BHIC-101

HISTORY OF INDIA-I

School of Social Sciences

Indira Gandhi National Open University
EXPERT COMMITTEE
Prof. Kapil Kumar (Convenor) Prof. D. Gopal
Chairperson Director
Faculty of History SOSS, IGNOU, New Delhi
School of Social Sciences
IGNOU, New Delhi Prof. Makhan Lal
Director, Delhi Institute of Heritage
Prof. P.K. Basant Research and Management, New Delhi
Faculty of Humanities and Languages
Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi Dr. Sangeeta Pandey
Faculty of History
School of Social Sciences, IGNOU, New Delhi

COURSE PREPARATION TEAM

Unit no. Course Writer Unit No. Course Writer
1* Prof. B. P. Sahu, Dept. of History, 10 Dr. Sidharth Shankar Rai, Assistant Professor,
University of Delhi, Delhi and Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow
Dr. Suchi Dayal, Academic Consultant, 11 Dr. Suchi Dayal, Academic Consultant,
Faculty of History, School of Social Sciences, Faculty of History, SOSS, IGNOU, New Delhi
IGNOU, New Delhi
12****** Prof. P. K. Basant
2** Prof. K. Paddayya, Professor Emeritus and Former Department of History & Culture, Faculty of
Director Deccan College PGRI, Pune. Humanities and Languages, Jamia Millia Islamia,
Prof. Ranjana Ray, Former Professor and New Delhi,
Emeritus, Department of Anthropology, Prof. Kumkum Roy, Centre for Historical Studies,
Calcutta University. School of Social Sciences Jawaharlal Nehru University
Late Prof. V. N. Misra, Former Director, New Delhi
Deccan College PGRI, Pune Dr. T. N. Rai, Department of Ancient History and
Prof. M. K. Singh, Dept of Anthropology, Archaeology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi,
University of Delhi Prof. P. Shanmugam, Madras University, Chennai
3*** Late Prof. V. N. Misra 13 Preeti Gulati, Research Scholar,
Former Director and Professor of Prehistory, Centre for Historical Studies
Deccan College PGRI, Pune Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Prof. K. Paddayya
14 Dr. Suchi Dayal, Academic Consultant,
Professor Emeritus and Former Director,
School of Social Sciences, IGNOU, New Delhi
Deccan College PGRI, Pune
Prof. Ranjana Ray 15******* Prof. Kumkum Roy, Centre for Historical
Former Professor and Emeritus, Studies, School of Social Sciences,
Department of Anthropology, Calcutta University. Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Prof. A. R. Sankhyana, Visiting Fellow, Prof. Ajay Dandekar, Dept. of History, Director
Anthropological Survey of India (School of Humanities and Social Sciences),
Dr. M. K. Singh Shiv Nadar University, Gautama Buddha Nagar, UP.
Dept. of Anthropology University of Delhi Prof. Aloka Parasher Sen, Retired Professor of History,
School of Social Sciences, University of Hyderabad,
4 Dr. V. Selvakumar, Dept. of Maritime History &
Hyderabad.
Marine Archaeology, Tamil University, Thanjavur
16 Preeti Gulati, Research Scholar Centre for Historical
5 Dr. Avantika Sharma, Department of History,
Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
I.P.College for Women, Delhi University, Delhi
17*******Prof. Kumkum Roy, Centre for Historical
6 Dr. Avantika Sharma, Department of History,
Studies,School of Social Sciences,
I.P.College for Women, Delhi University, Delhi
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi,
7****Prof. P.K. Basant Prof. Ajay Dandekar, Dept. of History, Director
Department of History & Culture, (School of Humanities and Social Sciences),
Faculty of Humanities and Languages, Shiv Nadar University, Gautama Buddha Nagar, UP,
Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi Prof. Aloka Parasher Sen, Retired Professor of History,
8 and 9 ***** Late Prof. M. L. K. Murty, School of Social Sciences, University of Hyderabad,
Former Head at the Centre for Regional Studies, Hyderabad.
University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad. 18 Dr. Suchi Dayal, Academic Consultant, Faculty of
Dr. Sudeshna Guha, Department of History, History School of Social Sciences, IGNOU, New Delhi
School of Humanities and Social Sciences,
19 Upasana Dhankhar, Founder & CEO Melodypipers
Shiv Nadar University, Gautam Buddha Nagar
Services Pvt. Ltd., Gurgaon
Prof. Kumkum Roy
Centre for Historical Studies,
School of Social Sciences,
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

* The Section on ‘Geographical Regions’ is adopted from EHI-02 (India: Earliest Times to 800 A.D.), Block 1 (Environment
and Early Patterns of Adaptation), Unit 1 (India: Physical features) and Unit 2 (Regions in Indian History: Formations &
Characteristics).
** This Unit has been adopted from MAN-002 (Archaeological Anthropology), Block 5 (Palaeolithic
Cultures), Units 1, 2, 3, 4 (Lower Palaeolithic Cultures, Middle Palaeolithic Cultures, Upper Palaeolithic
Cultures, Palaeolithic Art) and Block 6 (Mesolithic Cultures), Units 1 & 2 (Mesolithic Features and
Indian Mesolithic Cultures).
*** This Unit has been adopted from MAN-002 (Archaeological Anthropology), Block 5 (Palaeolithic
Cultures), Units 1, 2, 3, 4 (Lower Palaeolithic Cultures, Middle Palaeolithic Cultures, Upper Palaeolithic
Cultures, Palaeolithic Art) and Block 6 (Mesolithic Cultures), Units 1, 2 & 3 (Mesolithic Features,
Indian Mesolithic Cultures, Mesolithic Art).
****This Unit has been adopted from EHI-02 (India: Earliest Times to 800 A.D.), Block 2 (Harappan
Civilisation), Unit 9 (Diffusion and Decline).
*****These Units have been adopted from EHI-02 (India: Earliest Times to 800 A.D.), Block 3 (Evolution
of Early Indian Society: 2000 B.C. to 1000 B.C.), Unit 12 (The Early Vedic Society) and Unit 13
(Changes in the Later Vedic Phase).
****** This Unit has been adopted with some changes from EHI-02 (India: Earliest Times to 800 A.D.),
Block 4 (India: 6th to 4th Century B.C.), Unit 17 (Buddhism, Jainism and Other Religious Ideas).
*******These Units have been adopted from EHI-02 (India: Earliest Times to 800 A.D.), Block 5 (Polity,
Society & Economy: 320 B.C. to 200 B.C.), Unit 18 (Magadhan Territorial Expansion), Unit 21 (Asoka’s
Policy of Dhamma), and Unit 22 (Disintegration of the Empire).

COURSE COORDINATOR
Prof. Nandini Sinha Kapur
IGNOU, New Delhi

COURSE TEAM
Prof. Nandini Sinha Kapur
Dr. Suchi Dayal
Dr. Abhishek Anand

CONTENT, FORMAT AND LANGUAGE EDITING

Prof. Nandini Sinha Kapur Cover Design

Dr. Suchi Dayal Mr. Sandeep Maini

Dr. Suchi Dayal
School of Social Sciences
IGNOU, New Delhi

PRINT PRODUCTION
Mr. Tilak Raj Mr. Yashpal Kukreja Mr. Suresh Kumar
Assistant Registrar (Pub.) Assistant Registrar (Pub.) SOSS, IGNOU
MPDD, IGNOU MPDD, IGNOU, New Delhi
New Delhi New Delhi

