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                             Vedic Age

The Vedic age began in India in about 1500 BC with the coming of Aryans, who scattered on the plains of of northern India. Max Muller believes it an anomaly to regard the race as Aryan because scientifically Aryans connotes nothing but language.The relationship between the race and language of these people with the classical languages of Europe was established by a Bavarian Franz Bopp 1816.
Aryans developed Vedic culture based on Vedas. The meaning of the word Veda is "knowledge", the best of all knowledge in the eyes of Hindus. It is a collection of hymns, prayers, charms, litanies, and sacrificial formulae. There are four Vedas, namely, Rig Veda, Sam Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda.

Aryans' Arrival in India

The Aryans came to India in several waves. The earliest wave is represented by the Rig Vedic people who appeared in the subcontinent in about 1500 BC. They came into conflict with the indigenous inhabitants called the Dravidians mentioned as dasa or dasyus in Rig Vega. The Rig Veda mentions the defeat of Sambara by Divodasa, who belonged to the Bharata clan. Possibly the dasyus in the Rig Veda represents the original inhabitants of the country, and an Aryan chief who overpowered them was called Trasadvasyu. The Aryan chief was soft towards the dasas, but strongly hostile to the dasyus. The term dasyuhatya, slaughter of the dasyus, is repeatdly mentioned in the Rig Veda.
Some of the chief tribes of the period were Yadu, Turvasu, Druhyu, Anu, Puru, Kuru, Panchala, Bharata and Tritsu. Among the inter-tribal conflicts the most important was the 'Battle of the Ten Kings'.

Dravidians

- It is believed that before the coming of the Aryans in India, the greater part of Northern and North-Western India was inhabited by a group of people known as Dravidians.

- On arrival of the Aryans unable to meet their challenge, they gradually moved southwards.

- Perhaps, in India, they were first to use rivers for navigation and irrigation.

Aryans

- The group of Indo-Europeans who moved to Persia and India are Known to Aryans.

- The Aryans are the original inhabitants of Central Asia.

- They arrived in India around 1500 BC.

- The region where the Aryans settled in India was called Sapta Sindhu.

- The Aryans established themselves in India by defeating the natives whom they called Dasas or Dasyus.

- The period when the Aryans first settled in India, is known as Early Vedic Period.

- The Aryans were the first people in India to know the use of iron and brought horses along with them.

Rig Vedic Polity

The administrative machinery of the Aryans in the Rig Vedic period worked with the tribal chief in the centre. He was called Rajan. The king was called the protector of his tribe. He protected its cattle, fought its wars and offered prayers to gods on its behalf.

Several tribal assemblies, such as the sabha, samiti, vidatha, and gana mentioned in the Rig Veda exercised deliberative, military and religious functions. Even women attended the sabha and vidatha in Rig Vedic times. But from the political point of view important were the sabha and samiti.

The most important functionary seems to have been the purohita. The two priest who played a major part in the time of Rig Veda were Vasishtha and Vishvamitra. The next important functionary seems to be the senani. Princes received from the people voluntary offering called bali.

There were cases of theft and bulglary, and especially we hear of the theft of cows.Spies were employed to keep an  eye on such unsocial activities. The officer who enjoyed authority over the pasture ground was called vrajapati . He led the heads of families called Kulapas, or the heads of the fighting hordes called gramanis to battle. The king did not maintain any regular or standing army, but in times of war he mustered a militia whose military functions were performed by different tribal groups called vrata, gana, grama, sardha.

Socio-Economic Life in Rig Vedic Period

Tribal Organization- Kinship was the basis of social structure. People gave their primary loyalty to the tribe, which was called jana. Another important term which stands for the tribe in the Rig Veda is vis. Probably the sis was divided into grama or smaller tribal units meant for fighting. The term for family (kula) is mentioned rarely in the Rig Veda. It seems that family in early Vedic phase was indicated by the term griha. The family was a large joint unit. It was obviously a patriarchal family headed by the father. Since it was a patriarchal society, the birth of a son was desired again and again.

Marriage and Status of Women- The institution of marriage was established, although symbols of primitive practices survived. We also notice the practice of levirate and widow remarriage in the Rig Veda.

The status of women was equal to men and they received Upnayana and education, studied Vedas and some of them even rose to the rank of seers composing Vedic hymns. Monogamy was established, though polygamy and polyandry were also known.

Varna System- Varna was the term used for color, and it seems that the Aryans were fair and the indigenous inhabitants dark in complexion. The dasas and dasyus, who were conquered by the Aryans, were treated as slaves and sudra. Gradually the tribal society was divided into three groups- warriors, priests and the people. The forth division called the Shudras appeared towards the end of the Rig Vedic period. In the age of the Rig Veda, divisions based on occupations had started. But this division was not vary sharp.

Occupation- Their earliest life seems to have been mainly pastroral, agriculture being a secondary occupation. The Aryans did not lead a settled life. Although they used several animals, the horse played the most significant role in their life.
The Rig Vedic people possessed better knowledge of agriculture. Ploughshare is mentioned in the earliest part of the Rig Veda though some consider it an interpolation. Possibly, this ploughshare was made of wood.
They were acquainted with sowing, harvesting and threshing, and knew about the difference seasons. There are so many references to the cow in the Rig Veda that the Rig Vedic Aryans seem to have been a pastoral people. The term for war in the Rig Veda gavisthi or 'search for cows'. The Rig Veda mentions such artisans as the carpenter, the chariot-maker, the weaver, the leather worker, the potter, etc.

Diet - The Indo-Aryans, while sharing the ancient Iranian veneration for the cow, felt no scruple about sacrificing both bulls and cows at weddings or on other important occasions. The persons who took part in the sacrifice ate the flesh of the victim, whether bull, cow, or horse. But meat was eaten only as an exception.Milk was an important articles of food, and was supplemented by cakes of barley or wheat (yava), vegetables and fruits.

Strong Drinks- The people freely indulged in two kinds of intoxicating liquor, called soma and sura. Sura probably was a kind of beer. Soma juice was considered to be particularly acceptable to the gods, and was offered with elaborate ceremonial. The Sama Veda provides the chants appropriate for the ceremonies.

Amusements- It included dancing, music, chariot-racing, and dicing. Gambling with dice is mentioned so frequently in both the Rig Veda and the later documents that the prevalence of the practice is beyond doubt.

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