by Roshen Dalal
According to the Aitareya Brahmana (8.36.4), through the rajasuya sacrifice, different castes attained different qualities. The brahmana received tejas (ascetic fervour), the kshatriya, virya (bravery), the vaishya, prajati (power to have children), and the shudra, pratishtha (firmness or stability). Here, though the four castes are differentiated, each received something worthwhile.
Among the two higher castes, the brahmana and the kshatriya (or rajanya), the brahmana gradually gained importance though, at times, there was some ambivalence about their relative positions. In the Atharva Veda, brahmanas refer to themselves as devas or gods. The king’s purohita was the most important brahmana in the kingdom. The office of the purohita was often hereditary. A number of brahmanas were village priests. Brahmanas received special privileges. Basically, the reverence for a brahmana was a reverence for the values they embodied—of learning, teaching, and simplicity. Not all brahmanas retained these values. Though brahmanas had religious authority, in the Upanishads, they were sometimes instructed by kings.
Kshatriyas consisted of the king’s relatives, warriors, some nobles, and minor chieftains under his control. Vaishyas were artisans, traders, and agriculturalists. The practice of crafts was to some extent hereditary, thus creating castes.
In some passages, the shudras are considered inferior. The Aitareya Brahmana (35.3) says the shudra should obey the orders of others. The chandalas are mentioned in the Brahmanas and Upanishads but their status is unclear. Later Vedic texts also use the term mleccha for ‘outsiders’. The first three castes were known as dvija, or ‘twice born’, as they were entitled to perform the upanayana, which was a kind of rebirth. The three upper castes could also install agni at the agnyadheya, ‘first installation of the fire’. The vaishya is referred to as an arya in contrast to a shudra. The Shrauta Sutras indicate different methods of performing sacrifices according to the caste of the sacrificer (yajamana). In the Soma sacrifices, different results were sought for each caste. The Shatapatha Brahmana allots a place to the shudra in the Soma sacrifice. In the Upanishads, it is clear that a shudra could also study. But, according to the Kathaka Samhita, the shudra is not allowed to milk the cow for the agnihotra milk. In the purushamedha, different castes were offered to different deities.
OCCUPATION
Numerous occupations existed, including artisans and craftsmen of various kinds. Boats are mentioned and trade must have existed too. Farmer, animal rearer, teacher, officiator at sacrifices, warrior, service provider, hunter—a number of occupations are mentioned in the purushamedha list. Among them are also anu-kshattri (an attendant of some kind, probably doorkeeper or charioteer), anuchara (another type of attendant), drummer, maker of mats, metalsmith, ploughman, astrologer, butcher, herdsman, bowstring maker, carpenter, wood gatherer, dava-pa (fire-watcher), hand clapper, female embroiderer or basket-maker, jeweller, horse attendant (who yoked and unyoked horses), sura brewer, elephant keeper, and goldsmith. Other Later Vedic texts mention more occupations, including a ferryman or poleman, malaga (washerman), potter, moneylender, barber, boatman, cook, messenger, and an attendant who ran alongside a chariot. In addition, other art and craft specialists existed, such as the rathakara (chariot-maker).
Thus there was a wide array of diverse crafts, which could indicate an urban or late pre-urban economy, one on the verge of urbanization.
LAND
Individuals could own land, which was inherited by the sons after the father’s death.
AGRICULTURE
More areas were cultivated and different types of crops were grown. According to the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (6.3.22), there were ten kinds of cultivated (gramyani) grains: vrihi-yava (rice and barley); tila-mashah (sesamum and beans); anu-priyangavah (millets, Panicum miliaceum and Setaria italica); godhuma (wheat); masurah (lentils); and khala-kulah (khalvah and Dolichos uniflorus).
The Yajur and Atharva Vedas also mention wheat, rice, various types of beans and lentils, millets, and oilseeds as the crops grown. Different types of rice are described. While rice was known as vrihi, a term for rice and other seed grains was tandula; karna and akarna were husked and unhusked rice, respectively; and nivara was a type of wild rice. In the Taittiriya Samhita, black and white rice are contrasted; dark, swift-growing (ashu), and large rice (maha-vrihi) are mentioned; the swift-growing rice was probably later known as shashtika, which ripened within sixty days.