February, 2020
© Indira Gandhi National Open University, 2020
ISBN:
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other means, without permission in writing from the Indira Gandhi National Open University.
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 Contents
Page Nos.
Course Introduction 7
Block 1 Reconstructing Ancient Indian History 11
Unit 1 Geographical Regions and Sources 13
Unit 2 Prehistoric Period 37
Unit 3 Hunting-Gathering Societies 63
Block 2 The Advent of Food Production and Harappan Civilization 81
Unit 4 The Neolithic Phase 83
Unit 5 Harappan Civilization-I 99
Unit 6 Harappan Civilization-II 114
Unit 7 Harappan Civilization-III 134
Block 3 Vedic Period and Cultures in Transition 147
Unit 8 Vedic Period-I 149
Unit 9 Vedic Period-II 161
Unit 10 Emergence of Iron 174
Unit 11 Intellectual Developments and Asceticism 192
Unit 12 Jainism, Buddhism and Ajivikas 207
Block 4 India: 6th Century BCE to 200 BCE 227
Unit 13 Janapadas and Mahajanapadas 229
Unit 14 Alexander’s Invasion of the Northwest 249
Unit 15 Rise of Magadha 262
Unit 16 The Mauryan ‘Empire’ 275
Unit 17 Mauryas 298
Unit 18 Attitudes towards Environment, Science and Technology 320
Unit 19 Gender Perspectives 336
GUIDELINES FOR STUDY OF THE COURSE
In this Course we have followed a uniform pattern for presenting the learning
material. This starts with an Introduction to the Course underlining the significant
developments in chronological order and covers four major Themes with coverage
of 19 sub-themes or Units. For the convenience of study, all the Units have been
presented with a uniform structure. Objectives as the first section of the Unit
have been included to help you find what are you expected to learn from the
study of the Unit. Please go through these objectives carefully and keep reflecting
and checking them after studying a few sections of the Unit. Introduction of the
Unit introduces you to the subject area covered and guides you to the way subject
matter is presented. These are followed by the main subject area discussed through
sections and sub-sections for ease of comprehension. In between the text, some
Check Your Progress Exercises have been provided. We advise you to attempt
these as and when you reach them. These will help you assess your study and
test your comprehension of the subject studied. Compare your answers with the
answer guidelines provided after the Summary. The Key Words and unfamiliar
terms have been provided at the end of each Unit. At the end of each Unit under
Suggested Readings we have also provided a list of books and references. These
include sources and books which are useful or have been consulted for developing
the material for the concerned Unit. You should try to study them.
COURSE INTRODUCTION
India’s history covers a long span of time. It was punctuated by changes in political,
economic, social and religious aspects. Of course there were continuities too. The
purpose of this course is to introduce you to the major changes and continuities
which marked the various stages of history of India. It should be kept in mind that
human communities all over the world did not go through the same pace of change
and also that the nature of changes, where they took place, was not uniform. That is
why when we study Indian society in different stages of its history, we should not
expect that even when major changes took place in India, they were identical with
what happened, say, in the history of China or in the history of Europe. There were
of course stages of change in many societies which were similar in nature. For
example, a significant change which took place in Indian society was the transition
from food-gathering and hunting to farming. In a later stage, there was the emergence
of State organisation. These are broad changes which took place in many other
societies also at different points of time, but within these broad changes there were
variations. When we study Indian history, we therefore need to know two things:
1) What were the major stages of change in Indian history and how did they come
about?
2) What were the particular institutions and cultural elements in Indian society
which may be considered different from those in other societies?
In Indian history when we use the term ‘Ancient’, we imply the existence of other
periods such as ‘Medieval’ and ‘Modern’. You shall be reading about the history of
‘Medieval’ and ‘Modern’ periods later on, but right now you may well ask the
question: what is meant by ‘Ancient’ and what distinguishes the ‘Ancient’ from
other periods of our history? Frankly speaking, this is not an easy question to answer.
In one sense we have borrowed the idea of dividing the history of our country into
three periods by following the writings on European history. But this division is not
entirely without justification, although historians continue to debate as to when the
‘Ancient’ period ended and when the ‘Medieval’ period began.
In the history of a society we cannot arbitrarily choose a date to draw a sharp line
between two periods but it is possible to distinguish the history of one period from
that of another by comparing the major social, economic, political and cultural
characteristics of these periods. In doing this, historians have come to feel that the
historical processes and institutions which went into the making of the ancient period
of our history and characterised its society started undergoing perceptible changes
from about the 6th-7th centuries CE. There was of course never a complete break
from the earlier period, but while certain old institution ceased to exist, others started
acquiring new shapes. For example, the republican form of political organization
which continued in many parts of northern India till the Gupta period went out of
existence during it. In the area of economy, new types of agrarian relations emerged.
Caste system which had started emerging from the Later Vedic period took new
shapes in the post-Gupta period. There were further elements of regional cultures,
like regional languages, which started crystallising in the post-Gupta period. All
these changes perhaps indicate that a new phase in Indian history had begun in the
7-8th centuries, although we will be wrong in thinking that they marked a sharp
break with the earlier phase.
Another question which is relevant and which also you may feel like asking is:
How do we know about historical events and historical changes which took place
so far back in the past? In other words, when historians write about the past what
do they depend on since they cannot observe the past? A simple answer to this will
be that human societies of all ages have left behind some indication in the form of
surviving material, of how they lived. For example, we know about the human
communities which lived as hunters and gatherers from the simple stone tools which
they prepared and from other types of evidence – like the crude drawings which
they made on their rock-shelters. But, in fact, the answer is not as simple as this.
What the ancient people left behind has to be discovered and the meaning of what
they left behind has to be understood properly, and in most cases, doing this involves
work of several types of experts. We cannot make out how exactly a stone tool was
made by simple looking at it; it is an expert — in this case a prehistoric archaeologist
— who alone has the required training to provide information on this. Supposing
an archaeologist comes across remains of animals the ancient hunter hunted, the
animals have to be identified by another expert — a palaeontologist. Similarly, the
dating of such remains to find out how far back in time do they go has to be done by
another type of scientist in his laboratory.
This does not mean that finding out details about only such objects requires
collaboration between different types of experts. If you are studying about an age
when coins of metal were in use, the numismatist who specialises in the study of
coins may give further details about them, but if you want to know the exact
percentages of different metals used in making the coin, you shall again have to
depend on laboratory tests carried out by scientists. Similarly, only a specialist
epigraphist can read and give us the meanings of what was written in the form of
inscriptions using different scripts and languages of the past. In the medieval period
the ruler of Delhi Firoz-Shah-Tughlaq brought to Delhi Ashokan pillars on which
were engraved inscriptions in unknown letters (you can still see one such pillar at
Firuz-Shah-Kotla), but even the scholars of his period could not read the letters. It
was only many centuries later that an employee of the English East India Company,
James Princep, who after considerable efforts, finally deciphered the script in which
the inscription and many other inscriptions of Ashoka were written.
These are some examples of how historians have to labour to gather information
about the past, and the material remains and records from past societies from which
they gather information are called sources of History. These sources of course are
not uniform for all periods of History. For example, you have already found out
that hunting/gathering communities have not left behind any written records because
the art of writing was not known to them. Even after writing came to be known not
all written records are of identical nature. Even so, historians have to depend on
whatever sources are available to them and reconstruct the past for us. The
reconstruction of the past of course does not mean that the historian gives us simply
the contents or the information which the sources contain. He has to interpret them
and thus make us interested in the meaning of the objects which have survived
from the past and also in making connections between these objects. If the
archaeologists simply arrange before us the tools of different stone ages, we shall
not be able to either say how they were made or what use they were put to, nor shall
we be able to see how the periods in which these tools were made were different
from one another in many respects, in climate, in the mode of getting food, in the
social organization of human groups and even in customs and beliefs. Let us take
another example. From the study of written texts and from excavations carried out
by archaeologists we come to know that cities emerged in the Ganga valley between
the sixth century BCE and fourth century BCE. Since this was a new phenomenon
in the history of this region, historians are required to explain, in addition to telling
us that cities emerged and in the context of the social situation of the period what
they represented.
By giving us explanations and interpretations historians should help us think and
even provoke us into questioning their explanations and their ways of understanding
the past. This means that like in other areas of knowledge, history writing also
keeps on changing and shifting its focus. This may to some extent explain why in
the writing of ancient Indian history, historians have moved away from writing
mainly about kings and their achievements and have taken up the study of different
dimensions of society and of how changes took place in society. Between historians,
interpretations or explanations vary; controversies exist in the explanations of various
historical phenomena, and in addition to new sources which archaeologists
epigraphists, numismatists and others bring to light, it is also new ways of looking
at things and new questions which crop up which keep on expanding the horizon of
our knowledge about the past and do not allow this knowledge to remain stagnant.
The Course on Ancient Indian history that you are going to study is divided into
four Themes. Each Theme consists of a number of Units. Each Theme is intended
to introduce to you a major concern or period which may be considered as significant
in the context of the history of the ancient period of our country. Theme I is a broad
category which deals with issues like geographical regions of India, sources of
ancient Indian history, the tools, technology, society, and art of the Palaeolithic
people in a regional context. Regions of India have been seen from a historical and
geographical perspective. The Unit (1) explores the close relationship between
humans and land. How historians and geographers have visualised the geographical
space, and how the consciousness of space was present among the ancients are
some of the issues addressed in the Unit. It also discusses important sources for the
reconstruction of ancient Indian history. The last two Units (2 & 3) in the first
Theme deal with prehistoric cultures. Attempt has been made to move beyond the
discussions about origins and chronology and explore the nature of various
archaeological cultures and the changes manifested by them. The analysis is based
on empirical data, excavations, and tangible material remains. The prehistoric period
of history is an important phase that provides the antecedents to the earliest history.
The second Theme explores the transition towards the proto-historic cultures of the
Indian subcontinent. The first Unit (4) under this theme takes us to the beginnings
of agriculture and domestication of animals. This slow, gradual change from
Palaeolithic lifeways established new type of links between humans, animals and
land and was revolutionary. The last three Units (5, 6, 7) deal with the Harappan
civilization. The excavations carried out in Harappa and Mohenjodaro, in the 1920s
changed our perception of Indian history. New cities dating back to 2600 BCE were
discovered; even ante – dating the Vedic cultures. The Units deal with the processes
by which the urban centres evolved gradually, their antecedents, town planning,
social structure, trade, religion and decline.
In Theme III the focus will be on exploring the cultural profiles of different regions
of India between the beginning of the second millennium BCE and 6th century BCE.
The Theme also underlines the fact that change was not a constant movement towards
development. The highly urbanised Harappan culture suffered decline and gradually
agriculture-based rural cultures were formed in all the major regions of the
subcontinent. Small settlements based on small scale farming come to be transformed
into regular rural settlements of later periods. Initially the cultures of the small
farming settlements were Chalcolithic, but from the beginning of the first millennium
BCE, iron came to be known to different cultures, for example, Painted Grey Ware
culture of the Upper Ganga valley as also the megalithic cultures of peninsular
India. The impact of this metal on different cultures is yet to be properly assessed
but the point can be forcefully made that all the crucial ingredients of village life
such as the techniques of cultivation (even of irrigation), production of varieties of
major crops cultivated even today and combining farming with rearing domesticated
animals were present in some measure or the other in the regional cultures of the
subcontinent between the second millennium BCE and first millennium BCE. This
widespread cultural pattern, of course, co-existed with other cultural patterns such
as pastoralism and we must also remember that despite the emergence of farming
communities, hunting and gathering continued as a way of life. Secondly, in the
Ganga valley, the pace of historical change became suddenly fast from the first
millennium BCE onward. The Vedic texts along with archaeological material are
used to reconstruct the society, economy, polity of the Early Vedic and the Later
Vedic period. A new type of society emerged which meant that people living in it
had new questions about life, sought meanings in life and had new aspirations. The
Upanishads, the teachings of the Buddha and Mahavira, and various other types of
ideas of the period sought answers to life’s problems. Buddhism and Jainism spread
rapidly in the centuries that followed.
The last Theme IV is concerned with the period from the 6th century BCE till the
end of the Mauryan period. The changes taking place in the Vedic period matured
in 6th century BCE. Large territories of mahajanapadas emerged; monarchies and
republics formed. ‘Second Urbanization’ flourished. Historians place the beginning
of the early historical period of Indian history in this phase. The use of metallic
money, trade, rise of powerful gahapatis and setthis, cities and towns bred a sense
of alienation among the people. A complex social order arose in which relations
between the different social groups was defined. The Caturvarna system which
appeared in the Later Vedic phase provided the theoretical frame in which society
was organized. The fight for supremacy among the mahajanapadas resulted in the
emergence of Magadha as the most powerful mahajanapada. It is during this period
that India’s northwest came to play a significant role in Indian politics. The great
Persian empire was crushed by the expanding army of Alexander of Macedonia of
North Greece. He advanced to Panjab plains and fought valiant battles with territories
of this region headed by their warriors. The contact with the Persians and the Greeks,
opened up north-western part of the subcontinent to Persian and Greek cultural
influences. Later the Mauryas laid the basis of a huge empire which incorporated
the north-west too. The last two Units (18 & 19) take a sweeping view on the status
of gender in ancient India and how in the fields of environment, science and
technology ancient Indians achieved and accomplished a lot.
The History Elective Course, EHI-02 was written more than twenty
years back. When it was published for the first time, thanks to the work
of distinguished panel of experts, Convenor and Course preparation
team, it was well appreciated. Now, IGNOU is bringing out a revamped
course which will address substantial changes in the readings of early
Indian history. Since the 1990s much more data has been brought to
light. The new interpretations of the existing data also require a fresh
look at various issues of early India. An attempt has been made to
incorporate such changes in the present Course.
 Harappan Civilization-III

