Origins of Vedic Culture: The Indo-Aryan Settlement and Early Hymns

Advent of the Aryans and the Age of the Rig Veda

The Aryans spoke Indo-European languages, which exist in changed forms all over Europe, Iran, and the greater part of the Indian subcontinent today. They originally seem to have lived somewhere east of the Alps, in the region known as Eurasia.

Key linguistic evidence for their original home:

• Common words exist in Indo-European languages for animals such as goats, dogs, horses; and plants like pine, maple, etc. - indicating fauna and flora of Eurasia.
• Words for mountains exist in only a few Aryan languages, though the Aryans crossed many hills.
• Their earliest life was mainly pastoral, with agriculture as a secondary occupation.
• The Aryans did not lead a settled life - they could not leave solid material remains.

The Horse - Most Significant Animal

Among the animals the Aryans used, the horse played the most significant role in their life. Its swiftness enabled them to make successful inroads into Western Asia from about 2000 BC onwards.

---

• On their way to India, the Aryans first appeared in Iran, where the Indo-Iranians lived for a long time.
• The Rig Veda is the earliest specimen of the Indo-European language - our primary source for knowledge of the Aryans in India.
• The Rig Veda has much in common with the Avesta - the oldest text in the Iranian language. Both texts use the same names for several gods and even for social classes.
• Aryan names appear in Kassite inscriptions of 1600 BC and Mitanni inscriptions of the fourteenth century BC found in Iraq - suggesting a branch of Aryans moved from Iran towards the west.
• A little earlier than 1500 BC, the Aryans appeared in India.

Archaeological Traces

• No clear and definite archaeological traces of their advent.
• Possibly they used socketed axes, bronze dirks, and swords discovered in north-western India.
• The Aryans possibly obtained copper from the Khetri mines of Rajasthan.

---

The earliest Aryans lived in the geographical area covered by:

• Eastern Afghanistan
• Punjab
• Fringes of western Uttar Pradesh

This whole region is called the Land of the Seven Rivers (sapta sindhu).

Key Rivers Mentioned in the Rig Veda

• Sindhu (Indus) - the river par excellence of the Aryans; mentioned repeatedly.
• Sarasvati - another important river, now lost in the sands of Rajasthan; its area is covered by the Ghaggar river.
• Rivers of Afghanistan such as the Kubha are also mentioned.
• The five branches of the Indus are also referenced.

Painted Grey Ware (PGW) Connection

• A site called Bhagwanpura (Haryana) and three sites in Punjab have been excavated where Painted Grey Ware has been found along with 'late Harappan' pottery.
• Date assigned: 1600 BC to 1000 BC - roughly the period of the Rig Veda.
• These four sites coincide geographically with the area represented by the Rig Veda.
• However, neither iron objects nor cereals have been found - suggesting a pre-iron phase of PGW coinciding with the Rig Vedic phase.
• At Bhagwanpura, a thirteen-roomed mud house has been discovered.

---

• The Rig Veda is a collection of prayers offered to Agni, Indra, Mitra, Varuna, and other gods by various families of poets or sages.
• It consists of ten mandalas (books).
• Books II to VII form its earliest portions.
• Books I and X seem to have been the latest additions.
• The Rig Veda has many things in common with the Avesta (oldest Iranian text).
• The Aryans came to India in several waves - the earliest wave is represented by the Rig Vedic people who appeared in the subcontinent around 1500 BC.

---

Aryan vs Pre-Aryan (Dasas/Dasyus)

• Aryans came into conflict with indigenous inhabitants called the dasas and dasyus.
• The dasas are also mentioned in ancient Iranian literature - they seem to have been a branch of the early Aryans.
• The Rig Veda mentions the defeat of Sambara by Divodasa (who belonged to the Bharata clan) - here the term dasa appears in the name Divodasa.
• The dasyus in the Rig Veda represent the original inhabitants of the country.
• An Aryan chief who overpowered them was called Trasadasyu.
• The Aryan chief was soft towards the dasas but strongly hostile to the dasyus.
• The term dasyuhatya (slaughter of the dasyus) is repeatedly mentioned.
• The dasyus possibly worshipped the phallus and did not keep cattle for dairy products.
• In the Rig Veda, Indra is called Purandara - the breaker of forts. However, the forts cannot be identified; some may have been Harappan settlements.

