Growth During the Later Vedic Period (c.1000-500 B.C.)
The majority of the Vedic texts that were composed after the Rig Vedic era serve as the foundation for the history of the later Vedic era.
The Vedic hymns or formula compilations were referred to as Samhitas. This Rig Veda Samhita is the initial known Vedic text, and it is from this text that we have outlined the early Vedic period.
The Sama Veda Samhita is a customized anthology of the petitions from the Rig Veda that were set to music for recitation. In post-Rig Vedic times, two further collections were created in supplement to the Sama Veda. The Yajur Veda Samhita and thus the Atharva Veda Samhita were these.
Significance in Society and Religion
In addition to songs, the Yajur Veda also has rites that go along with the reciting of the hymns. The rituals are a reflection of the context of society and the politics in which they developed. There are charms as well as spells in the Vedas to ward off illness and illness. Its features provide insight into non-Aryan beliefs and practices.
The Brahmanas are a collection of writings that were produced after the Vedic Samhitas. These elucidate the social and religious significance of procedures and are chock-full of ceremonial formulations.
These ancient Vedic writings were all put together between 1000 and 500 B.C. in the upper Gangetic basin. Digging and exploration in the same time period and region have uncovered almost 700 sites that were never inhabited before.
Because people who utilized earthen bowls and platters made of painted grey ceramic lived there, these places are known as Painted Grey Ware (PGW) sites.
We may get a general sense of how people lived in western Uttar Pradesh and the surrounding regions of Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan during the early half of the initial millennium B.C. by combining the data from earlier Vedic writings and PGW iron-phase archaeological.
The Economy of the PGW-Iron Stage and Early Vedic Civilization
Iron first emerges in the Dharwar district of Karnataka around 1000 B.C., although it is unclear how it expanded after this. But, the Gandhara region of Pakistan began using an iron at the same time.
Numerous iron tools that were buried alongside corpses have been found. Baluchistan has also reported finding them. Iron was first used in eastern Punjab or western Uttar Pradesh at the same time. both Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
Iron tools, including spearheads and arrowheads, became widely utilized in western Uttar Pradesh starting around 800 B.C., according to archaeological findings.
The Vedic people might well have beaten the few enemies they could well have encountered in the upper part of the doab with iron weapons.
Although these trees may not have been as dense due to rainfall ranging from 35 cm to 65 cm, the iron axe might have been employed to clear the upper Gangetic basin of its forests.
Iron expertise began to develop in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Videha more towards the beginning of the Vedic era.
Tools and Equipment
The oldest iron tools found here date to the 7th century B.C., and subsequent Vedic writings refer to the metals as Shyama or Krishna ayas.
Even if very few iron farm tools were discovered, farming was unquestionably the main source of subsistence for the later Vedic people.
Later Vedic literature refers to a plow being pulled by six, eight, twelve, or even twenty-four oxen. Perhaps I’m exaggerating here.
The wooden plowshare, which might perform in the light soil of such upper Gangetic plains, was used to plow the ground. A sufficient number of the bullock was not supplied due to the slaughtering of cattle for sacrifices.
Agriculture was therefore crude, but its widespread existence is undeniable. The Shatapatha Brahmana discusses extensively us rituals associated with plowing.
According to mythology, Sita’s father Janaka, king of Videha, assisted with the plowing. Most kings and princes conducted physical work back then without hesitation.
Political Structure
Rig Vedic common forums were less significant in later Vedic eras, and king James gained at their expense. The vidatha vanished entirely.
The senate and Samiti held firm, but their personalities shifted. Chiefs and wealthy nobles eventually came to rule them.
The national assembly was now governed by lords and Brahmanas as women were no longer allowed to sit in its seats. The chief or king became more dominant when larger kingdoms were formed.
Tribal rule frequently became territorial. Tribes were administered by princes or chiefs, although the prevailing tribes named territory that might have been populated by nations other than their own. Each region was initially given its name after the tribe that had first established there.
Panchala was originally the group of people before becoming the name of a place. This is the time when the word “Rashtra,” which denotes a region, first emerges.
Ancient Vedic literature provides traces of the king or chief’s nomination. Rajas were chosen based on their perceived physical and other traits. He received voluntary pre-sents, known as balls, from his regular kinsmen or the vis, or the common people.
But the chief made the position lifelong in his dynasty in an effort to preserve the opportunity to accept gifts and take advantage of other office-related privileges: – the position often went to the second son, but this transmission was never easy. Ius is informed by the Mahabharata that Duryodhana, Yudhishthira’s younger cousin, usurped authority. The dynasties of the Pandavas and Kauravas fought over the property.
Religion, Rites, and Philosophy
The upper doab evolved into the center of Aryan culture during the later Vedic period while being influenced by Brahmanical philosophy.
It appears that this region, in the homeland of the Kuru Panchalas, is where the entirety of the Vedic literature was assembled.
Methods and interpretations fostered the cult of sacrifice that was the foundation of this civilization. Indra and Agni, the two notable Rig Vedic deities, lost their prior significance. In contrast, Prajapati the Almighty eventually rose to the top of the later Vedic gods.
Rig Vedic era’s Smaller Deities
Some lesser-known gods from the Rig Vedic era also gained prominence. Earlier Vedic times saw the rise of Rudra, the animal deity, while Vishnu was conceptualized as the savior and bringer of the populace who now lived settled lives rather than semi-nomadic ones as they had in Rig Vedic times.
Additionally, some things started to be revered as representations of deities; later Vedic times show evidence of worship. Social orders like the Brahmanas, Rajanyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras developed their individual deity as society was segmented into socioeconomic backgrounds.
Since raising cattle was the main employment of the Aryans throughout the time of the Rig Veda, Pushan, who were involved in their care of them, came to be revered as the god of the Shudras.
The same materialistic motives that motivated people to worship deities in ancient eras still apply today. The manner of worship, however, underwent significant alteration. Although prayers were still said, they were no longer the main way people appeased the gods.