BLOCK 3
VEDIC PERIOD AND CULTURES IN
TRANSITION

147
Vedic Period and Cultures in
Transition

148
 Vedic Period-I
UNIT 8 VEDIC PERIOD-I*

Structure
8.0 Objectives
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Sources
8.2.1 Literary Sources
8.2.2 Archaeological Sources
8.3 The Aryan Invasion — A Myth or Reality?
8.4 Economy
8.5 Society
8.6 Polity
8.7 Religion
8.8 Summary
8.9 Key Words
8.10 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises
8.11 Suggested Readings

8.0 OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit, you will be able to learn about:
the various sources through which we can attempt to know about the Early
Vedic period;
the theory of a large-scale migration by the Indo-Aryan through these sources
and critically evaluate it; and
the nature of economy, society, polity and religion of the Early Vedic people.

8.1 INTRODUCTION
During the period 2000-1000 BCE, communities at different stages of cultural
development were present in different regions of India. Their cultures were
essentially agro-pastoral and our understanding of these cultures is based entirely
on archaeological remains because with the exception of Harappan culture, none
of these cultures have left behind any written records. In this Unit and the
following Unit, however, we shall be focussing on the evidence provided by a
voluminous body of religious texts which are considered to be the earliest literary
records of India. We shall also try to supplement this evidence with, wherever
relevant, archaeological evidence. The Rigveda is considered to be the earliest
collection of hymns available, and so, we shall start by examining the Rigveda
for an understanding of the Early Vedic period and then go on to other Vedas and
allied texts which are placed later. This exercise is relevant for two reasons.
First, The Vedas are thought to have been composed by the Aryans and it was
long believed that the Aryans played a major role in civilizing the Indian
subcontinent. The contents of the Rigveda, if analysed carefully, do not give the

* This Unit has been adopted from EHI-02, Block 3 149

Vedic Period and Cultures in impression of a very advanced material culture. On the other hand, many of the
Transition
material traits, which are characteristic of the Indian civilization, are already
present in the non-Vedic archaeological cultures in different parts of India. Second,
when the contents of the Rigveda are compared with the contents of the Later
Vedas and allied texts, it becomes clear that significant changes took place in the
Vedic society itself. This means that there is no fixed cultural pattern which can
be called Vedic culture or Aryan culture.

The core geographical area to which the evidence of the Rigveda relates to was
Sapt-Sindhava or the land of seven rivers. This would correspond with the whole
of Punjab and its neighbouring regions of Haryana; but Rigvedic geography also
included the Gomal plains, southern Afghanistan and southern Jammu and
Kashmir.

Earlier interpretations regarding the Early Vedic society are based on the theory
of Indo-Aryan migration from West Asia into the Indian subcontinent. These
migrants who are regarded as the authors of the ‘Vedas’ are called the Vedic
people. According to this historical interpretation, the Aryans came to India in
several stages or waves.

The Aryans are considered to represent a linguistic group speaking Indo-European

languages. They are distinguished by traditional historians and archaeologists
from the non-Aryan Harappans of the preceding period.

However, in making certain observations on Early Vedic society it may be fruitful

to see if literary texts and archaeological evidence can supplement each other. If
both types of sources are from the same region and of the same period, then they
together can give us a more detailed idea on economic, social, political and
religious life.

Let us begin by referring to these sources.

8.2 SOURCES
We have two types of sources to study the Early Vedic period-Literary and
Archaeological Sources.
Let us examine the literary sources for this period.

8.2.1 Literary Sources

Among the literary sources we may first refer to the four Vedas:
Rigveda
Samveda
Yajurveda
Atharvaveda
Out of these, the Rigveda is the earliest text.
The word ‘veda’ is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Vid’ which means ‘to know’.
The Vedas are essentially a compilation of prayers and hymns, offered by different
families of poets and sages to different gods. These four Vedas are also ‘Samhitas’,
in the sense that they represent the oral tradition of the time. Since the hymns
150
were meant to be recited, learnt and transmitted orally, they were not written Vedic Period-I
down when they were first composed. Due to this reason, none of the Samhitas
can be dated precisely. Relative dating in terms of the context of these four
Samhitas has led scholars to believe that the period represented in the Rigveda
can be placed between 1500 BCE to 1000 BCE.

The Rigvedic Samhita comprises ten books or ‘Mandalas’ of which books II to

VII are considered to be the earliest and belong specifically to the Early Vedic
Phase. Books I, VIII, IX and X are considered later additions to the Samhita.

Scholars found similarities in the language used in the Rigveda and the Avesta,
the old Iranian text, older to the Rigveda. Based on these linguistic similarities
and taking into account the chronological precedence of the Avesta over the
Rigveda, these scholars suggested that:
1) The people represented in both these books belonged to a common linguistic
group; they migrated from West Asia and Iran to the Indian subcontinent.
These people were called the ‘Aryans’.
2) The Aryans had a common original home, from where different groups
migrated to Europe and the East.
However, the debate regarding the original home of the Aryans is no longer
valid, since the concept of a common racial identity for the Aryans has now been
proved false. But a common linguistic identity is still believed by historians and
on this basis, some of them still insist upon the theory of the Aryan migration.

8.2.2 Archaeological Sources

Excavations conducted in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, northern Rajasthan, along the
Indus and Ghaggar rivers over the last 40 years, have unearthed many post-
Harappan /Chalcolithic settlements from these regions. These have been dated
from 1700 BCE to 600 BCE. The Chalcolithic cultures are also called Late-
Harappan, OCP (Ochre Coloured Pottery), BRW (Black-and-Red Ware) and PGW
(Painted Grey Ware) cultures.

However, we must remember that pottery types do not reflect the entire culture
of the people. Different pottery types do not necessarily mean that people who
used these pots also differed. Pottery analysis only helps in defining a specific
trait of the cultural assemblage, nothing more. Some scholars have made attempts
to examine whether the evidence provided by some of these cultures of north-
western and northern India can be compared with what we know from the study
of Vedic texts.

8.3 THE ARYAN INVASION — A MYTH OR

REALITY?
Was the Aryan invasion a myth or reality? Let us see to what extent archaeological
evidence help us in answering this question.

Archaeologists have attempted to relate the various post-Harappan cultures with

the Aryans. The Painted Grey Ware which has been dated between 900 BCE to
approximately 500 BCE has been repeatedly connected with Aryan craftsmanship.
Their argument is based on inferences which historians make from their analysis
151
Vedic Period and Cultures in of the literary texts. Hence, archaeologists, following linguistic similarities found
Transition
between the Rigveda and the Avesta, tried to find similarities in pottery forms,
paintings on ceramics and forms of copper objects etc. between post-Harappan
and the West Asian/Iranian Chalcolithic assemblages. Such similarities were
magnified to support the view that the Aryans were a group of people who
migrated from West Asia to the Indian subcontinent. Thus literary and
archaeological works were made to support one another in order to validate the
notion of migration.

Linguistic similarities between the Rigveda and the Avesta are not disputed. But
such similarities do not really suggest large-scale migration of people into the
Indian subcontinent. Secondly, the similarities which have been found between
Chalcolithic artefacts of India and those of Western Asia are only occasional.
They also do not suggest large-scale migration of people. The concept of an
“Aryan”, as stated before, cannot be equated with any particular type of pottery.
It also does not have any ethnic or racial significance. The ‘Aryan’ is, therefore,
at best a vague concept, related to linguistic similarities between people.
In this context you should take into account the following points suggested by
archaeological excavations at various sites:
1) Earlier scholars believed that the Indo-Aryans caused the downfall of the
Harappan civilization by destroying the Harappan towns and cities. They
quoted Rigvedic hymns which invoke Indra to destroy the dwellers of the
forts. But archaeological evidence has shown that the decline of the Harappan
civilization was not caused by any large-scale destruction brought about by
an alien invading group.
2) Attempts to identify the makers of Painted Grey Ware with the Aryans also
do not receive strong support from archaeological evidence. If the PGW
cultures were related to the Aryans, then keeping the theory of invasion in
mind, we should have found this pottery type in the areas of Bahawalpur
and Punjab i.e. along the route taken by the so-called Aryan migrants.
However, we find these pottery types confined to a particular geographical
region comprising Haryana, Upper Ganga basin and eastern Rajasthan.
3) It was earlier thought that there exists a time gap and hence, a cultural
discontinuity between the Late Harappan and the post-Harappan Chacolithic
period. However, recent excavations at Bhagwanpura, Dadheri (Haryana),
and Manda (Jammu) have shown that the Late Harappan and Painted Grey
Wares could be found together without any breaks. Hence “invasion” cannot
be proved on the basis of the excavated sites.
What disappeared after 1750 BCE were the towns and cities of the Harappan
civilization and such artefacts as the seals, weights, measures etc. i.e. articles
connected with trade and urbanism. The rural structure of the earlier period
continued into the second and the first millennium BCE. The variation found
in the archaeological remains of the post-Harappan period, in terms of pottery,
metal implements and other objects, may also represent ‘regional’ variations
in Indian Chalcolithic cultures.
Archaeological evidence relating to the period between second millennium BCE
and first millennium BCE has thus helped us modify existing views regarding
the Vedic ‘Aryans’ in several ways. First, there is no substantial proof in
152
archaeology that there was large-scale migration of people from central or Vedic Period-I
Western Asia into the Indian subcontinent around 1500 BCE. Second,
archaeologically there is no proof that the Aryans destroyed the Harappan
civilization and laid the foundation of a new Indian civilization. In fact, although
the Rigveda repeatedly refers to hostilities and wars between different groups,
the so-called clashes between Aryan and non-Aryan communities and cultures
are not documented in archaeology. However, since the Rigveda is the earliest
collection of religious hymns available to us, its importance as a document of
history is immense. The hymns provide such insights into various aspects of an
early society as would not be available in archaeological evidence. From them
we get insights regarding the nature of economy, social organization, kingship
and political organization, religions and cosmological beliefs and so on. Much
of this information is relevant also for understanding the nature of Indian society
at later stages. We now therefore turn to what we learn from the Rigveda about
the Early Vedic society.

