed by the Aryan and Vedic eras, for which we have little archeological but a great deal of textual evidence. These nomadic peoples from south-central Asia spoke an early Indo-European tongue that was an ancestor of modern European languages. Aryan culture developed into a deeply religious, intensely stratifi ed society that considered dharma, or duty, the highest moral calling. However, a later emphasis on proper performance of ritual gave the priestly class a stranglehold on religious affairs, leading to sectarian splits and the development of new religions. Who Were the Aryans? •  For the Aryan and Vedic eras of Indian history, from about 1500 to 500 B.C., our situation is the reverse of the Indus Valley Civilization: We have almost no material remains and a gigantic body of readable texts, and those texts are not concerned with everyday life but religious and intellectual ideas. •  The Aryans were one of several nomadic groups to migrate from south-central Asia sometime after 2000 B.C. They went east through the mountains of the Hindu Kush and reached India perhaps as early as around 1800 B.C. They spoke an early version of Sanskrit, which belongs to the Indo-European language family. •  The Romance, Celtic, Germanic, and Baltic languages are all of Indo-European derivation, and many words in English have direct cognates in Sanskrit. For example, the Sanskrit word nava, meaning “ship,” is related to “navy”; deva, meaning “god,” comes from the same root as “divine”; raja, meaning “ruler,” is related to “regal”; and matru and pitru are related to “maternal” and “paternal.” 45 •  By around 1000 B.C., the Aryans had spread into most of northern India. The migrations followed natural topographical boundaries, as the people settled mainly in the more accessible north; the Sanskrit language never really took root in the south, where four non-IndoEuropean Dravidian languages are still spoken. •  Many historians tried to link the collapse of Indus Valley Civilization to the Aryan migrations, and thus characterized their movements as a sudden and destructive invasion. Recent work suggests a more gradual and scattered series of little migrations in which the new groups intermingled with the old, creating an IndoAryan fusion. What the Vedas Reveal •  Much remains mysterious about the Aryans, including their exact geographic origins, but what is more certain are some of the main characteristics of their culture and what they contributed to later Indian history: A new language, a new set of gods, a patriarchal and patrilineal social system, and a rigid social structure. The language of Vedic civilization was Sanskrit, an early Indo-European language related to most modern European languages. © Hemera/Thinkstock. 46 Lecture 7: The Vedic Age of Ancient India •  The Aryans did not construct large cities but lived in small, scattered settlements and villages. They did not use bricks and built no permanent structures. Thus very little archaeological evidence and few material objects such as pottery and weapons remain from the period 1500–1000 B.C. •  Our main source for this period is a huge body of poetry written in Sanskrit, consisting mainly of religious prayers and hymns, as well as several lengthy epic poems relating the deeds of gods and heroes. The Aryans themselves appear to have been illiterate; these verses were transmitted orally and written down centuries later. •  The writings are known as the Vedas, thought to have been composed between 1500 and 600 B.C. The oldest and most important is the Rig Veda (literally, “the verses of knowledge”), 1,017 Sanskrit poems mostly addressed to their gods. •  To the Rig Veda would eventually be added three later Vedas, the great epic poems the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, and religious texts known as the Upanishads and the Puranas. Collectively, these run to hundreds of thousands of verses and millions of words. •  From these texts, we can glean that the Aryans were organized into tribal, kin-centered groups consisting of a local warlord and his retainers. Their economic life was centered on cattle. As they settled down, they lived in small villages and preserved a semi-nomadic lifestyle combining hunting, herding, raiding, and some agriculture. •  In later Vedic society, there was increasing specialization of professions. The vast majority of women were involved in textile work, such as spinning, weaving, embroidering, and dying. 47 Military and Political Life in Vedic India •  The Aryans were a warlike culture who enjoyed an edge in battle due to their mastery of horses and chariots. Unlike some ancient warriors, they had developed spoked wheels, which gave them a distinct advantage in speed and maneuverability. •  The chariots were drawn by one or two horses; they carried a driver and an archer or spear thrower. In addition, the Aryans employed bronze axes and swords. In the Vedas and epics, the chariot is portrayed as the vehicle of the gods, refl ecting the high status of the human warriors able to afford them. •  The epics contain detailed and very lengthy accounts of battles, and one’s status in this society was clearly often dependent on one’s military prowess. The gods encourage the display of bravery and skill on the battlefi eld, and the overall impression is of a warlike, boisterous, hard-living, male-dominated culture. •  Also typical of these poems, however, is a constant concern with spirituality. By 500 B.C., the Ganges Valley was a populous region studded with villages. Many small rival states emerged, but little is known about specifi c political developments and actual historical events. •  The Vedas and epics tend to focus on religious and philosophical issues or the exploits of heroes, gods, and demons. Perhaps the transitory nature of these little kingdoms rendered their stories insignifi cant; perhaps a religion that espoused the importance of rita, or universal order, did not fi nd disorderly, disruptive confl icts between petty chieftains all that compelling. 