Later Iron Age Vedic Civilization

1.3 Later Iron Age Vedic civilization

In the later Vedic period of 1000-500 BC, the majority of Aryans penetrated towards Kosala (Ayodhya) and Videha (Mithila) i.e. the east of Aryavrata. The entire period witnessed progress in political and economic organizations with tight knit monarchy replacing the earlier tribal rule. The small kingdoms or janpadas were merged into big monarchs known as Mahajanpadas. They were sixteen in number and referred as the Solasa Mahajanpada of ancient India; refer Fig 1.3. The period also witnessed the rise of small republican states in certain regions, referred as Gana or Sangha.* Most states derived their name after the ruling tribe of that region, for example Malla, Kuru and Panchala were the name of ruling tribes. The term rashtra (Prakrit – ratta), which indicates territory, appeared first time in this period. It was used in combination with the name of the dominant ruling tribe to refer that region. On livelihood front, the period saw agriculture emerging as the chief occupation for masses and hence the center of entire economic activity. It resulted in the power of landowners, who were mostly of the warrior class, increasing considerably against the priestly class. The period also saw certain popular skills getting developed into occupations and therefore the origin of goldsmiths, ironsmiths, carpenters and so on in society. On the religious front, the period saw the formation of other Vedas like Sam Veda (the knowledge of songs) and Yajur Veda (the knowledge of sacrifices), Brahmnas (the commentary on the three Vedas by priests and for priestly class) and earliest Upanishadas with the languages of all showing significant deviation from that used in the hymns of Rig Veda. Atharva was also composed in this period but it was main text of Dravidian civilization and therefore not recognized as Veda by Indo-Aryan priests. (*The terms are used in the official name of India as Bharat Ganarajya with its administration process referred as of Sanghiya Vyavashtha.)

Fig 1.3: Solasa Mahajanpadas of 600 BC India

This way, the entire period between 2000 and 500 BC witnessed a continuous influx of the Indo-Aryans from northwestern front and pushing of Dravidian / aboriginal populations towards eastern and southern directions. In the midst of this, the overall society dominated by Indo-Aryans saw many developments on social and religious fronts and slowly became quite different than that mentioned in Rig Veda. Therefore historians generally consider 5th century BC as the end of the Vedic civilization and the rise of the Brahmanic civilization which was governed on the principle of Brahmna texts.

1.4 Development of Indo-Aryan languages – Sanskrit and Prakrit

With the expansion of Indo-Aryan group of humans across the northern subcontinent, the language spoken by them saw development on various fronts. The very early language spoken by them is known as Vedic Sanskrit, which is basically the language of Rig Veda. From the period of the composition of the Rig Veda till 500 BC, the language went under fine tuning with the composition of Yajur Veda, Sam Veda, Samhitas and Brahmnas in ritual sense. Finally sage Panini (4th century BC) laid down standards for its usage in the form of Ashtadhyayi i.e. Sanskrit grammar in eight chapters. After this, the language got refined (Classical Sanskrit) and used by the learned people like Brahmins (priests following Brahmna texts), Kings and ministers. The same language is also used by the sages to compile epics Ramayana and Mahabharata from smiriti (memory) folktales. On the other side the majority population, such as females, children and other occupational classes of Aryan dominated society, who were mostly uneducated continued with the Vedic Sanskrit. This resulted in its deviation from the Classical Sanskrit in different geographical locations to which Brahmins termed as apabhramsas (corrupt). In the 3rd century BC, sage Katyayana raised the status of Sanskrit to the level of sacred Vedic texts and asserted that only the proper use of language will result in religious merit. In the 2nd century BC, sage Patanjali continued from Katyayana’s statement and added that though sages use proper Sanskrit during rituals, elsewhere they use apabhramsas while speaking to the masses. Both statements or observations were important in nature as they created an environment in which Classical Sanskrit became inaccessible to the majority of the population involved in other occupations because of its sacred nature and therefore its decline in the future even in priestly class as half of the family population i.e. females were not using it. The apabhramsas, which were the natural form (Prakrit) of Vedic Sanskrit, underwent changes from time to time in different geographical locations dominated by migrated Aryans. Nearly after 1,000 years from the end of Vedic era i.e. by 500 AD, the apabhramsas were naturally developed as Sauraseni Prakrit (Hindi, Rajasthani, Gujarati), Paisaci Prakrit (Lahanda, Punjabi), Brachad Prakrit (Sindhi), Maharatti Prakrit (Marathi), Ardhamagadhi Prakrit (poorvi Hindi) and Magadhi Prakrit (Maithili, Bangla, Oriya, Assamese) [7].