8.4 ECONOMY
The Early Vedic society was pastoral; cattle rearing was the dominant occupational
activity. A pastoral society relies more on its animal wealth than agricultural
produce. Pastoralism is a subsistence strategy adopted by people who live in
areas where large scale agriculture is not feasible due to some environmental
and to a certain extent, cultural constraints.

Hymns of the Rigveda yield extensive evidence of the importance of cattle in the
Early Vedic society. Many linguistic expressions in the Rigveda are associated
with the cow (gau). Cattle was the chief measure of wealth and a wealthy man
who owned many cattle was called ‘gomat’. The terms used for conflicts and
battles in this period were gavishti, gavesana, gavyat, etc. The former literally
means ‘to search for cows’. The terms themselves suggest that possession of
cattle was the bone of contention between groups and led to occasional inter-
tribal fights and conflicts. The Panis, who were the enemies of the Vedic people,
are stated in the Rigveda to have hidden their wealth, mostly cows, in the
mountains and forests. The Vedic god Indra was invoked to release these cattle.
This reference suggests that cattle raids were common. The raja or the chief is
called the ‘gopati’ or one who protects cows. In the Rigveda, Godhuli is used as
a term for a measure of time. Distance is called gavyuti. A daughter is called
duhitr or one who milks the cows. Kinship units are labelled as gotra.

All these terms are derived from the word gau and suggest that social relations
and all-important areas of Rigvedic life centred round the rearing of cows. Literary
references to pasture lands, cow pens, dairy products and domesticated animals
are also found in most of the hymns and prayers.

Compared to the very substantial linguistic evidence for cattle rearing in the
Rigveda, agricultural activities find very few references. Most of the references
to agriculture are of a later date. Apart from ‘Yava’ or barley, no other grains are
mentioned. The Early Vedic people did not use iron technology. Copper, with
which they were familiar, did not have as much value in agricultural operations
as iron implements. Stone tools (like axes) were used and these are mentioned in
the Rigveda. Fire was used to burn down the forest cover and shifting agriculture
was practised. Further, the region under discussion received low rainfall and all
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Vedic Period and Cultures in the rivers mentioned in the Rigveda i.e. the Satluj, Indus, Ghaggar, Ravi etc. are
Transition
known to change their courses frequently. Without the facilities of large-scale
irrigation which were not developed in this period, the alluvial lands near the
rivers could not be cultivated on a permanent basis. Thus the hoes, sickles and
axes mentioned in the texts, were probably used for slashing purposes or shifting
cultivation. The evidence of pastoralism as well as shifting cultivation suggests
that the people were either nomadic or semi-nomadic. They moved out of their
villages with their herds for a certain period in order to feed their cattle. The
literary and the archaeological sources do show that the people did not lead a
fully sedentary life. The mobile character of the population is seen in the term
‘vis’ which also implied a settlement. The suffixes Punar (vis), Upa (vis) and Pra
(vis) were constantly used, and the settlements were qualified by them to mean
settling near (a settlement), re-entering (a settlement) or coming back (to the
settlement).

Gift exchange and redistribution had an important economic role in the society.
Tribal conflicts led to the payment of tributes and prestations, i.e. bali, to the
victorious chiefs by the defeated or the subordinate groups. The rest of the
clansmen of the victorious tribe had a share in the spoils and booty won in the
war. The chief also fed and gave gifts to his clansmen during ceremonial occasions.
This was done by him to acquire prestige.

Evidence of trade and commerce in Early Vedic society is meagre. There was no
concept of private property based on land-ownership.
Check Your Progress Exercise 1
1) Discuss the main sources which have been used to reconstruct the history of
the Early Vedic people.
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2) What were the salient features of the economy of the Rigveda people?
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8.5 SOCIETY
The Early Vedic society was a tribal society, in which social relations based on
kingship ties were predominant. The society was not divided according to caste
lines, and even the rajas (kings), the purohitas (priests), the artisans etc. were
parts of the clan networks. The tribe was referred to as the jana and many
154
references to the different tribes are found in the Rigveda. Inter-tribal conflicts Vedic Period-I
were frequent, an example being the battle of the Ten Kings mentioned in the
Rigveda. Some of the tribes, which fought in this battle were the Bharatas, the
Purus, the Yadus, the Druhyus, the Anus and the Turvasus. Tribal conflicts, as
mentioned earlier, were related to cattle raids, cattle thefts etc. The chief of the
tribe was the raja or the gopati. He was the leader in battle and the protector of
the tribe. His office was not based on heredity, but he was selected from amongst
the clansmen. The warrior category was the ‘rajanya’. Many clans (vis) formed
a tribe. The clans settled in villages or grama. The basic social unit was the Kula,
or the family, and the Kulapa i.e. ‘one who protects the family’ denoted the
eldest male member or the head of the family.

Tribe (Jana), Tribal Unit (Vis), Village (Grama), Family (Kula), Head of
the family (Kulapa).

Society was patriarchal. The birth of a son was the common desire of the people.
The importance given to the male members is reflected in the hymns, where the
desire for a son is a constant prayer.

Even though society was patriarchal, women also had an important position in
it. They were educated and they had access to the assemblies. There are also
instances of women who composed hymns. They had a right to choose their
partners, and could marry late. However women were always thought to be
dependent on their fathers, brothers or husbands. Education was imparted orally,
but the tradition of education was not very well developed in this period.

The authors of the Rigveda distinguished themselves from other groups whom
they called Dasas and Dasyus. The Dasas are described as dark, full-lipped,
snub-nosed, worshippers of the phallus and of hostile speech. They were rich in
cattle and lived in fortified strongholds. We learn about another people called
the Panis who were wealthy in cattle treasures. The term Pani came to be
associated with merchants and wealth in the subsequent ages. These groups fought
and befriended each other from time to time and one cannot define them as
separate racial or the linguistic groups. For example, the most famous chief
mentioned in the Rigveda is Sudasa who led the Bharata tribe in the battle of the
Ten Kings. The Dasa ending in his name might suggest some links with the
Dasas. However, the presence of different groups in the same area might have
contributed to the emergence of the varna system.

Various occupational groups such as those of weavers, smiths, carpenters, leather

workers, chariot-makers, priests etc. are also mentioned. The chariot-makers
occupied special social status. There are no references to beggars, wage-earners
or wages in the Rigveda. However, society was economically stratified, and we
do find references to rich people possessing chariots, cattle, etc. and making
generous gifts of them.

8.6 POLITY
The tribal polity was not completely egalitarian. A division is found in the Rigveda
itself, which is seen in references to two groups — the Rajanyas, or those who
fought the wars, and are credited to be the senior lineage, and the rest of the
clansmen or the vis, who formed the junior lineage. Though none of the groups
occupied a distinct social hierarchy, constant conflicts and inter-tribal wars helped 155
Vedic Period and Cultures in to create a division in the society. The growing needs for more pasture lands,
Transition
cattle for the protection of people and their settlement all probably contributed
to an increase in inter and intra-tribal conflicts and warfare. The clans held large
yajnas or sacrifices to help the warrior groups in the wars. In these yajnas the
officiating priest or the purohita acted as the mediator between his clansmen and
the gods. He also invoked the gods’ blessings for the tribal chief, for his success
in the wars. Initially, the whole clan participated in these yajnas on an equal
footing. Large scale distribution of wealth, food, etc. was made during these
sacrifices and members got an equal share. But with the growing incidence of
conflicts and fights, yajnas or sacrifices also became important and the purohita
assumed a special status in the society. In the later part of our period, they received
a major share of the gifts from the rajas and assumed a superior position vis-a-
vis the other clan members.

The office of the raja also assumed importance on account of wars, etc. and the
division between the senior and the junior lineages became sharper. At what
point of time these political distinctions became apparent is difficult to state, but
we must remember that the 10th book of the Rigveda contains the ‘Purusha-
Sukta’ hymn, and in the Later Vedic texts we find evidence of the superior rajnaya
groups, assuming the status of the Kshatriya, a separate varna by itself. These
developments took place after 1000 BCE. This does not mean that the society
was stagnant during our period of study. In fact it was changing slowly but surely
leading to the development, in the Later Vedic phase, of a complex socio-political
structure.

Tribal assemblies e.g. the Gana, Vidatha, Sabha and Samiti are mentioned in the
Rigveda. The Sabha may have been the council of select clan members and the
Samiti perhaps comprised the whole clan. These assemblies performed the
functions of the government and administration and were also involved in the
selection of the raja from amongst the clansmen. They thus kept the power of
the warriors in check. However, as stated before, though we do not find well
defined political hierarchy in the Early Vedic set up, the changes during the
period gave rise to a socio-political hierarchy which manifested itself in the origin
of the Varna system during the ‘Later Vedic phase’. Early Vedic Society was
governed by tribal values and norms and was largely egalitarian.

8.7 RELIGION
The religious ideas of the Vedic people are reflected in the hymns of the Rigveda.
They venerated the natural forces around them (like wind, water, rain, thunder,
fire etc.) which they could not control, and invested nature with divinity conceived
in human forms, which were mostly masculine. Very few female deities were
venerated. The religion thus reflected the patriarchal society and was that of
primitive animism.

Indra was the god of strength, who was invoked to destroy the enemies. He was
the God of thunder and was the rainmaker who was asked periodically to release
the water. He could not be vanquished. Thus thunder and rain (natural phenomena)
were related with strength, which was personified in a masculine form, represented
in the god Indra. The concept of a tribal chief, who was a war-lord is also found
represented in the character of Indra.