Intra-Aryan Conflicts

• Aryans were divided into five tribes called panchajana.
• The most important conflict was the Battle of Ten Kings (Dasarajna) - fought on the river Parushni (identical with the river Ravi).
• The Bharatas (ruling clan, supported by priest Vasishtha) fought against a host of ten kings - five of Aryan tribes and five of non-Aryan peoples.
• Victory went to Sudas (Bharata king) -> established Bharata supremacy.
• The defeated Purus were the most important.
• Subsequently Bharatas joined hands with the Purus -> formed the Kurus.
• Kurus combined with the Panchalas -> together established rule in the upper Gangetic basin - playing an important part in later Vedic times.
• The country was eventually named Bharatavarsha after the term Bharata, which first appears in the Rig Veda.

Aryan Weapons and Military

• Aryan soldiers wore coats of mail (varman) and possessed better arms.
• Aryan success: possession of horses, chariots, and possibly bronze arms.
• Aryans introduced chariots driven by horses for the first time into West Asia and India.
• The king mustered a militia in times of war - military functions performed by tribal groups called vrata, gana, grama, sardha.
• No standing army was maintained by the Rig Vedic king.

---

Pastoral Economy

• Rig Vedic Aryans were primarily pastoral people - most wars were fought for cows.
• The term for war in the Rig Veda is gavisthi - literally 'search for cows'.
• The cow was the most important form of wealth; gifts and measurements stated in cows and women slaves, never in terms of land.
• Although they occasionally occupied land, land did not form a well-established type of private property.

Agriculture

• Agriculture was a secondary occupation.
• Rig Vedic people had knowledge of sowing, harvesting, and threshing and knew the different seasons.
• Ploughshare mentioned in the earliest parts of the Rig Veda (though some consider it an interpolation) - possibly made of wood.
• Despite many references to the cow, no reference to the sea or ocean (samudra mainly denotes a collection of water).
• Aryans did not live in cities - possibly in some kind of fortified mud settlements still unidentified archaeologically.

Artisans and Trade

• Rig Veda mentions artisans: carpenter, chariot-maker, weaver, leather worker, potter.
• The term ayas used for copper or bronze - metal-working was known.
• No clear evidence of trade; doubtful whether the Aryans were acquainted with sea or ocean.

---

The King (Rajan)

• Administrative machinery worked with the tribal chief (rajan) at the centre - because of his successful military leadership.
• The king's post was hereditary but the king did not exercise unlimited power - he had to reckon with tribal organisations.
• Some traces of election by the tribal assembly called the samiti.
• The king was the protector of the tribe, fought its wars, and offered prayers to gods on its behalf.
• The king received voluntary offerings called bali from the people.
• No regular officer for administering justice; no civil system or territorial administration - people were in a stage of perpetual expansion.

Tribal Assemblies

Four assemblies mentioned in the Rig Veda:

• Sabha - most important from the political point of view
• Samiti - most important from the political point of view
• Vidatha - exercised deliberative, military, and religious functions; women also attended
• Gana - another tribal assembly

The two most important from the political point of view: sabha and samiti. Kings showed eagerness to win their support.

Important Officials

• Purohita (priest): Most important functionary - the two prominent purohitas in the time of Rig Veda were Vasishtha and Visvamitra. They inspired tribal chiefs to action and lauded exploits in return for rewards in cows and women slaves.
• Senani (military commander): Used spears, axes, swords.
• Vrajapati: Officer who enjoyed authority over the pasture ground; led the kulapas (family heads) or gramanis (fighting horde heads).
• Gramani: Originally head of a small tribal fighting unit; when the unit settled, became head of the village, eventually identical to the vrajapati.

Administrative Units

• No mention of any officer for administering justice - not an ideal society.
• Officers seem to have been attached to pasture grounds and settled villages.
• Some officers enjoyed authority over territories.

---

• Kinship was the basis of social structure - a man was identified by the clan to which he belonged.
• Primary loyalty: to the tribe (jana) - the term jana occurs at about 275 places in the Rig Veda.
• The term janapada (territory/kingdom) is NOT used even once in the Rig Veda - showing the people were attached to the tribe, not territory.
• Another important term for the tribe: vis - mentioned 170 times. The vis was divided into gramas (smaller tribal fighting units); when gramas clashed it caused samgrama (war).
• The vaisya varna arose out of the vis or the mass of tribal people.