48 Lecture 7: The Vedic Age of Ancient India The Social Order •  The caste system began to develop during this era. Exactly when the fi nal version of this social structure emerged is uncertain, but it seems to have solidifi ed gradually over time, incorporating aspects from several existing social institutions. •  People were born into specifi c social classes, called varnas, which they could not change. At the top were the Brahmans, composed of the educated philosophers, scholars, and priests; next came the Kshatriyas, the warriors, politicians, and civil authorities; the third class was the Vaisyas, comprising merchants, peasants, and farmers; and the fourth was the Sudras, the common workers and servants. At the lowest stratum were the untouchables, who literally stood outside the caste system. •  The idea of ritual pollution, which played a key role in later Indian history, was already present in Vedic culture. Members of the higher varnas were not allowed contact with Sudras or their food. Sudras could not perform sacrifi ces, and a holy teacher could not even look at a Sudra. Untouchables had to live outside villages, wear old garments, bear marks of identifi cation, and have no social intercourse with their “betters.” •  The Rig Veda explains that the varnas emerged from different parts of the original cosmic man’s body: The Brahmans issued forth from the mouth; the Kshatriyas from the arms; the Vaisyas from the thighs; and the Sudras from the feet. •  The caste system provided stability to Indian society and gave individuals clearly established roles to play. While the discrimination practiced against the lower classes may seem harsh, the system also acted as a kind of support structure since members of each class were obligated to look after one another. 49 The Birth of Hinduism •  Out of this era and these contexts developed the religion we refer to as Hinduism. Hinduism actually encompasses a wide range of sometimes divergent practices, customs, rituals, and beliefs. At its core are the Vedas, particularly the Rig Veda. •  Another infl uential text is the Bhagavad Gita, a section of the Mahabharata. It is sometimes called Hinduism’s main ethical text because it offers a straightforward description of the duties and obligations of humans with respect to the gods and describes the nature of the eternal soul. •  The Bhagavad Gita takes place during a great war fought between cousins. Prince Arjuna is preparing for battle but is deeply troubled at the prospect of killing his relatives. His charioteer—actually the god Krishna in disguise—explains to Arjuna that going to war is just, based on two main points: o Bodily death does not kill the eternal soul, which will be reborn (the tenet of transmigration of souls, or reincarnation). o One must always act in accordance with duty, which is determined by caste and family (the idea of dharma, or selfl ess devotion to duty). •  The gods, too, have dharma, which they must perform correctly to keep the universe in balance and running smoothly, in accordance with rita. This balance is a delicate one that is constantly threatened by demons of falsehood and human sins. •  Closely connected with dharma is the idea of karma, or the consequences of one’s actions. Following dharma will lead to good karma. When one is reborn, one’s behavior and deeds in one’s previous existence determines one’s form in the next life. 50 Lecture 7: The Vedic Age of Ancient India •  One can view the theory of transmigration of souls as a response to the immobility of the caste system: One’s caste is the result of one’s own merits or faults in a previous life. By following your dharma and accumulating good karma, that you can better your lot in the next life. •  Concepts like transmigration, karma, and dharma, evolved toward the end of the Vedic period. Earlier beliefs placed greater emphasis on religious ritual, especially prayer, meditation, and, sacrifi ce. •  Over time, the priestly Brahmans came to dominate religious observances and the performance of sacrifi ces, and more and more emphasis was placed on following the correct ritual. Spiritual and moral questions were neglected, and Brahmans developed a stranglehold on religious affairs, further elevating their status. •  This gradually led to resentment and ultimately to people questioning and criticizing the path that religious worship had taken. Over the next several centuries, a reaction developed against this ritualization, resulting in the emergence of a number of variants of Hinduism as well as several new and infl uential religions, such as Buddhism and Jainism