by Roshen Dalal
CATTLE
Cattle raids seem to have been frequent causes of conflict, indicated by allusions to conflicts such as that with the Panis, and by the many words for war with a prefix derived from go or gau, the words for ‘cow’ and ‘cattle’. Thus gavishti, gaveshana, goshu, and gavya were all words for battle. A hero was known as gojit, or one who had won cows, and a rich person was gomat, ‘owner of cows’.
There were other domestic animals, including goats, sheep, horses, bulls, asses, dogs, and buffaloes, yet cows were obviously the most important. Cows went off in the morning to graze at a time known as samgava and returned in the evening at godhuli. (See Chapter 6 for more details on animals.)
AGRICULTURE
Agriculture was practised and was also important. Kshetra was a term for a cultivated field. Some lands were more fertile than others. Cereal grains were grown but it is not clear what these were. Dhana, dhanya, and yava are three types of grains mentioned. Though dhana is often translated as ‘corn’, it does not mean corn or maize, which was a late entrant into India. It only refers to a cereal grain, which was the earlier English meaning of ‘corn’.
Dhanya is another general term for grain. Yava seems to be another generic term for any sort of grain and not only barley, which is its later meaning, though barley was probably cultivated at this time. Priyangu is probably a term for millet, Setaria italica, though it has also been interpreted differently (see Chapter 6). Some other plants, mentioned in Chapter 6, may have been cultivated, such as the cucumber, while others were probably collected from the wild. Both the plough (hala, langala, or sira) and hoe (khanitra) were used. Ploughing (krish) and sowing (vap) are referred to, as well as the ripening of grain. Grain is said to rejoice in the rain though some form of irrigation was also used. Crops were harvested with a sickle (srini or datra) collected in sheafs, threshed, and winnowed. The grain was then measured in a vessel termed urdara and stored in a granary (khala). The Ashvins are said to be connected with the sowing of grain with a plough. Ripe fruit is referred to; whether wild or cultivated is not clear. The first and tenth mandalas contain most of the references to agriculture, hence some have considered agriculture a late development for the Rig Vedic people. However, as the historian L. Gopal demonstrates, there are clear references to agriculture even in the family mandalas, indicating the agrarian character of the people. He points out a number of terms used: vahah (oxen in harness), krishatu langalam (plough in action), varatrabhyantam, (tying [the oxen] with strap), sita (furrow), phalam vikrishantu bhumin (ploughshare tearing the earth), kinashah (ploughman), and the metaphor of milking the earth by cultivation as one milks a cow. Kshetrasyapati, as the lord of the field, was worshipped.
FOOD
Food included milk and milk products such as butter and ghi as well as grain, vegetables, fruit, and sometimes meat. Saktu, in the Rig Veda, seems to mean grain before it is winnowed but it could mean coarsely ground cereal grains, as in the later Samhitas and Brahmanas.
Milk was often drunk straight from the cow but was also mixed with other substances. Soma and sura were intoxicating drinks. Soma was made from some sort of plant (for its possible identification, see Chapter 6) and used in rituals. The whole of Mandala 9 is in praise of Soma. There was an elaborate procedure to prepare it, including pressing the plant, sieving the juice, then mixing it with milk, sour milk, or yava. Sura was probably made with grain and seems to have been more intoxicating than Soma, as under its influence crimes were committed. Madhu is a term used for any sweet food or drink, including Soma and milk, but also meant honey. Grain was ground with a millstone and made into flour. Mixed with milk, ghi or butter, this was cooked and made into what is termed ‘cakes’. The grain could also be roasted or parched. The meat of ox, sheep, and goat was eaten though it may not have been a regular practice. The cow was termed aghnya, ‘not to be killed’, indicating its importance.
METAL
Metal (ayas) is referred to. Whether this was copper, copper–bronze or even iron is uncertain.