156
Agni, next in importance to Indra, was the god of fire. He was considered to be Vedic Period-I
an intermediary between heaven and earth i.e., between gods and men. He
dominated the domestic hearth and marriages were solemnized in his presence.
Fire destroyed dirt and germs, and hence Agni was considered to be pure. The
importance of Agni can be related to that of the yajna or sacrifice in the Early
Vedic society. It was supposed that the oblations offered to Agni were carried to
the gods in the form of smoke. Varuna personified water, and he was the upholder
of the natural order of the universe.

Yama was the god of death and had an important place in the Early Vedic religious
beliefs. There were many other gods e.g. Surya, Soma (also a drink), Savitri,
Rudra etc., and hosts of celestial beings like Gandharvas, Apsaras, Maruts to
whom prayers and hymns were addressed in the Rigveda.
The Vedic religion was sacrificial in nature. Sacrifices or yajnas were performed:
to invoke the gods,
in order to grant boons; victory in battles,
or for acquisition of cattle, sons etc.
We find some hymns dedicated to the power residing in the sacrificial implements,
especially to the sacrificial altar, to the stones used for pressing the Soma plant,
to the weapons of war, drums, mortars etc. Hymns and prayers were recited in
these sacrifices and generally priests performed these yajnas. The growing
importance of sacrifices in the Vedic society resulted in the growing importance
of priests as well. The ritual of sacrifice also led to the growth and development
in the knowledge of mathematics and animal anatomy. Elementary mathematics
was necessary to make the calculations which were required to establish the
positions of various objects in the sacrificial area. Also, the frequent sacrifices of
animals led to a knowledge of their anatomy. For the Vedic people, the world
grew out of a vast cosmic sacrifice. Religion was not based on magico-ritual
formulae, rather it stressed direct communication with the gods through sacrifices,
hymns etc. Gods were not worshipped for the spiritual upliftment of the people,
nor for any other abstract philosophical concepts, but were invoked to grant
material gains.

Sacrificial religion is a religion of the pastoral people. Animal sacrifice is rampant

in the pastoral society, where the older animals which can no longer produce
milk or meat, or used for breeding purposes, i.e. those who are no longer
economically viable, are killed in order to lessen the burden on their owner.
Hence animal sacrifice was one way of destroying the old animals and thus had
an important role in the society. In the agrarian society however older animals
are employed in the fields, used for traction purposes and hence the destruction
of animals is frowned upon by a society which primarily depends on agricultural
activities. Thus the Vedic religion reflected the patriarchal pastoral society and
was materialistic in perspective.
Check Your Progress Exercise 2
1) Discuss five important characteristics of the Early Vedic society? Write in
five sentences.
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157
Vedic Period and Cultures in 2) What was the position of Rajan in the Early Vedic polity?
Transition
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3) Discuss the nature of religion of the Early Vedic people.
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4) Write ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ against each sentence
a) The Avesta is the oldest Iranian text.
b) The Purohita or the priest had no specific place in the society.
c) The ‘Sabha’ and the ‘Samiti’ had no power in the selection of the Raja.
d) Indra, the God of strength, was the most important god in the Early
Vedic period.
e) Religion was based on magico-ritual formulae.

8.8 SUMMARY
In this unit you have learnt about literary and to some extent archaeological
sources which help in the reconstruction of Early Vedic society. In the light of
the archaeological sources it is difficult to accept the notion of a large-scale
Aryan migration. The early Vedic economy was mainly pastoral and cow was
the most important form of wealth. Agriculture had secondary importance in the
life of the Early Vedic people. The Early Vedic society was tribal and basically
egalitarian. Clan and kinship relations formed the basis of the society and family
was the basic social unit. Social divisions based on occupations had started but
there was no caste division. In the Early Vedic polity, the tribal chief or the
Rajan and the priest or the Purohita had important positions. Among several
tribal assemblies the Sabha and the Samiti played important roles. Though there
was no well-defined political hierarchy in the Early Vedic set up, the tribal polity
was not completely egalitarian.The Early Vedic people personified the natural
forces, e.g. wind, water, rain etc. and worshipped them as gods. They worshipped
god not through any abstract philosophical concept but for material gains. There
was growing importance of sacrifices or yajnas in the Vedic religion. What you
must remember is that this society was not static but dynamic. Between 1500
BCE and 1000 BCE society was constantly evolving and newer elements in the
economic, social, political and religious were operating to transform its structure.
158
 Vedic Period-I
8.9 KEY WORDS
Artefacts : Something made by human beings, of archaeological
interest, e.g. a simple tool or weapon.
Bali : Tributes and prestations paid to the victorious chiefs
by the defeated groups.
Clan : Large family group, found in tribal communities.
Kinship : Relationship by blood.
Nomad : Member of a tribe that wanders from place to place
and who has no fixed home.
Patriarchy : Male dominated family or tribe.
Animism : The attribution of a soul to natural objects and
phenomenon.
Semi-sedentism : Settlers who do not settle in a place permanently
and move to a new settlement.
Shifting agriculture : After the use of a land for cultivation for a short
period, it is left and fresh land is used.
Stratigraphy : Layers detected in the excavation. The basis for
detecting these layers could lie in the different soil
types or different artefacts found in the excavated
profile.

8.10 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

EXERCISES
Check Your Progress Exercise 1
1) See Section 8.2
2) See Section 8.4.
Check Your Progress Exercise 2
1) Your answer should include that it was a tribal society, society was patriarchal,
family was the basic social unit, caste division was not present etc. See
Section 8.5.
2) Raja was the chief of the tribe. Frequent wars made him important. He was
the protector of the tribe. His position was not always hereditary. See Section
8.6.
3) The Vedic people worshipped various forces of nature as gods. Stress was
on sacrifice but not on magico-ritual formulae. Religion was based on
material gains. See Section 8.7.
4) a) yes
b) no
c) no
d) yes
e) no
159
Vedic Period and Cultures in
Transition 8.11 SUGGESTED READINGS
Basham, A. L. (1986). The Wonder that was India. New Delhi
Kosambi, D. D. (1987). The Culture and Civilisation of Ancient India in Historical
Outline. New Delhi
Thapar, Romila (2002). The Penguin History of Early India. From the Origins to
AD 1300. New Delhi: Penguin Books.

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 Vedic Period-I
UNIT 9 VEDIC PERIOD-II*

Structure
9.0 Objectives
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Sources
9.2.1 Literary Sources
9.2.2 Archaeological Sources
9.3 Iron Technology and its Impact
9.4 The Nature of Economy
9.4.1 Importance of Pastoralism Declines
9.4.2 Changes in the Functions of Rituals
9.4.3 Emerging Importance of Land
9.5 Polity and Society
9.5.1 Polity
9.5.2 Society
9.6 Religion
9.7 Summary
9.8 Key Words
9.9 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises
9.10 Suggested Readings

9.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit, you will be able to learn about:
the sources which enable us to study the Later Vedic society;
the changes in the social, political, economic and religious structure during
the Later Vedic period; and
the economic and social implications of change in technology with the
introduction of a new metal, i.e. iron.

9.1 INTRODUCTION
The period that you are going to study now, extends roughly from 1000 BCE to
600 BCE. By this period some of Vedic tribes had moved from the ‘Sapta
Sindhava’ region to the Upper-Ganga valley and other adjacent regions.

During the period of this shift a number of changes in their social, political,
economic and religious structure took place. In this Unit, we shall be discussing
the major aspects of these changes.

9.2 SOURCES
We get both literary as well as archaeological sources to study this period. Let us
discuss these below:

* This Unit has been adopted from EHI-02, Block 3 161

Vedic Period and Cultures in
Transition
9.2.1 Literary Sources
The later additions especially the 10th Mandala of the Rigveda Samhita and the
Sama, the Yajur and the Atharvaveda Samhitas are the other Vedic texts which
are assigned to the Later Vedic phase. The Samaveda Samhita is a book of prayers
and chants which are from the Rigveda, modified and set to tune for the explicit
purpose of singing them during rituals. The Yajurveda elaborates the rituals
which accompany the recitation of hymns. The rituals and the hymns in this
Samhita document the social and political milieu of this period. The Artharvaveda
contains the folk tradition of this period and represents popular religion. It is a
good source for understanding the socio-religious conditions of the common
people.

These Samhitas are followed by a series of texts called the Brahmanas, which
are commentaries on the Vedas. They explain the social and religious aspects of
the rituals and throw light on the Vedic society. Although it would be wrong to
take any period of early Indian history as the ‘Epic’ period as such, the two
Sanskrit Epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana are rich in information on
different aspects of early Indian society. Historians believe that the core of what
is reflected in these Epics can be traced to the Later Vedic phase. The geographical
focus of the phase was on the territories of the upper-Ganga basin and the middle-
Ganga basin, although other regions are also mentioned. In the Epics, major
events took place in this region. We must however remember that there is nothing
to prove that the stories narrated in the Epics were actual historical events.
Secondly both the Epics took centuries to reach their present shape. So, there are
many types of societies which we may find reflected in the Epics.

9.2.2 Archaeological Sources

The literary sources repeatedly refer to the areas of Western U.P., Haryana and
Rajasthan. The period assigned to the Later Vedic phase is circa 1000 BCE to
600 BCE. Many communities and cultural groups are mentioned in the texts.
However, particular pottery forms cannot be identified with any tribe or group.
It should be noted that in the same geographical region some agricultural
communities flourished in roughly the same time bracket. These communities
used a particular kind of pottery called the Painted Grey Ware (PGW). Thus,
these archaeological finds would reflect the material conditions of the Later Vedic
society.

More than 700 PGW sites have been found along the Upper-Ganga basin. Their
distribution extends from the dry beds of the river Ghaggar in Bahawalpur and
northern Rajasthan, to the watershed of the Indus and Ganges and the Ganga-
Yamuna Doab. The eastern limit of this ware is restricted to the northern plains
of the Ganges, as the site of Shravasti indicates. Some important PGW sites are
Atranjikhera, Ahichhatra, Noh, Hastinapura, Kurukshetra, Bhagwanpura and
Jakhera.