Fig. 1.4 - Development of Indo-European language in Indian Sub-continent

Though restricted in use, Classical Sanskrit penetrated in southern India with the migration of priestly Aryans but Prakrit got restricted till the region of Maharashtra and Orissa which were occupied by them sufficient enough in population to flourish it. In a later era, the migrated priestly population got influenced by the culture of Indian aboriginal’s in a deeper sense and some established social relations with them too. The same trend was also observed in the eastern movement of Sanskrit speaking priestly Indo-Aryan population whereby they not only intermingled with the Mongoloid – Australoid priestly classes of that region (Jharkhand, Bengal and north Orissa) but also inculcated their culture and religious beliefs. The process of intermingling of priestly populations belonging to different human groups in these regions led to variation in rituals in spite of Sanskrit being the sole language of Brahmanic rituals. However in the long run, the process emerged of great significance as it enriched all aboriginal languages with Sanskrit words and also acted as a bridge between Aryan, Dravidian and Mongoloid civilizations with respect to both political and religious communications.

1.5 Formation of the Vratya class in Aryan society

In view of the priestly Aryans of Kuru – Panchala, the region which was the epicenter of Brahmanism (present Haryana, Uttarakhand and western Uttar Pradesh), the entire Aryan population got divided not only on language front but also into another class of humans whom they termed as Vratya and Yati. The division is evident from the Vedic texts which are very critical about these classes of people. Rig Veda refers sramanas (wandering monks) following the principles of Jainism as Yati. Jainism as a way of life is believed to be originated in Aryan society during the same time when Brahmanism was taking its shape; though some archeological excavations at Indus sites indicate this faith to be part of Harappan civilization and therefore older than the Rigvedic and Brahmanic cults in the subcontinent. Even though Jainism may or may not be older but it is clear that its followers existed in the Rigvedic society and Vedic orthodox Aryans never liked them. It is evident from the Samhita literatures where they are said to be destroyed by Indra by offering to the wolves of the forest. These Yatis are described as sanyasins who do not accept Indra worship, who do not chant the Vedic mantras and who are opposed to the Brahmnas. All descriptions thus indicate Yatis to be a group of ascetics quite opposed to the sacrificial rituals of Brahmanism for which they were evidently punished and persecuted by the more dominant branch of ritualistic Aryans [8].

Similar to the Yatis, the human groups who described them as Vratyas too existed in society. It is evident from their reference in Atharva which is traced to be composed between 12th and 10th century BC. The divine heroes or sages of the Vratyas were parallel to the Vedic sages in importance in their society. These heroes or sages are unknown in the Brahmnas of the Rig Veda and Yajur Veda but recognized in the Brahmnas of Sam Veda. The Vratya book (Atharva, xv) is their special literature which contains the religion, philosophy with their Mahavrata (great sacrifice), mysticism and Eka-vratya (Mahadeva or highest god). The book of the Vratya begins by telling of a roaming Vratya ‘……he stirred up Prajapati. He, Prajapati, saw in himself Gold… He generated that. It turned into being with a mark on the forehead and became great, assumed powerful form, passion and reality. Thus this progeny came about. The being grew, it became great God (Maha Deva), and it became the Lord (Isana). He became the sole Vratya. He took to himself a bow; that was Indra’s bow. The Vratya swayed by his enthusiasm that is by the god within him acted as creative momentum. He stirred the creator himself so that Prajapati became aware of the Gold that he carried within himself. The gold turned into Mahadeva, the great God whom Prajapati had engendered. The great God was marked by the third eye on the forehead. He was the lord by whom the Vratya was swayed and whom he now saw before him as the sole Vratya, his God, and his reality.’ [9] This way Ekavratya, also known as Pashupati, Ugra, Mahadeva, Shiva and Isana, is mentioned as the God of Vratya society. Other than describing their main deity, the Atharva also talks about the magical expertise of Vratyas in the form of various charms, prayers and chants. In general, the charms and spells are of two types (1) bheshajjayani and (2) abhichara. Bheshajjayani are of medicinal, healing and peaceful nature. The chants deal with cures and herbs for treating fever, leprosy, jaundice, dropsy and other disease. It also includes the prayers for successful childbirth, love spells and a quaint chant to put the household to sleep while the lover steals into the girl’s home at night. Abhichara are of bewitching and malevolent nature. It includes spells for producing disease and bringing ill-luck to enemies. It had hymns to serpents and demons and incantations replete with witchcraft, sorcery and black magic. Atharva further shows the Vratyas practicing as astrologers and physicians to which Vedic Aryans for many centuries held in disrepute and regarded them as unclean and excluded them from shraddha rites. Thus all descriptions in Atharva talks about a civilization that was opposite to the Rigvedic civilization but closely associated with the science of astrology, medicine, yoga and tantra. It is, therefore, believed that the Vratyas were the group of humans who were non-followers of Vedic rituals and non-Aryans i.e. Dravidians belonging to the displaced Indus civilization. As there was enmity between the two civilizations, Vedic Aryans for many centuries denied reputation of Atharva as Veda (knowledge). The hatred between both civilizations is visible from the fact that when Atharva glorifies the Vratyas by putting deities of the Vedic pantheon as sub-ordinate and attendants of Ekavratya or Shiva, then the Yajur Veda includes both Vratyas and Magadhas in the list of victims to be offered in the Purushmedha yajna (human sacrifice). Going further, the Brahmna texts mention only three Vedas and there is no reference to Atharva in the Chandogya Upanishada. The Buddhist Jatakas too refer about only three Vedas and both Buddha and Jaina were extremely hostile towards the rituals mentioned in Atharva. Chanakya of 3rd century BC talks about only three Vedas and later Manu also speaks about trayi (triad) milked out from fire, air and sun indicating that Atharva was not acknowledged as Veda even till his time i.e. 200 BC-200 AD [10]. Based on all literary evidences, it is believed that till the time of composition of Yajur Veda, these Vratyas were settled in Magadha (Bihar, Jharkhand) region and further shifted to eastern and southern directions in later period. As the majority of these populations got permanently displaced towards eastern and southern regions, the science of astrology, medicine and tantric culture saw advancement in these regions compared to northern and northwestern regions of the subcontinent.