CLOTHES AND JEWELLERY
Clothes and jewellery were worn. Clothes seem to have been woven from cotton or wool, or made from animal skins. Vasa, a lower garment, and adhivasa, an upper or outer garment, is mentioned in the Rig. Drapi was perhaps a shawl and peshas may have been an embroidered garment. Clothes were probably wrapped around the body and not sewn. Vadhuya was a special type of clothing worn by brides and was given to a brahmana after the marriage ceremony. Earrings, necklaces, head and breast ornaments, armlets, and anklets were evidently worn. Women and even men seem to have plaited their hair.
WEALTH
Danastuti hymns, in praise of gifts, refer to rishis and their patrons, and have references to wealth in terms of gold, horses, cattle, and female slaves.
TRADE
There are some references to trade. Long journeys are known to have been made. One passage refers to visiting faraway lands to gain a profit. The cow seems to have been an item used in barter while the nishka, a type of ornament, was also used as some sort of currency. Gains in battle included herds of cattle and sheep. Ships and boats are mentioned; the Ashvins rescued Bhujyu after sailing in the ocean (samudra) in a ship with a hundred oars. The term samudra has been variously interpreted but, at least in some cases, must refer to the sea or ocean.
OCCUPATIONS AND PASTIMES
Numerous occupations were known. There were kings or chieftains, warriors, priests, cattle herders, farmers, and traders. Despite the pastoral–agrarian economy, hunting was an occupation and hunters are referred to. All kinds of items were made; the rathakara (chariot-maker) must have existed, but is not mentioned in the Rig Veda. The term only occurs in Later Vedic texts. There were also cart-makers, carpenters, metal workers, leather and wood craftsmen, and those who made bows and bowstrings. Mats were made from reeds. Musical instruments too were made.
Chariot races, playing with dice and gambling, singing, and dancing were among the pastimes. The vina (a stringed instrument), vana (flute), and drums are mentioned. The dialogue hymns suggest an early form of theatre.
FAMILY
The family was usually a patriarchal joint family though there may have been other kinds as well. The wedding hymn suggests that the new wife had to establish her place in the household, and win over her brothers-in-law as well as her husband’s parents. The son probably stayed with the parents even after he was married but this may have varied. One hymn suggests that the wife’s mother sometimes lived in the joint family. This indicates that there were different customs prevailing among the various groups. There may have been some matrimonial groups too. Vamsha lists in the Brahmanas are often through the mother. The father could be authoritarian as indicated by the story of Rijrashva, who gave his father’s sheep to a vrika (wolf) and was blinded by his father. Vrika here may not literally be a wolf but perhaps a person from a clan with a wolf totem.
CASTE
The general view is that there was no clear-cut caste system at this time and that it emerged in the Later Vedic period. Some differ, pointing out that hereditary succession was known in kings; brahmanas and purohitas had considerable importance; and families of rishis were known. Varna, which also literally means ‘colour’, was the later term for caste. Varna and other terms for colour are often used metaphorically. The Purusha-sukta, a late hymn in the Rig, refers to the four castes: ‘When (the gods) divided purusha, into how many parts did they cut him? . . . The brahmana came from his mouth, the rajanya from his arms, the vaishya from his thighs, the purusha from his feet.’ The terms rajanya, vaishya, and shudra occur only in this sukta. The terms brahmana and kshatriya are used but are not referred to as varna. The term ‘brahman’ sometimes refers to a priest and other times to anyone who was specially virtuous or distinguished. At this time, princes and householders could offer sacrifices themselves, indicating that the role of the brahmana had not yet crystallized. The various references indicate that the caste system was not well established.
MARRIA
GE AND WOMEN
Several references indicate that girls reached maturity before they were married. At times girls may have had limited choice as to whom they married. One hymn refers to marriage through elopement; courtship and love are also referred to. On the whole, women definitely had an inferior position though the status would have differed among different classes and in different clans and areas. Marriage was important and was of various types, including polygamy and monogamy.
One indication of an inferior position of women is in the nature of the goddesses in the Rig Veda. Though goddesses are known, they are relatively few. Aditi and Usha are the most important but they do not have the same prominence as the gods. Around twenty hymns were composed by women in the Rig Veda, out of a total of 1028. Women accompanied their husbands in sacrifices but did not sacrifice on their own. No women priests conducted sacrifices. Several prayers in the Rig Veda are for children in general, and specifically for sons.