The Banas culture of southern Rajasthan, which has been dated from 2000- 1400
BCE may have possibly extended to the Ganges valley at around 800 BCE.
Thus, these Black-and-Red ware users can also be related to the present period.

Archaeology does not document the eastward shift of the ‘Vedic Aryans”, a shift
which is suggested in the literary texts. Archaeology does not document any
162
single culture shifting eastwards. Thus, there remains a large gap between the Vedic Period-II
nature of the literary and the archaeological sources. There is however the general
point that the Later Vedic society as well the society reflected in archaeology
was a society which had used iron. Iron objects are common to most of the PGW
sites. The Carbon 14 dates from Atranjikhera, Jodhpura and Noh suggest that, in
the context of the Gangetic plains, this metal was introduced around 1000-800
BCE. The exploitation of the iron ore in Uttar Pradesh, Himachal and Punjab,
and later in South Bihar, was an indigenous phenomenon. The Rigveda mentions
“ayas” which may refer to iron, though the archaeological evidence relates iron
to the Later Vedic period. Literary sources provide ample corroboration of this.
The Yajur Veda qualifies “ayas” as Syama ayas, and the Brahmanas speak of
Krishna ayas. Both the words refer to a black metal which means Iron.

Recent excavations suggest that the megalithic people of south India too were
familiar with iron technology. Hence, we can no longer talk in terms of the
introduction of iron technology into the Indian subcontinent by the migrant
Aryans.

9.3 IRON TECHNOLOGY AND ITS IMPACT

An important question to be asked here is: did the knowledge of iron lead to any
advancement in the metal technology of the period? Similarly, one would also
like to know the extent to which the introduction of a new technology changed
the material milieu of the society.

The evidence of the Later Vedic period suggests a transition from a pastoral
society to a sedentary agrarian society. It was earlier suggested that the socketed
axes made of iron were extensively used to clear the forests of the Gangetic
Doab for permanent cultivation. It was also believed that iron tipped ploughshares
and hoes increased the efficiency of agricultural implements which furthered
agricultural activities. Thus, scholars believed that the knowledge of iron
technology was an important factor for the development of agrarian economy.
However, we now know that the Later Vedic period was neither purely agrarian,
nor was it well advanced in iron technology. The rich iron ore mines of Bihar
were still not exploited, and the technology of smelting iron was primitive.

The objects which are found in the excavations are iron tipped arrowheads,
spearheads, etc. i.e. weapons of which the largest number comes from the
Ahichhatra excavations. Sickles, hoes, axes are rarely found in the excavations.
One ploughshare has been reported from Jakhera which probably belongs to the
end of this period. Thus, from the excavations, it appears that the use of iron was
restricted to making weapons. Iron did not influence the agricultural technology
until the second half of the first millennium BCE when the marshlands and
monsoon forests in the middle-Gangetic valley were gradually cleared.

In the Later Vedic period, clearing of forests by burning was carried out in the
upper Doab. We have the description of the burning of the Khandavavana in the
Mahabharata to establish the city of Indraprastha. Iron tipped weapons and horse
chariots helped military activities which were rampant in this period and have
been extensively documented in the Mahabharata. However, in subsistence
related activities, iron technology had practically no role.

163
Vedic Period and Cultures in
Transition 9.4 THE NATURE OF ECONOMY
The growth of agriculture in the Later Vedic period was made possible by the
availability of vast tracts of fertile alluvial lands of the Ganga-Yamuna Doab
and the middle-Ganga valley. This was an area which was slowly settled
throughout the first millennium BCE. However, the Later Vedic texts reflect the
continued importance of pastoralism.

Both archaeological and literary sources document the introduction of rice as

the staple diet of the people. The PGW and Banas culture have yielded charred
grains of rice from excavated sites. The Vedic texts mention Vrihi, Tandula and
Sali, all denoting rice. It appears that double cropping was practised now, and
the fields grew both barley and rice. The elaborate sacrifices of this period, e.g.
the Rajasuya, include offerings of grain along with milk, ghee and animals. The
twelve sacrifices prescribed in the Atharvaveda for acquiring material benefits
recommend the gifts of cows, calves, oxen, gold, cooked rice, thatched houses
and well cultivated fields to the brahmanas. The items of the offerings are a clear
indication of the growing importance of sedentary settlements and agriculture.
Later Vedic texts also refer to eight, twelve and even twenty-four oxen yoked to
the plough. Though the number of oxen mentioned is possibly symbolic, the
reference suggests that plough cultivation was familiar in this period.

9.4.1 Importance of Pastoralism Declines

Pastoralism was no longer the main subsistence activity of the people as it was
in the Early Vedic period. Mixed farming which included cultivation and herding
was the occupational norm of this period. Agricultural activities in this phase
were not labour intensive. The sites from where rice remains are found in the
excavations are located on the elevated areas of the Doab. This suggests that wet
rice cultivation which is labour intensive was not practised as yet.

Mixed farming led to the rise of sedentary settlements. The PGW deposits are
generally 2 to 3 m. deep and indicate that people were living in the same spot for
a long time. At Bhakpura and Jakhera, the excavations show that the earlier
phase of circular huts made of wattle-and-daub or wood were replaced in this
period by more substantial houses with earth walls. Thus, durable materials were
being used for house construction owing to the adoption of a sedentary life style.

9.4.2 Changes in the Functions of Rituals

In the Early Vedic society rituals were performed to bring about the welfare of
the entire tribe. Gods were worshipped for ensuring victory over other tribes,
granting of cattle and sons. It was also an occasion for the chiefs to distribute
wealth. In the Later Vedic society, the function of rituals underwent a subtle
change. Rituals became much more complicated which could continue for years.
Thus, only the rich could perform them. The spirit of collectivism was reduced.
Sacrifices were performed to ensure control over the rest of the tribe. Gifts were
no longer given to the entire tribe. Rather the chief gave gifts to the brahmanas
who performed sacrifices for him. The rituals were so complicated that it needed
expert brahmanas to perform it since wrong incantation could bring disaster to
the performer. The performance of sacrifices was supposed to grant super-human
status to the chiefs meaning that they were superior to rest of the tribe. For this
164
service the chief passed on a large part of his wealth to the brahmana priest. Vedic Period-II
Thus, the rituals became a mechanism for ensuring the material and spiritual
superiority of the chiefs and the brahmanas.

9.4.3 Emerging Importance of Land

Land was cultivated through family labour and the help of domestic servants
and slaves. In this period, initially land was owned by the clan or the vis. When
clan ownership gradually changed to family ownership, the grhapati or
householder became a man of wealth. The vaisyas (those who originally belonged
to the vis) were the producing class in the society and they became the source of
wealth and subsistence for the kshatriyas and the brahmanas who did not actively
participate in food production. The vaisyas had to give prestations to the kshatriyas
in lieu of the latter’s protection of their lands; dana and dakshina to the priests
for their moral upliftment. The vis/vaisya, characterizing the householding
economy, became the mainstay of economy. Prestations and dana to the non-
producing classes helped in the distribution of subsistence goods. There are no
references to the sale of land. Visvakarma Bhauvana, a ruler, was rebuked by
Prithvi (the earth) when he tried to make a grant of land. This textual reference
suggests communal ownership of land over which the vis had major participatory
rights.
Check Your Progress Exercise 1
1) What was the impact of iron technology on the Later Vedic society?
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
2) What was the family in the Later Vedic period?
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................

9.5 POLITY AND SOCIETY

The transition from a predominantly pastoral to a mixed farming economy had a
great impact on the character of the Later Vedic society and polity. The main
trends of changes were:
Tribal identity of the Early Vedic society gradually gave way to territorial
identity and consequently the nature of chiefship changed.
The social structure which was based on relations within a clan and was
largely egalitarian in the Early Vedic period became much more complex.
165
Vedic Period and Cultures in This type of society is marked by inequality. Even the same clan was divided
Transition
into groups, some of which could have had a high status in society and
some low status.

9.5.1 Polity
Jana was used in the sense of people or tribe in the Rigvedic period, but now the
concept of janapada emerged. Janapada meant the area where the tribe settled.
The word rashtra was also used for the first time in the Later Vedic texts. However,
it was still not used in the sense of a state with well defined territories.

The Kurus, who were formed from the union between two major Vedic tribes-
the Bharatas and the Purus, are mentioned in texts as occupying the area in the
upper portion of the Ganga-Yamuna Doab. Similarly, the Panchalas are mentioned
as people who occupied the middle portion of the Doab, called the Panchala
desa. This indicates that tribal identities were merging with territorial identities.
It is also stated that when the Kurus and the Panchalas came together, their
authority over the upper and middle reaches of the Ganga-Yamuna Doab was
complete. These changes in the relationship between the Jana and the area over
which it wielded control helped towards the formation of the mahajanapadas
and janapadas by the sixth century BCE.

Tribal Chiefs and Warriors

When tribal groups came to be associated and identified with particular territories,
it also brought about a change in the status and functions of the tribal chiefs. The
rajan or the chief was no longer involved only in cattle raids but emerged as the
protector of the territory where his tribesmen settled. The rajanya which already
was a superior lineage during the Rigvedic period, now became the ‘Kshatriya’
i.e. those who held power over dominions, which is the literal meaning of the
word ‘Kshatriya’. The kshatriya class based their power on their role as the
protector of the tribes and the land over which their tribes settled. The ‘vis’ had
to pay prestations to the kshatriya, in lieu of the latter’s protection and thus the
status of the vis was progressively subordinated to the kshatriya lineage. Bali
and Bhaga no longer meant prestations given at will, but gradually assumed the
form of regular tributes and taxes.

Tribal Assemblies
The change in the status of the kshatriya or the warrior class is also reflected in
the changing nature of the tribal assemblies. The sabha became more important
than the samiti during this period.

Reference to rajas in the assembly or the sabha suggests that they helped the
king in his duties. The office of the raja or the chief was not based solely on
birth, but the choice of rajas was restricted to the kshatriyas.