The Brahmanas too refer to plashuka, another fast-growing rice. Apart from anu and priyangu, shyamaka was a cultivated millet identified with Panicum frumentaceum; the Atharva Veda refers to the lightness of its seed that can be blown away in the wind and says it is the food of pigeons; in the Chhandogya Upanishad, shyamaka and its seed (tandula) are said to be very small; it has also been interpreted as canary seed.
Lentils too were of different kinds. Khalva is explained by the commentator Mahidhara as chanaka or chickpea while Shankara sees it as nishpava. Masura would be the masur of today, Ervum hirsutum. Mashah and garmut were types of beans.
Oilseeds included til (sesame), from which taila (oil) was made.
Other grains were amba, later called namba; upavaka was later known as Indra-yava. It was used to make gruel (karambha) and was also ground; upavaka groats (saktavah) are mentioned. Indra-yava has been identified as the seed of the medicinal plant Wrightia antidysenterica, still used in Ayurveda. Other identifications are with Holarrhena antidysenterica, or Wrightia tinctoria.
Gavidhuka, or gavedhuka, was a type of grass, identified with Coix barbata, which was boiled with rice or barley and made into a gruel.
Masusya, mentioned in the Taittiriya Brahmana, is a grain of the north country, according to the commentator.
Kulmasha is referred to in the Chhandogya Upanishad. The Nirukta explains it as sour gruel but the commentator feels it is bad or sour beans (masha).
Grain husk was used as fuel. Cucumbers (urvaru, urvaruka) and probably other vegetables were grown; fruit mentioned includes the jujube (karkandhu, kuvala, badara) but it is not clear if fruit was cultivated or collected from wild trees.
In the Atharva Veda and Kathaka Samhita, ploughs are mentioned, as drawn by six, eight, or twelve oxen, and even twenty-four, which would require a heavy ploughshare, possibly fashioned from iron. Plough land was referred to as urvara or kshetra; manure, known as shakan or karisha, was used; and irrigation (khanitra) was practised. In the Atharva, Prithi Vainya is said to have begun the use of the plough. In the Panchavimsha Brahmanas, it is said that the Vratyas did not cultivate the soil. The Shatapatha Brahmana describes the cycle of agriculture, consisting of ploughing, sowing, reaping, and threshing (krishantah, vapantah, lunantah, and mrinantah). The grain was cut with a sickle, known as datra or srini, tied into bundles or parsha, threshed, and then separated from the chaff. According to the Taittiriya Samhita, there were two harvests every year, and the Kaushitaki Brahmana states that the winter crop ripened in the month of Chaitra. Farmers faced quite a few difficulties; the seeds were destroyed by moles; birds as well as various reptiles (upavasaka, jabhya, tarda, patanga) destroyed the young shoots; and too much rain or drought could affect crops. The Atharva Veda refers to all this in its prayers and charms.
DOMESTIC ANIMALS
Animals that were domesticated included cows, sheep, goats, horses, and dogs. (For more details, see Chapter 6.)
FOOD AND DRINK
Apart from basic foods such as milk, butter, grain, fruit, and vegetables, various types of cooked food are mentioned. Apupa is a sort of cake made of rice or barley mixed with ghi. Odana was grain cooked with milk. Rice cooked with milk and beans is referred to in the Vajasaneyi Samhita and the Shatapatha Brahmana. Rice could also be fried. A gruel made of lightly roasted grain, barley, or unhusked sesame was known as karambha. Yavagu referred to barley gruel specifically. Meat was normally eaten on ceremonial occasions or in honour of a guest. As earlier, the sheep, goat, and ox were the animals usually eaten. Various milk products included sour milk (dadhi) and butter (nava-ni
ta). Amiksha was clotted curds while payasya was curds mixed with sour milk; a blend of butter, fresh milk, and sour milk was known as prisjad-ajya ; phanta was creamy butter or the first lumps of butter produced by churning; and vajina was sour milk mixed with fresh, hot milk.
