The Vedic Age Chapter Notes | History Class 6 ICSE PDF Download

Introduction

The Aryans

• Originated likely from Central Asia and migrated to India, possibly due to the need for fertile land or population growth.
• Some groups migrated to Syria, Mesopotamia, Middle East, and Europe, while those who came to India are called Indo-Aryans.
• Entered northwest India through the Hindukush Mountains around 1500 BCE.

The Vedic Age

• Spans from 1500 to 500 BCE, divided into Early Vedic Age (1500–1000 BCE) and Later Vedic Age (1000–500 BCE).
• Main source of information is Vedic literature, including the four Vedas, Puranas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, Upanishads, and epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata.

The Vedas

• Among the oldest religious scriptures of Hindus, providing details about Aryan life and beliefs.
• The term "Veda" comes from "vid," meaning "to know."
• Four main Vedas: Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, and Atharva Veda.

The Rig Veda

• Oldest Veda, composed around 3500 years ago with 1028 hymns called suktas.
• Hymns praise gods like Agni (fire), Indra (storm, rain, war), and Varun (sky).
• Initially passed orally, later written down centuries after composition.
• Divided into ten mandalas (books), mostly composed by men, with some by women.

The Sama Veda
Consists of Rig Veda hymns rearranged for musical recitation with pauses and repetitions.

The Yajur Veda
Contains sacrificial prayers for religious rituals.

The Atharva Veda
Includes charms, incantations, and magical spells, differing from the other Vedas.

Other Vedic Texts

• Brahmanas: Commentaries on Vedic hymns.
• Aranyakas and Upanishads: Spiritual interpretations, also called Vedanta (end of Vedas).
• Puranas: Narrate world history, genealogies of kings and sages, and Hindu cosmology and philosophy.
• Epics Ramayana and Mahabharata are part of the Puranas.

Language of the Literature

• Vedic literature written in Sanskrit, part of the Indo-European language family, similar to Latin, English, and German.
• South Indian languages (Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam) belong to the Dravidian family.
• Northeast Indian languages belong to the Tibeto-Burman family.
• Jharkhand and Central India languages belong to the Austro-Asiatic family.

The Early Vedic Age

• People lived in the Saptasindhu region (Haryana and undivided Punjab) with seven rivers: Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Sutlej, and Saraswati.
• Main source of information is the Rig Veda, so this period is also called the Rig Vedic period.

Political Life

• Aryans were pastoralists, divided into tribes called jana or vish (e.g., Bharata, Puru, Yadu).
• Tribes fought battles (gavishthi) for cattle, land, and water using horse-driven chariots.
• Booty from battles was divided among men, with some given to leaders, priests, and for yajnas (sacrifices).
• Tribal chief (rajan) led wars, maintained law, and offered prayers, assisted by purohita (chief priest), senani (commander), and gramani (village headman).
• Two committees: sabha (selected tribal members) and samiti (entire tribe, chose the rajan).

Social Life

• Family (kula) was the basic unit, headed by the grihapati (eldest male).
• Women held respected positions, attended assemblies, participated in religious ceremonies, and were educated.
• Widow remarriage was allowed, and child marriage was prohibited.
• No restrictions on inter-group marriages; society was patriarchal.
• Caste system was based on occupation, not birth, unlike the Later Vedic period.

The Caste System

• Brahmins: Priests handling religious matters.
• Kshatriyas: Warrior-aristocrats protecting the tribe.
• Vaishyas: Traders, farmers, and craftsmen.
• Shudras: Did menial jobs for others.
• Dasas: Initially meant people of different cultures, later referred to slaves captured in wars.

Dress and Ornaments

• Clothes made of cotton and wool, with two garments: upper (shawl-like) and lower (dhoti-like).
• Men and women wore jewellery like earrings, necklaces, and bangles.

Food

Economic Life

• Main occupations were agriculture (wheat, barley, rice) and cattle rearing.
• Domesticated animals: cattle, horses, sheep, goats, dogs.
• Cows and horses were significant for wealth and wars.
• Other occupations: pottery, spinning, weaving, carpentry, chariot making, leather, and metal work.
• Pastimes: chariot racing, hunting, gambling, music, and dance.

Religion

• Gods: Indra (warrior, storm, rain), Varun (water), Agni (fire), Vayu (wind), Surya (sun).
• Goddesses: Aditi (mother of gods), Usha (dawn), Ratri (night), Aranyani (forest), Soma (plants).
• No temples or image worship; prayers chanted in the open with fire-based yajnas for deities, cattle, kingship, and sons.