Raja’s Legitimacy
In the absence of firmly established principles of heredity and primogeniture,
consecratory rituals became very important for the ruler in order to assert this
authority. Hence, ceremonial sacrifices like Rajasuya, Ashvamedha and Vajapeya
were performed on lavish scale. In the Rigvedic period, the Ashvamedha yajna
was a small affair. But in later period, this was performed to subjugate other
areas and legitimize the ruler’s hold over alien lands. The other two yajnas
166
included prayers for the ruler’s health and all three were in essence legitimizing Vedic Period-II
methods employed by the raja to proclaim his superiority and power. For instance,
the sacrificer was proclaimed as a raja in the course of the Rajasuya. These
sacrifices were found to be of relevance in later periods also when new kingdoms
and new monarchs emerged. They used sacrifices to give religious legitimacy to
their power.

The raja was also required to integrate his territory with resources, economic
production and distribution which enhanced his status considerably from a mere
raider, or a leader in battles. However, he was not yet the sovereign. The fact that
he was elected and could be removed put severe constraints on him, since he was
answerable to the clan. Also, he did not appoint the other rajas who helped him
with his duties. They were chiefs in their own right. What is important is that the
kshatriya lineage gained a distinctly superior status during this period, the reason
being that the concept of territorial identity was established now. Thus, territory
became the physical manifestation of the ruler’s power to rule.

Tribal Conflicts
The nature of intra-tribal conflicts and conflicts within tribes also changed. Fights
were no longer mere skirmishes over cattle, now the acquisition of land was an
important element in these disputes. The necessity of increasing territory can be
connected with the growth of population within the tribes. Iron weapons and
light wheeled chariots driven by horses raised the efficiency of fighters. The
Mahabharata depicts intra-clan warfare between the Kauravas and the Pandavas
of the Kuru clan.

The Priest
With the rising importance of rajanya, the brahmanas too became important
since they legitimized the office of the ruler through consecratory rituals. The
redistribution of wealth through dana and dakshina on such occasions was
primarily from the kshatriya yajamana to the brahmana priests. The elaborate
consecratory rituals suggest that initially the power of the raja was not so secure
and hence he had to provide proof of his ability to rule. The status of the officiating
priests became at par with the gods, in the later period. It was felt that the gods
had to be propitiated with yajnas and the officiating brahmana had to be satisfied
with dana. Thus, the channel of redistribution was between these two higher
status groups, and political supremacy was slowly becoming the domain of the
kshatriya.

9.5.2 Society
We have already read about the declining status of vis and the ascendancy of the
kshatriyas and the brahmanas. Society was thus composed of unequal groups.
One hymn describes the origin of the four varnas, i.e. Brahmana, Kshatriya,
Vaishya and the Shudra from the body of the universal creator, Prajapati. The
‘Hymn of the Primeval Man’ comes from the later portion of the Rigveda. This
hymn for the first time describes the origin of the four varnas. It says...
“When they divided the Man, into how many parts did they divide him? What
was his mouth, what were his arms, what were his thighs and his feet called?
“The Brahman was his mouth, of his arms made the Kshatriya, his thigh became
the Vaishya, of his feet the Shudra was born”. 167
Vedic Period and Cultures in The symbolism which is projected in these hymns is that brahmana, kshatriya,
Transition
vaishya and shudra are limbs of the society. However, these limbs did not have
equal status. The brahmana was compared to the head whereas the shudra was
compared to the feet. In social life brahmanas were considered the highest varna
because society could communicate with gods with the help of brahmanas only.
The shudras on the other hand performed menial tasks and included slaves
captured in wars.
Concept of Varna
The system of varna had the following features:
status by birth
a hierarchical ordering of the varnas (brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya, shudra)
with brahmanas at the top and shudras at the base.
Rules of endogamy and ritual purity.
The Varna system is further tied with the concept of Dharma i.e. universal law,
and the varnadharma was an attempt to establish a social law for a systematic
functioning of the society. However, the varnadharma system was not properly
developed in the Later Vedic society.
The division of social groups was based on occupation alone, and society was
still flexible, where, one’s occupation did not depend on birth.
Even in the later times i.e., post-Vedic, the varnadharma described the ritual
status of each group. The varna system did not prevent the non-kshatriyas from
claiming kshatriya status and becoming rulers (examples being the Nandas and
the Mauryas) nor brahmanas from claiming political suzerainty (e.g. Shunga
kings).
Thus, the theoretical model of the varna system could never be rigidly enforced
in the post-Vedic period.
It is likely that during the Later Vedic period, with the shift in the geographical
focus, the Vedic people encountered many non-Vedic tribes and considerable
interaction must have helped in the formation of a composite society. At least the
Atharvaveda depicts a host of non-Vedic religious practices which were sanctioned
by priests. However, tribal endogamy through strict marriage rules was the aim
in order to maintain the purity of the tribe. Also, the growing importance of
kshatriyas and brahmanas in society made it imperative to maintain their exclusive
superior status, as compared to the rest. During the Later Vedic period however,
the concept of varna was rudimentary in nature. The notion of untouchability for
instance was absent.

Gotra
The institution of gotra (literally meaning-cow pen) appeared during this period.
As against tribal endogamy (marriage within tribe) people practised gotra
exogamy (marrying outside the gotra). Gotra signified descent from a common
ancestor and marriages could not take place between couples belonging to the
same Gotra.

Family
The patriarchal family was well established and the grhapati acquired a special
status. Since house holding economy was gaining predominance, the position of
168
the householder too acquired economic importance. The rights on land were Vedic Period-II
based on usage, and communal ownership of land prevailed. The grhapatis were
wealthy and their ritual role was that of a yajamana (i.e. he who orders sacrifice).
Their wealth did not come from gifts but was produced by their own efforts.
Through yajnas, which they were bound to perform to gain merit, a part of their
wealth got channelled to the brahmanas.

Despite the presence of some women philosophers and the references to a few
queens participating in the coronation rituals, women were considered subordinate
to men, and were not involved in any major decision making.

Three Stages of Life

Three asramas, i.e. stages of life were prescribed and these stages were
represented by the brahmachari (studentship), grhastha (householder),
vanaprasthi (partial retirement from householding life by living in the forest). It
seems that the fourth i.e. the sanyasa (or complete retirement from active
participation in the world) stage of life was not known till the time that the
Upanishads were written. The sanyasis or the ascetics in later periods were
individuals who protested either passively or actively against the Vedic social
structure.

9.6 RELIGION
The texts of this period indicate two different religious traditions:
the Vedic, which is documented in the Sama and Yajurveda samhitas and
the Brahmanas
the non-Vedic or perhaps the folk tradition extensively documented in the
Atharvaveda.
The fact that the Atharvan religious tradition was considered to be part of the
Vedic suggests assimilation of different cultures and beliefs into the Vedic religious
system. The Yajurveda Samhita and Brahmanas document the sacrificial religion
of the period. Sacrifices became very important during this period and they
assumed both a public and private character. The public sacrifices e.g. the
Rajsuyas, Vajapeya, Ashvamedha were conducted on a massive scale, where the
whole community participated. Some of the rituals performed in these sacrifices
show elements of a fertility cult. For instance, the Ashvamedha yajna required
the chief queen to lie next to the sacrificial horse, where the queen represented
the earth, and this ritual was thought to ensure the prosperity of the king. A
number of agricultural rituals were performed in the Rajasuya and the Vajapeya
yajna. The periodical rejuvenation of the earth and its fertility are some of the
themes which were included in the ceremonial yajnas.

Priest Craft
Later Vedic texts reveal the elaboration of rituals which were complicated and
needed professional men, trained in the art of performing them. Vidhis or rules
for performing the sacrifices were formulated and the Vedic sacrifices no longer
meant a simple offering of food/oblations into the fire. The types of offering,
types of sacrifices etc. differed according to the needs of the patron or the
yajamana.

169
Vedic Period and Cultures in Sacrifices were now endowed with mystical symbolism and every ritual act was
Transition
endowed with mysterious power. A new science of priestcraft emerged because
of the complexities involved in the performance of these yajnas, whether private
or public. Thus, a class of priests became specialists in the performances of yajnas.
There were even different sets of priests for performing different stages of the
same sacrificial ritual.

The Changing Gods

Two prominent Early Vedic gods, Indra and Agni lost their importance. Prajapati
the creator became important. This phenomenon also represents the importance
of sedentism now, since creation myths are important in agrarian groups. Rudra,
a minor deity in the Rigveda, became important now and Vishnu was conceived
as the creator and protector of the universe. Pushan who protected cattle in the
former period now became the god of the shudras. The changing status of the
deities is an indication of the change in the character of the tribes from pastoral
groups to sedentary agriculturist groups. The Early Vedic gods who represented
natural phenomena were slowly discarded and the personification of natural
elements as divine beings became very complex. It was no longer easy to find
the natural element which represented a particular god from the hymns of the
Later Vedic period.

Folk Tradition
The Atharvaveda is a mine of information regarding the folk tradition. Its contents
are radically different from the Vedic sacrificial religion and it is concerned more
with magic. The contents of this Veda cover different aspects of human life. The
hymns deal with:
the cure for diseases,
prayers for health,
charms for the prosperity of home and children,
cattle and fields,
charms to produce harmony,
charms concerned with love and marriage or conversely rivalry and jealousy
etc.
The Atharvaveda thus documents the kinds of superstitions and beliefs which
were prevalent. The term Atharvan indicates magical formula and the Atharvan
priests officiated in this religion. Gods of the Vedic tradition were invoked but
the reasons for which they were invoked were trivial and individualistic. Many
godlings and spirits such as pisacas, rakshasas and so on (some malevolent and
some benevolent), were invoked either to bring good fortune or to cause havoc
and destruction to one’s friends and foes respectively. The invocations and the
chants related to the domestic and the household and were close to the daily
cycles of existence of the common man.

For example, Indra was asked to kill the house robber, the worm in the body and
the wolf devil. The Ashvins were entrusted with the protection of agriculture and
the killing of rats. Savitri was summoned to fix a place where a new home could
be built. Pusan was invoked to bring harmony and safe delivery of babies, while
Surya was invoked to remove demons.
170
Towards the end of this period, a strong reaction against priestly domination and Vedic Period-II
against the complexities involved in the yajnas resulted in the formulation of a
philosophical doctrine which is enunciated in the Upanishads. These texts
emphasized the knowledge of the atman or the soul as against ritualistic practices
and the wasteful expenditure which accompanied sacrifices. Thus, the materialistic
aspect of the religion was discarded, and religion was raised to the realm of
philosophy. The Upanishads emphasized the changelessness and indestructibility
of the soul which in a way seemed to emphasize the need for stability and
integration in a period when the janapadas and mahajanapadas, i.e. republics
and monarchies were emerging.