Sura, probably prepared from fermented grains, was kept in skins. People of the sabha drank it but, according to the Atharva, it sometimes led men on the wrong path and resulted in quarrels. The sautramani sacrifice was in expiation of drinking too much sura. The Yajur texts also refer to a drink called masara, made of rice, shyamaka, parched barley, and other items. Madhu indicates both honey and anything sweet. Soma was important but various substitutes and equivalents were used for the plant. It is suggested that the original Soma was difficult to obtain.
Pinda, the ball of flour offered to ancestors, is mentioned in the Nirukta and Sutras.
TRADE AND COMMERCE
Shreshthins (rich merchants) are referred to. Vanija was the term for a merchant. Moneylending was a good business. The term kusida indicated a loan while kusidin was a moneylender. Regular coinage is not referred to. The krishnala, a berry of the gunja (Abrus precatorius), was a unit of weight. The mana is mentioned as an equivalent of it. The shatamana was equal to 100 manas. The cow was a unit of barter. The nishka was also used. Bargaining in the market was known. Clothes, coverings, and goatskins were among the items bought and sold. Trade, including that via the sea, must have existed. Boats are mentioned.
Texts of this time clearly refer to iron as ‘the black metal’—krishna ayas, shyama ayas, or shyama.
WOMEN
Women still seem to have married after puberty. Polygamy existed; two, four, or more wives are mentioned. The rishi Yajnavalkya had two wives whereas a king was said to have four wives, of whom mahishi was the chief queen while vavata was the favourite. Passages in the Atharva suggest that a widow could remarry and that polyandry too existed. The Vajasaneyi Samhita refers to illicit relationships and to the son of an unmarried girl (kumariputra). The father had some control over the daughter and there are instances where he gave her as an offering to a brahmana. Dowries were sometimes given. The marriage ceremony was probably much the same as in the Rig Vedic period, as the marriage hymn is repeated in the Atharva without much change. There is a reference in the Atharva (18.3.1) to the ancient practice of sati. Initially, the sacrificer (yajamana) was accompanied by his wife but she could not initiate a sacrifice on her own. Slightly later, the priest often replaced the wife in the sacrificial ritual, perhaps indicating a decline in her status. Most of the later types of marriage existed in this period, as they are referred to in the Grihya Sutras.
There are mixed references to women. The Shatapatha says that a wife is half her husband— without her, he is incomplete—but another passage suggests her inferior position when it states that she should eat after her husband. The Aitareya Brahmana says that a good woman does not talk back. In another passage, it says that a daughter is a source of misery and a son is a saviour for the family. Widow remarriage is permitted in some texts and prohibited in others. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (6.4) says that Prajapati created women and provides some instructions for the union of man and woman. At the time of procreation, there should be sublimation through meditation. Men who unite with their wives without this meditation destroy all their merit.
A man should try to win a woman over by giving her desired objects but if she refuses, he can curse her and hit her. If she does yield to him, he recites a mantra and then both become reputed parents. Instructions follow for what to do if the man’s wife has a lover. Mantras are chanted and certain rituals undertaken so that the man whom the brahmana curses ‘departs from the world, impotent and devoid of merit’. Men should therefore be very careful in their dealings with the wife of a Vedic scholar who knows these rites; they should not even joke with her. When the wife has her periodical impurity, she should drink from a bell metal vessel for three days; and no shudra man or woman should touch her. After this, she should bathe and wear fresh clothes, and the husband should ask her to thresh rice. (This is obviously related to fertilty.) Next, there are instructions on what to eat to produce ideal sons, and even an ideal daughter. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (6.4.17) reads: ‘He who wishes, “May a daughter be born to me who will be a scholar (pandita) and attain longevity” should have rice and sesamum cooked together, and with his wife eat it mixed with ghi. Then they would be able to produce such a daughter.’
The same Upanishad also says (1.4, 3) that the creator, Prajapati or viraj, was alone and not happy. Therefore he divided his body into two, and the husband and wife (pati–patni) came into being.