The Later Vedic Age

• Began around 1000 BCE with the use of iron, marking the Iron Age in India.
• Aryans moved to the Ganga-Yamuna Doab region.
• Information from Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, Atharva Veda, Upanishads, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and epics Ramayana and Mahabharata.
• Also called the Epic Age due to events in the epics.

Political Life

• Kings gained more power, had armies, and fought wars to expand territory.
• Kings adopted titles like Samrat and Maharajadhiraja.
• Performed yajnas like Ashvamedha (horse sacrifice to claim territory) and Rajasuya (coronation for supreme power).
• Kings demanded larger offerings from tribes for sacrifices.
• Sabha and samiti became advisory bodies; women were excluded from participation.

Social Life

• Family remained the basic unit, headed by the father.
• Women’s status declined; they could not participate in religious rites.
• Caste system became hereditary and rigid; professions were fixed by birth.
• Some jobs (e.g., disposing of dead bodies) were considered low, leading to untouchability.
• Brahmins and Kshatriyas became dominant; other classes lost privileges.
• Purusha-sukta (Rig Veda) described varnas originating from Purusha’s body parts.

The Four Stages of Life

• Brahmacharya: Student life.
• Grihastha: Family life.
• Vanaprastha: Hermit life.
• Sanyasa: Renunciation of worldly pleasures.

Economic Life

• Agriculture remained primary, with advancements in crafts like weaving, leather making, pottery, carpentry, and jewellery.
• Iron tools (spades, shovels) and weapons (arrowheads, spearheads) improved productivity.
• Trade flourished; chariot racing remained a popular pastime.

Religion

• Early Vedic gods lost importance: new gods Brahma (creator), Vishnu (preserver), and Shiva (destroyer) emerged.
• Hinduism began to take shape.
• Sacrifices became complex and expensive, managed by powerful priests who received gifts like gold, cloth, and cows.
• New concepts: karma (actions) and moksha (salvation through good deeds).

Education

• Education limited to upper three varnas (Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas).
• Gurukul system: Students lived in the guru’s ashram, served the teacher, and paid dakshina (offering).
• Knowledge passed orally in Sanskrit, covering grammar, philosophy, medicine, astronomy, warfare, and religion.
• Upper caste girls received limited education at home in fine arts like singing and dancing.

Understanding Cultures through Graves and Burials

• At Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites, pit burials were found with special Black and Red Ware pots.
• Pots, tools, weapons, and ornaments were buried with the dead, showing they believed in life after death.
• Grave items were different based on wealth: at Brahmagiri, one skeleton had 33 gold beads, 2 stone beads, 4 copper bangles, and 1 conch shell, while others had just a few pots.
• Megaliths, which are big stone boulders, were used to mark burials starting 3000 years ago.
• Megalithic burials were found in places like Kashmir, northeast India, south India, Brahmagiri, and Tekkalakota.
• Some burials were marked by one large stone, while others had a circle of stones around them.
• Urn burials: bones were put in pots, buried in pits, and surrounded by stone circles.
• Cist graves: box-like chambers made of stone slabs with portholes, used for multiple burials, possibly for family members.

Types of megalithic burials:

• Urn burials: Bones in pots buried in pits, surrounded by stone circles.
• Cist graves: Box-like chambers of stone slabs with portholes for reuse, sometimes containing multiple skeletons (family burials).

Case Study: Inamgaon

• Chalcolithic site (1700–700 BCE) near Pune, Maharashtra, on the river Ghod.
• Pit burials found inside house floors; adults buried north-south with heads facing north, with vessels for food and water.
• Children buried in urn-like containers; one body in a four-legged clay jar in a five-room house’s courtyard, possibly a tribal chief.
• Findings: mud houses, four-legged storage vessels, red pottery with black designs, terracotta figurines, seashells, semi-precious stones.
• Crops: wheat, barley, rice, millets, pulses, peas, sesame, and fruits like jujube, amla, jamun, dates, berries.
• Animals: cattle, buffalo, deer, sheep, goat, dog.
• Evidence of trade with other settlements.

Meanwhile

• In China (3500 years ago), oracle bones with writings were used to predict the future (e.g., crop production, floods, battles).
• Scribes wrote questions on bones, heated them to create cracks, and fortune readers interpreted them.
• Chinese rulers lived lavishly, owned bronze vessels, and were unaware of iron uses.