Though initially used by the Shaivaites, the term Vratya was later extended to the Aryans living on the periphery of Aryavrata by their Kuru-Panchala counterpart. The formation of the Vratya class within Aryan society was the result of large territories occupied by them by 6th century BC resulting in uneven development of their population with respect to language and cultures, especially those living on the periphery of Aryavrata. By this period, the Indo-Aryans had already pushed the majority of the aboriginal population towards central, eastern and southern India. Although any matrimonial alliance with the aboriginals was strictly forbidden for the Aryans, still we come across social ties between them in the early Vedic period through the stories of Kusha, Arjuna and many characters of epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. It wasn’t unnatural also in the front row of Aryans, who were pushing the Indian aboriginals, to get familiar with their culture, rituals and adopting some of it as per their convenience. This way, the Aryans living on the periphery of Aryavrata became distinct than their Kuru – Panchala counterpart in terms of rituals, culture, dialect and physical appearance. It, therefore, paved the way for them to get tagged as Vratya. By this time, the ritualistic Aryans of Kuru - Panchala restricted the term Vratya exclusively to Aryans only and the aboriginals were kept outside this class. The Baudhyana Dharma Sutra gives us a clear idea that how the Aryans of Kuru – Panchala viewed the Vratyas of outer regions. According to it, the inhabitants of Anartta (northern Gujarat), of Anga, of Magadha, of Saurashtra, of the Deccan, of Upavrat, of Sindh and of Sauviras are of mixed origin. He, who has visited the countries of Aratta (in Punjab), Karaskara (in South), Pundra (Assam), Sauvira (north of Sindha), Vangas (Bengal), Kalingas (Orissa), or Pranunas (?), shall offer a Punastoma or Sarvaprsthi sacrifice for purification [11]. The origin of Vratya class in Aryan society is hypothesized by Bloomfield based on various texts as ‘the initial lot of Aryans who moved towards eastern countries in the Gangetic plain were mainly dominated by the Kshatriya or warrior class. This lot of Indo - Aryans migrated into India much earlier than the Aryans of the Kuru-Panchala whose ritualistic culture was dominated by the priests. When various Vedic rituals were under expansion using Sanskrit dialect of ‘Indo – Iranian language family’ by priestly class in Aryavrata in early Vedic age civilization, the eastern Aryans were not able to catch up with the speed and used a corrupt and easier form of Sanskrit, known as Prakrit language and different rituals (influenced from Indian aboriginals) a fact which is very often referred to by the Kuru-Panchalas. The Kuru-Panchalas sneered at the eastern Aryans because of their incapacity to pronounce accurately many of the Sanskrit names. However the society of eastern Aryans grew with its own pace after advent of Buddhism and Jainism who discarded the supremacy of Vedic rituals developed in west and used the mass language Prakrit as their medium of sacred instructions and scripts with Pali as slight modification of it for Buddhist scriptures’.

The rise of Prakrit as mass language from 5th century BC onwards in the territories represented by the present day Bihar, Bengal, Orissa, Assam, Maharashtra and Gujarat followed by the rise of Buddhism and Jainism, which used the same medium for preaches and scripts, had a lasting impact on the overall fabric of the society. Chanakya of Mauryan Empire (after Buddha and Mahavira) called Vratyas as the ones who deviated from the established religious practices. In Manusmiriti too, which was compiled after the Mauryan dynasty, Manu listed categories of people not following Brahmanical rituals as Vratyas (impure) and this category of people were mostly Aryans who were not very careful in obeying the regulations of initiations and many other rituals like the Aryans following in the Aryavrata. However till this time, the orthodox Brahmins never looked them as alien to their race, evident from Manusmiriti which condemns Vratyas but never terms them as non-Aryans. The orthodox Brahmins devised a purification sacrifice named Vratyastoma after performing which the Vratyas could be taken back in Brahmanical fold. The Jaiminiya Brahmna (ii, 22) and the Tandya MahaBrahmna (xvii, 1-4) both belonging to Sam Veda admit the Vratya to Brahmanism after the Vratyastoma sacrifice on condition that he gives up his Vratya mores [6].

1.6 Religious sentiments during Vedic age civilization - click here to read

Index Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10

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