Family (Kula)

• Family term kula is mentioned rarely in the Rig Veda.
• The family comprised mother, father, sons, slaves, etc. - and many more people.
• Early family unit indicated by griha (frequently occurs in this text).
• In the earliest Indo-European languages, the same term is used for nephew, grandson, cousin - showing differentiation in family relationships had not proceeded far, and the family was a very large joint unit.
• Obviously a patriarchal family headed by the father.
• Birth of a son desired repeatedly; no desire expressed for daughters in the Rig Veda - though desire for children and cattle is a recurrent theme.
• Society was patriarchal - as in Roman society.

Women in Rig Vedic Society

• Women could attend assemblies.
• Women could offer sacrifices along with their husbands.
• An instance of five women who composed hymns - later texts mention 20 such women.
• Hymns were composed orally; nothing written belongs to that period.
• Institution of marriage was established though symbols of primitive practices survived.
• Evidence of polyandry - the Maruts enjoyed Rodasi; the two Asvin brothers represented as living with Surya, the daughter of the sun god.
• Practice of levirate and widow remarriage noticed.
• No examples of child-marriage; marriageable age in the Rig Veda seems to have been 16 to 17.

---

• The Rig Veda shows some consciousness of physical appearance of people in north-western India around 1500-1000 BC.
• Varna was the term used for colour - Aryans were fair and indigenous inhabitants dark in complexion.
• Colour distinction may have partially given rise to social orders, but its importance has been exaggerated by western writers who believed in racial distinctions.
• The factor that most contributed to the creation of social divisions was the conquest of the indigenous inhabitants by the Aryans.
• The dasas and dasyus conquered by the Aryans were treated as slaves and sudras.
• Tribal chiefs and priests acquired larger shares of the booty - grew at the cost of the common people -> created social inequalities.
• Gradually tribal society was divided into three groups: warriors, priests, and the people - on the same pattern as in Iran.
• The fourth division called the sudras appeared towards the end of the Rig Vedic period, because it is mentioned for the first time in the tenth Book of the Rig Veda (the latest addition).
• Slaves were given as gifts to priests - mainly women slaves employed for domestic purposes. In Rig Vedic times, slaves were NOT used directly in agriculture or other producing activities.
• The division based on occupations had started but was not very sharp.
• Society was still tribal and largely egalitarian - tribal elements stronger than social divisions based on tax collection or landed property (which were absent).

---

The Aryans personified natural forces and looked upon them as living beings to whom they gave human or animal attributes.

Principal Gods

• Indra: Called Purandara (breaker of forts); played the role of a warlord leading Aryan soldiers to victory against demons; considered responsible for causing rainfall; 250 hymns devoted to him.
• Agni: Fire god; acted as intermediary between the gods and the people; oblations offered to Agni were supposed to be carried in the form of smoke to the sky and transmitted to the gods. The cult of fire was important not only in India but also in Iran.
• Varuna: Personified water; supposed to uphold the natural order (rita) - whatever happened in the world was thought to be the reflection of his desires.
• Soma: God of plants; an intoxicating drink named after him; the Rig Veda has a large number of hymns explaining the preparation of this drink - not been satisfactorily identified so far.
• Maruts: Personify the storm.

Female Divinities

• Aditi and Ushas (representing the appearance of the dawn) - not prominent in the time of the Rig Veda.
• In the patriarchal set-up of the period, male gods were far more important than female.

Nature of Worship

• Dominant mode: recitation of prayers and offering of sacrifices.
• Originally every tribe or clan was the votary of a special god.
• Prayers were offered to gods in chorus by members of the whole tribe.
• Agni and Indra invited to partake of sacrifices made by the whole tribe (jana).
• Offerings of vegetables, barley, etc., were made to gods.
• In Rig Vedic times, the process was not accompanied by any ritual or sacrificial formulae - the magical power of the word was not considered so important as it came to be in later Vedic times.
• People worshipped gods mainly for material gains: praja (children), pasu (cattle), food, wealth, health - not for spiritual uplift or ending the miseries of existence.