Some interesting hymns throw light on some aspects of society. In the dialogue hymn between Yama and Yami, incest between brother and sister is clearly forbidden. However, the concept of creation of life through twins is a common theme in different cultures. (In late Zoroastrian texts, the Iranian counterpart, Yima and Yimak, united and from them all people were descended. In India, Jain texts much later than the Vedas refer to a golden age when descent was through twins.) The Rig Veda has no reference to sati though, in one hymn, there is reference to a custom where a widow lies near her dead husband on the funeral pyre but gets up before the fire is lit.
EDUCATION
In this period, the upanayana is not mentioned. The Vedas, their language and metre, and other branches of learning must have been studied. The frog hymn suggests that repetition after the teacher was one method of study. Apart from book learning, there must have been practical learning too, in the context of warfare, agriculture, etc. The term brahmachari, in the sense of a student, is mentioned in one passage. Male students may have learnt from the father or from another teacher. Women also studied, as is clear from the fact that they were composers of hymns. Some feel there was writing at this time but no writing has survived.
Literature was quite advanced as seen from the complex and refined metres used in the Rig Vedic verses.
We thus get a picture of a fairly complex Chalcolithic society, in which the people prayed to numerous deities for success, wealth, progeny, and protection.
Two interesting hymns from the Rig Veda, which throw light on socio-economic aspects, are given below. Both are based on the translation by R.T.H. Griffith in The Hymns of the Rig Veda.
The gambler’s hymn
Sprung from tall trees on windy heights, these rollers transport me as they turn upon the table.
Dearer to me the die that never slumbers than the deep draught of Mujavan’s own Soma.
She never vexed me nor was angry with me, but to my friends and me in ever gracious.
For the die’s sake, whose single point is final, my own devoted wife I alienated.
My wife holds me aloof, her mother hates me: the wretched man finds none to give him comfort.
As of a costly horse grown old and feeble, I find not any profit of the gamester.
Others caress the wife of him whose riches the die has coveted, that rapid courser:
Of him speak father, mother, brothers saying, We know him not: bind him and take him with you.
When I resolve to play with these no longer, my friends depart from me and leave me lonely.
When the brown dice, thrown on the board, have rattled, like a fond girl I seek the place of meeting.
The gamester seeks the gambling-house, and wonders, his body all afire, Shall I be lucky?
Still do the dice extend his eager longing, staking his gains against his adversary.
Dice, verily, are armed with goads and driving-hooks, deceiving and tormenting, causing grievous woe. They give frail gifts and then destroy the man who wins, thickly anointed with the player’s fairest good.
Merrily sports their troop, the three-and-fifty, like Savitr the God whose ways are faithful.
They bend not even to the mighty’s anger: the king himself pays homage and reveres them.
Downward they roll, and then spring quickly upward, and, handless, force the man with hands to serve them.
Cast on the board, like lumps of magic charcoal, though cold themselves they burn the heart to ashes.
The gambler’s wife is left forlorn and wretched: the mother mourns the son who wanders homeless.
In constant fear, in debt, and seeking riches, he goes by night unto the home of others.
Sad is the gambler when he sees a matron, another’s wife, and his well-ordered dwelling.
He yokes the brown steeds in the early morning, and when the fire is cold sinks down an outcast.
To the great captain of your mighty army, who has become the host’s imperial leader,
To him I show my ten extended fingers: I speak the truth. No wealth am I withholding.
Play not with dice: no, cultivate your land. Enjoy the gain, and deem that wealth sufficient.
There are your cattle, there your wife, O gambler. So this good Savitr himself has told me.
Make me your friend: show us some little mercy. Assail us not with your terrific fierceness.
Appeased be your malignity and anger, and let the brown dice snare some other captive.
(10.34)
Yama and Yami: A dialogue
Yami: 1. Fain would I win my friend to kindly friendship.
So may the sage, come through the air’s wide ocean,
Remembering the earth and days to follow, obtain a son, the issue of his father.
Yama: 2. Your friend loves not the friendship which considers her who is near in kindred as stranger.
Sons of the mighty asura, the heroes, supporters of the heavens, see far around them.
