Vedic Age Part 1 PDF

# The Vedic Age - The source of knowledge about the Aryans is the Vedic Literature. - The Vedas are the most important. - Veda means knowledge - The Vedas are also called *aapurusheya* - Which means man did not compose them - And *nitya* - Which means they were existing in all eternity. - A...

# The Vedic Age - The source of knowledge about the Aryans is the Vedic Literature. - The Vedas are the most important. - Veda means knowledge - The Vedas are also called *aapurusheya* - Which means man did not compose them - And *nitya* - Which means they were existing in all eternity. - Aryans are the propounders of Vedic Civilization. - The Central Asian Theory of Max Muller is the widely accepted theory of the origin of Aryans. ## Views on The Original Home of Aryans | Home | Theorist | | ------------------------------------------ | ----------------- | | Europe | Sir W. Jones | | Central Asia | Max Muller | | Arctic Region | Bal Gangadhar Tilak | | Tibet Region | Dayanand Saraswati | # VEDIC LITERATURE - Vedic Literature consists of four classes of literary creation. - Vedas - Brahmanas - Aranyakas - Upanishads ## Religious Texts - Shruti - Veda - Sanhita (Mantra) - Brahman - Aranyaka - Upanishad - Smriti - Sutra - Ramayana - Purana - Manusmriti - Mahabharata - Shrimad Bhagavad Gita ## The Vedas | Veda | Description | | -------------- | ------------------------------------------- | | Rigveda | A collection of hymns | | Samaveda | A collection of songs | | Yajurveda | A collection of sacrificial formulae | | Atharvaveda | A collection of spells and charms | ## 1. Rigveda - It has been divided into ten volumes called *Mandals*. - Mandal II to VII are the oldest books - They are also called family books - Because these are attributed to families of rishis. - Mandal VIII and IX belong to middle time. - Mandal I and X are the last to be compiled. - Mandal III contains the Gayatri Mantra - Which was compiled in praise of the sun god Savitri. - Mandal IX is dedicated only to Soma, the lord of the plants. - Mandal X contains a hymn called *Purusha Sukta* - In which the origin of the Varna system is discussed. - The rishis expert in Rigveda were called hotra or hotri. ## 2. Samaveda - It is a book of chants. - It is a collection of songs Mostly taken from the hymns of Rigveda. - The experts in the knowledge of Samaveda were called *udgatri*. - Samaveda consists of 1810 hymns. ## 3. Yajurveda - It is found in both prose and poetry. - It consists of two parts - Krishna Yajurveda - Shukla Yajurveda. - It is a collection of sacrificial formulae. - The experts in the knowledge of Yajurveda were called *adhvaryu*. ## 4. Atharvaveda - It is a collection of charms and spells. - Indian medicinal science called Ayurveda has its origin from Atharvaveda. - It contains magical hymns to get relief from diseases. ## The Brahmanas - Tandya Brahmana is the oldest of all The Brahmanas. - Shatapatha Brahmana is the most voluminous among all the Brahmanas. ## The Aranyakas - They are called Aranyakas because the mystical and philosophical character of their content requires them to be studied in the solitude of an aranya (forest). ## The Upanishads - They deal with metaphysics. -They are also called Vedanta because they were the last books to be compiled in the series of Vedic Literature - Upanishads emphasized the Path of knowledge. - The literal meaning of Upanishad is ‘to sit near the feet of’. - The conversation of Yama and Nachiketa is the subject matter of Katha Upanishad. - The word *satyameva jayate* in the National Emblem is taken from Mundaka Upanishad. # VEDANGAS - The period after 600 BC is called Sutra period. - Vedangas were compiled during this period. - They are also called Sutra Literature - They are known as the limbs of the Vedas - hence they are called Vedangas. ## Vedangas | Vedanga | Description | | -------------- | ----------------------------------------- | | Vyakarna | Sanskrit Grammar | | Shiksha | How to pronounce Vedic mantras | | Jyotisha | Astrology and Astronomy | | Nirukta | Vedic Dictionary | | Chanda | Poetic Stanzas | | Kalpa Sutra | Rules related to the performance of Vedic Religion | ## Upvedas | Upveda | Description | | -------------- | ------------------------------------------- | | Gandharvaveda | Dance, drama, Music | | Ayurveda | Medicine | | Shilpaveda | Art and Architecture | | Dhanurveda | Art of Warfare | # Ancient Rivers | Rigvedic Name | Modern Name | | --------------------- | -------------- | | Sindhu | Indus | | Vitasta | Jhelum | | Askini | Chenab | | Parushni | Ravi | | Vipasa | Beas | | Satudri | Sutlej | | Drishadvati | Ghaggar | | Krum | Kurram | | Gomal | Gomati | # Miscellaneous - The tribe was called *jana*. - The tribal chief was called *rajana*. - Rajana looked after the affairs of the tribe with the help of other tribal members and two tribal assemblies called Sabha and Samiti. - Rajana used to get a voluntary offering called *Bali*. ## Religion - The most important divinity in the Rigveda is Indra, who is called *Purandar* (breaker of forts). ## Economy - A new metal iron was introduced in the Vedic Age - It was known as *Shyam ayas*. - Copper was known as *Lohit ayas*. - Rice (vrihi) and wheat (Godhuma) became the chief crops of the later Vedic Aryans - Though they continued to produce Barley (lava).