---

• The Rig Vedic Aryans established the foundations of Indian civilisation - language, religion, social structure, and political organisation that evolved through the later Vedic and classical periods.
• The Battle of Ten Kings established Bharata supremacy and eventually gave India its name - Bharatavarsha.
• The formation of the Kurus (Bharatas + Purus) and their alliance with Panchalas prefigured the political geography of the Mahabharata period and the later Vedic age.
• The tribal-to-territorial transition was only beginning - the Rig Vedic phase represents the tribal stage before the emergence of settled kingdoms.
• The emergence of varna divisions - initially based on conquest and colour - laid the foundation for the later caste system.
• Rig Vedic religious concepts (Indra, Agni, Varuna, Soma, sacrifice) evolved into the elaborate Vedic ritual system of the later period and eventually contributed to Hinduism.

---

• GS Paper I - Ancient India: The Rig Vedic period is the starting point for understanding the evolution of Indian social structure, religious thought, and political organisation.
• Continuity of Religious Practice: Rig Vedic gods (Indra, Agni, Varuna, Soma) connect to later Hinduism, though their relative importance changed dramatically - Indra became a minor god in later Hinduism.
• Social Stratification: The origin of varna in the Rig Vedic period - based on colour and conquest, not birth - and the appearance of the sudra varna only in the tenth mandala illustrates the gradual nature of social stratification.
• Women's Status: Rig Vedic women composing hymns, attending assemblies, and the higher marriageable age (16-17) vs the later Vedic deterioration of women's status - a classic 'change over time' question.
• Tribal to Territorial: The Rig Vedic attachment to jana (tribe) rather than janapada (territory) is the starting point for understanding how India transitioned from tribal to state-based political organisation.
• Language and Identity: The Rig Veda as the earliest specimen of Indo-European language connects to broader questions of Aryan identity, migration, and the relationship between language and civilisation.

---

1. The Rig Veda has ten mandalas, Books II-VII are earliest, Books I and X are latest: Students often assume Books I and X are oldest because they come first/last. The latest additions are I and X.

2. Sudra varna appears for the first time in the TENTH book of the Rig Veda: It does NOT appear in the early books. It is mentioned for the first time in the latest addition - the tenth mandala. This is a critical UPSC-tested fact.

3. The Battle of Ten Kings was fought on the river Parushni (= river Ravi), NOT the Indus: Students confuse this with the Indus river. The battle was on the Parushni, identical with the Ravi.

4. Sudas was the Bharata king who won the Battle of Ten Kings, NOT the Kuru king: Sudas belongs to the Bharata clan, supported by priest Vasishtha. The Kurus were formed AFTER the Bharatas joined hands with the Purus.

5. Gavisthi means 'search for cows' (NOT 'search for gold'): The term for war in the Rig Veda is gavisthi. War was fought primarily for cows - not territory or gold.

6. Janapada does NOT appear in the Rig Veda: This is critical. The term janapada (territory) is NOT used even once in the Rig Veda - the people were attached to the tribe (jana), not to any territory.

7. Sabha and Samiti are most important from the POLITICAL point of view: All four assemblies (sabha, samiti, vidatha, gana) are mentioned - but the sabha and samiti are the two most politically important.

8. : A common misconception is that Soma = cannabis or a specific plant. RS Sharma explicitly states it has not been satisfactorily identified.

---

• Aryans: spoke Indo-European languages; originally from east of Alps (Eurasia)
• Appeared in India: a little earlier than 1500 BC
• Primary source: Rig Veda - earliest Indo-European language specimen
• Rig Veda: 10 mandalas; Books II-VII earliest; Books I and X latest
• Key rivers: Sindhu (river par excellence), Sarasvati (now Ghaggar), Kubha
• Most important animal: Horse; most important wealth: Cow
• Term for war: gavisthi (search for cows)
• Battle of Ten Kings: river Parushni (Ravi); Sudas (Bharata) won
• Bharatas + Purus = Kurus; Kurus + Panchalas -> ruled upper Gangetic basin
• Bharatavarsha: named after the Bharata clan (term first appears in Rig Veda)
• Most important divinity: Indra (250 hymns); second: Agni (200 hymns); third: Varuna
• Soma: not satisfactorily identified
• Sudra varna: first appears in tenth mandala (latest addition)
• Jana occurs 275 times; vis occurs 170 times in ;