EDUCATION
A number of texts, including the Later Vedic Samhitas, the Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and early Upanishads, were composed at this time, and the entire sacrificial ritual was developed. Was all education oral or was there some writing too? Could all these texts have been transmitted orally? If so, were there specific methods and aids to memorize them? Svadhyaya or daily Vedic self-study is mentioned in the Yajur Veda. Kshatriya kings, such as Janaka and Ajatashatru, had studied the Vedas and even conveyed their philosophical understanding to others. Probably kshatriyas, and even vaishyas, underwent the upanayana, though both these must have had other practical or theoretical studies related to their profession. The upanayana as a samskara is described in the Shatapatha Brahmana, and instructions for a student are provided in other Brahmanas. The Tandya Brahmana indicates that studies included arithmetic, prosody, and grammar. Language was an important aspect of study. Those from the north are said to be experts in language. The system of a guru teaching students in his ashrama or residence is known. The Atharva refers to a brahmachari, a student, who gathered fuel for the sacred fire and begged for alms for his guru. Vedic schools or charanas already existed. Women of certain classes also studied but some were were taught singing and dancing.
DRESS
Weaving was known. Thread was woven from wool; urva-sutra or woollen thread is frequently mentioned. It is thought that this referred to sheep wool and perhaps goat hair. Embroidered garments were popular. Clothes included three garments: nivi or undergarment, vasas or main/ lower garment, and adhi-vasas, a mantle or upper garment. Sacrificial clothes are described in the Shatapatha. A tarpya or silk garment was worn close to the skin. A garment of undyed wool, an over-garment and a turban or ushnisha were also worn. The Shatapatha refers to a shoe or sandal made of boar skin. Skins were worn as clothing. Woven garments could be dyed or left in their natural colours. Fringes or borders were sometimes attached to garments. Among ornaments, sthagara was a sweet-smelling item worn. The shankha or conch shell was worn as an amulet. Shalali or a porcupine quill was used to anoint the eyes and part the hair. Pravarta may have been an earring. Prakasha was perhaps a metal mirror. A nishka (neck ornament) of silver is mentioned as an ornament worn by the vratyas.
ENTERTAINMENT
Music, singing, and dancing existed. Aghati, or cymbals, drums, flutes, and lutes are mentioned. Shailusha, a purushamedha victim, was possibly an actor or dancer. Chariot and horse racing, and dice playing were common. A vamsha-nartin, probably some kind of acrobat, is mentioned in the Yajur.
Chapter 8
The Archaeological Setting
As we have seen earlier, the Rig Veda, the earliest of the Vedic texts, is of uncertain date but was certainly composed by 1000 BCE. The area of its composition was north-west India, extending into present-day Pakistan, and possibly south and east Afghanistan. An increasing number of scholars today believe that an early date for the Rig Veda is a valid possibility. Some of the main theories regarding the Rig Vedic people are, as seen earlier, that the Vedic people formed part of the joint Indo-Iranians and moved to India after the decline of the Harappan civilization, around 1700–1500 BCE. This is still the most accepted theory, though it needs to be re-examined in the context of some serious challenges. Another theory is that they were indigenous people who predated the Harappan civili
zation. A third theory is that India was the home not only of the Indo-Iranians but also of the Proto-Indo-Europeans, who migrated from here to other parts of the world.
We have already looked at some theories of the Indo-Iranian homeland. Here we will look at the archaeology of early India, which could throw light both on the origin of the Rig Vedic people and their possible date. Arguments related to archaeology are used to prove or disprove theories of the date based on other sources.
India–Pakistan, which lies in South Asia, has the Himalayan ranges to the north. In the north-west, the land merges into Iran and Afghanistan. In Pakistan, the area of Balochistan has some of the earliest settlements. Pakistan Balochistan adjoins the Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan. The Afghan–Baloch area has a similar environment to the Iranian plateau, and the highlands near the Mediterranean. It has cold winters, and parts of it get snow. The Indus river system flows through Pakistan and north-west India. East of this are the vast alluvial Gangetic plains, through which the Ganga, its main tributary the Yamuna, and other tributaries flow.
In southern India, the peninsula is surrounded by water, with the Arabian Sea to the west, the Bay of Bengal to the east, and the Indian Ocean to the south. Archaeological sites in India–Pakistan date to the Palaeolithic period, succeeded by the Mesolithic and the Neolithic. In the north-west, Neolithic cultures develop into the urban Harappan civilization (2500–1900 BCE). The urban centres then decline and new cultures emerge. This region corresponds, more or less, with that known from the Rig Veda.