Yami: 3. Yes, this the Immortals seek of you with longing, progeny of the sole existing mortal.
Then let your soul and mine be knit together, and as a loving husband take your consort.
Yama: 4. Shall we do now what we never did before? We who spoke righteously now talk impurely?
Gandharva in the floods, the Dame of Waters (Saranyu)—such is our bond, such our most lofty kinship.
Yami: 5. Even in the womb God Tvashtr, the shaper of forms, Creator, made us consorts.
None violates his holy ordinances: that we are his the heavens and earth acknowledge.
Yama: 6. Who knows that earliest day of which you speak? Who has seen it? Who can here declare it?
Great is the law of Varuna and Mitra. What, wanton! will you say to men to tempt them?
Yami: 7. I, Yami, am possessed with love for Yama, that I may rest on the same couch beside him.
I as a wife would yield me to my husband. Like chariot-wheels let us speed forward to meet each other.
Yama: 8. They stand not still, they never close their eyelids, those sentinels of Gods who wander round us.
Not me—go quickly, wanton, with another, and hasten like a chariot wheel to meet him.
Yami: 9. May Surya’s eye with days and nights endow him, and ever may his light spread out before him.
In heaven and earth the kindred pair commingle. Oh Yama! Behave towards me as if you
were not my brother.
Yama: 10. Sure there will come succeeding times when brothers and sisters will act as if unrelated.
Not me, O fair one—seek another husband, and make your arm a pillow for your consort.
Yami: 11. Is he a brother when no lord is left her? Is she a sister when destruction comes?
Forced by my love these many words I utter. Come near, and hold me in your close embraces.
Yama: 12. I will not fold my arms around your body: they call it sin when one comes near his sister.
Not me—prepare your pleasures with another: your brother seeks not this from you, O fair one.
Yami: 13. Alas! you are indeed a
weakling, Yama we find in you no trace of heart or spirit.
As round the tree the woodbine clings, another will cling about you girt as with a girdle.
Yama: 14. Embrace another, Yami; let another, even as the woodbine rings the tree, enfold you.
Win his heart and let him win your fancy, and he shall form with you a blessed alliance.
(10.10)
LATER VEDIC
Later Vedic literature refers to both places and people. The later Samhitas do not provide much information on this, hence the Brahmanas are also used, along with references to later sources.
We saw earlier that the rivers of Afghanistan are not mentioned in Later Vedic literature. However, people and places of the distant north and north-west are mentioned.
NORTH OR NORTH-WEST
Udichya, the northern region, is referred to. The brahmanas of Udichya are mentioned in the Shatapatha Brahmana; their speech was believed to be similar to that of the Kuru–Panchalas, hence the region was not considered alien.
Mujavant, already mentioned in the Rig Veda, is in the Atharva Veda, along with Mahavrishas, Gandharis, and Balhikas, a region where fever is to be banished. All these were probably far to the north or north-west. Whether they were in what has been termed udichya, or even beyond, is not clear. Mujavant is generally identified as a Himalayan mountain. Two kings of the Mahavrishas, Raikva-parna and Hritsvashaya, are referred to in the Chhandogya Upanishad and the Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana. The Balhikas are sometimes identified with the people of Balkh, that is, Bactria, though they are also located in the western region (see below). In the Shatapatha Brahmana, however, Balhika is the name of a Kuru prince, hence they may not have been so far north. Of course, it should be noted that Kuru or Kurush (the Greek Cyrus) were also names of kings of Iran. Gandhara is well known in later sources, with its capitals at Purushapura (Peshawar) and Takshashila. The Gandharis may belong to the same region. In the Aitareya Brahmana, Nagnajit of Gandhara is a teacher of the Vedas. Nagnajit is also known in the later Ramayana. Other northern people are mentioned in the Brahmanas and Upanishads, among them the Kekayas and Kambojas. Regarding these, Ashvapati, a king of the Kekayas and a teacher of brahmanas, is referred to. Kamboja Aupamanyu, another teacher, is mentioned. He may have been the son of Upamanyu of the Rig Veda. Kekaya and Kamboja are again well known in later sources.