Thus, we find that a great change in religious beliefs and practices had taken
place between the Early Vedic and the Later Vedic period (This change was
partly related to the shift from pastoralism to agriculture). The religious changes
of this period parallel and reflect the socio-political and economic changes that
had taken place from the Early Vedic to the Later Vedic phase.
Check Your Progress Exercise 2
1) What does the changing nature of gods in Later Vedic phase indicate?
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
2) Mark ‘True’ or ‘False’
a) Atharvaveda reflects the folk tradition of the Later Vedic ( )
period.
b) Iron technology was mostly used for agriculture in the Later ( )
Vedic period.
c) In the Later Vedic period pastoralism was the main subsistence ( )
activity.
d) Land had become more important and tribe ownership of ( )
land gradually changed to family ownership in the Later
Vedic period.
e) During the Later Vedic period, the sabha became more ( )
important than samiti.
f) The Later Vedic people began to marry within the same gotra. ( )
g) The gods in Later Vedic period reflect the change in the ( )
character of society from nomadic to a settled one.

9.7 SUMMARY
In this Unit you got to know that the Vedic society was changing from pastoral
nomadic lifestyle to a settled agricultural society, but iron was yet to play an
important role in agriculture. Well defined political units were established, laws
were codified, and a distinct social stratification emerged. Vedic and the folk
171
Vedic Period and Cultures in religious tradition of this period were increasingly coming together while
Transition
maintaining their identity. In this process of change, some minor gods of Early
Vedic period e.g. Rudra, became more important while the earlier important gods
e.g. Indra became less important. Both the literary and archaeological sources of
this period have to be read together to get an overall picture of the period.

9.8 KEY WORDS

Consecration : The process of giving importance or legitimacy.
Double Cropping : To grow two crops on one piece of land simultaneously.
Endogamy : Marrying within e.g. within a tribe, caste or a gotra
etc.
Exogamy : Marriage outside a caste, gotra etc.
Fertility Cult : A ritual/religious practice where human birth or process
of birth is emphasised.
Folk Tradition : Traditions of the common people.
Gift Economy : An economy in which gifts play an important role in
maintaining its institutions.
Labour Intensive : An activity where labour or manpower is used
relatively more than technology.
Sedentary : Stationary or remaining at one place.
Stratification : Division into levels; e.g. social stratification means
division of society into different kinds according to
some criteria e.g. caste, wealth etc.
Subsistence activity : Activity relating to economic survival.
Prestation : Service or offering required by custom or promise.

9.9 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

EXERCISES
Check Your Progress Exercise 1
1) Your answer should comment on whether iron had become important for
war or daily use and why?
2) Your answer should comment on the importance of the family, importance
of the householder, position of women in family.
Check Your Progress Exercise 2
1) Your answer should comment on whether the new gods indicated a new
kind of society.
2) a) True
b) False
c) False
d) True
e) True
172
 f) False Vedic Period-II

g) True

9.10 SUGGESTED READINGS

Basham A. L. (1986). The Wonder that was India. New Delhi

Kosambi, D. D. (1956). An Introduction to the Study of Indian History. Rep. Ed.,

Bombay: Popular Prakashan.

Kosambi, D. D. (1987). The Culture and Civilisation of Ancient India in Historical

Outline. New Delhi

Thapar, Romila (2002). The Penguin History of Early India. From the Origins to
AD 1300. New Delhi: Penguin Books.

173
Vedic Period and Cultures in
Transition UNIT 10 EMERGENCE OF IRON*

Structure
10.0 Objectives
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Pre-Iron Age Cultures
10.3 Beginnings of Iron Technology
10.4 Megalithic Culture
10.5 Painted Grey Ware Culture
10.6 Northern Black Polished Ware
10.7 Urbanization in Ganga Valley
10.8 Summary
10.9 Key Words
10.10 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises
10.11 Suggested Readings

10.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit, you will learn about:
the Pre-Iron Age cultures;
the emergence of iron in the Indian subcontinent;
Iron Age of south India and its relationship with Megaliths;
the two most important pottery traditions of North India: PGW and NBPW;
and
role of iron in the emergence of Second Urbanization in the sixth century
BCE.

10.1 INTRODUCTION
This Unit deals with the emergence of Iron in India. The students will also learn
about the various aspects of Pre-Iron Age cultures and see how these cultures
provided a foundation for the emergence of the Iron Age. After reading this Unit
you will be able to know about the different pottery traditions of Iron Age and
the antiquity of iron in India.
The emergence of iron created momentous changes which led to the rise of urban
centers in the Indian subcontinent. This Unit will also explain the impact of iron
technology on the cultural sphere.

10.2 PRE-IRON AGE CULTURES

Before beginning with the study of the Iron phase, it is necessary to have a look
at the various Pre-Iron age cultures, understand their material culture and get an
idea as to how they formed the basis for the emergence of Iron Age.
* Dr Sidharth Shankar Rai, Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow
174
Chalcolithic Cultures Emergence of Iron

Chalcolithic culture is a phase of human history when copper tools were used
along with stone tools. This was basically a rural culture and was spread across
the Indian subcontinent. These cultures are distinguished on the basis of pottery
traditions and named after their key sites or the region they belonged to. The
general pattern of life of the Neolithic period continued during this period. The
number of settlements increased, and different types of potteries were made on a
fast wheel with well levigated clay. Evidence of pottery decoration is also found
in this period. Some of the prominant non-Harappan Chalcolithic cultures are as
follows:
Banas Culture (Rajasthan), 2600 BCE-1900 BCE
Kayatha Culture (Madhya Pradesh), 2400 BCE-2000 BCE
Malwa Culture (Western Madhya Pradesh), 1700 BCE-1400 BCE
Jorwe Culture (Maharashtra), 1400 BCE-700 BCE
Prabhas Culture (Saurashtra Coast), 1800 BCE-1200 BCE
Savalda Culture (Tapi Valley)
Though there were regional variations, the Chalcolithic cultures have presented
a certain uniformity in their material traits. The Chalcolithic people practiced
hunting and farming, domesticated animals, used a large number of microliths
as well as agricultural implements such as querns and mullers, lived in thatched

Map: Chalcolithic Sites in Western and Central India. Source: EHI-02, Block 3. 175
Vedic Period and Cultures in huts, used mud bricks (Gilund in Rajasthan and Nagda in Malwa), had clearly
Transition
defined burial practices, and their burial goods indicated the presence of a stratified
or a ranked society.

Chalcolithic people were well connected with regional and trans-regional cultures
through trade and exchange networks. Site hierarchy and settlement patterns
suggest a kind of chiefdom in the Chalcolithic culture. The Chalcolithic cultures
were non-urban in nature. Unlike the Harappan culture, they were not based on
surplus production, extensive trade, crafts, fortified towns, writing and an
elaborate drainage system.

The Chalcolithic cultures are significant as they represent early farming

communities in non-Harappan India. Though these were non-urban cultures, they
represent a more sophisticated and advanced society as compared to the preceding
Neolithic cultures. This is evident in their well-made pottery, growing of varied
crops in different ecological niches and fine copper tools. They laid the base for
the growth of agricultural surplus and urbanism of the sixth century BCE when
the advent of iron initiated important changes in the economy and society.

The Chalcolithic sites were deserted around 1000 BCE, though at places they
continued to exist up to 700 BCE.

OCP Culture and the Problem of Copper Hoards

Copper hoards refer to the accidental finds of various copper objects as hoards,
in the Ganga valley (Figure 10.1). These copper artifacts are made from pure
copper and comprise shouldered celts, antennae swords, harpoons, spearheads,
rings and anthropomorphs (Figures 10.2 and 10.3). The excavations at Saipai
and Sanauli reveal the archaeological context of these copper objects. From Saipai
a hooked spearhead and harpoon was found in archaeological excavations in
1970. From the same cultural level, a special kind of pottery was found which is
called Ochre Coloured Pottery (OCP). Presently more than 100 copper hoards
have been found from different parts of India.

Fig. 10.1: Copper Hoard Artefact from Rewari, Haryana

(Probably not a use-object but more likely had religious function) Credit: Pyule, 1981, 93
no. 1075, PID, PI 100.1075.
Source: Wikimedia Commons. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper_Hoard_Culture#/
176 media/File:Rewari_Cu_hoard_object,_1075.jpg)
The major copper hoards sites are Rajpur-Parasu, Bithur, Bisauli, Sarthauli, Emergence of Iron
Manpur, Saipai etc. It is observed that the copper hoard sites are located between
latitude 780E and 840E. Copper hoards are made from almost pure copper. These
objects have been prepared with casting technique as well as by hammering and
cutting of metal sheets. Further processing like cold work and annealing seems
absent in these objects. These objects could have been used in hunting, fishing
and clearing of the jungles. Another view states that these objects are very heavy
and had no use in the day-to-day activities of the people. This was the reason as
to why they have not been found in a stratigraphical context. One thing is certain,
that, the copper technology of the Copper Hoards was very sophisticated and
could not have been the work of an ordinary culture.

Fig. 10.2: Selected Hoard Artifacts. 1-2 from South Haryana; 3-4 from UP; 5 from MP;
6-8 from Bihar-North Odisha-Bengal.
Source: Wikipedia Commons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper_Hoard_Culture#/
media/File:Ind_cu_hoard_groups.svg)

Fig. 10.3: Anthropomorphic Figures, Ganga Yamuna Basin. From Bisauli

(212 Kms. From N. Delhi), Badaun District, UP. Credit: Ismoon.
Source: Wikipedia Commons. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper_Hoard_Culture#/
media/File: Anthropomorphic_figures,_ chalcolithic,Yamuna-Ganga.BKB.jpg) 177
Vedic Period and Cultures in Confusion persists regarding their authorship. Some scholars associate them with
Transition
the Harappan culture while others relate them with Vedic people. Scholars
maintain that it is possible that after the decline of the Harappan civilization, the
Late Harappan people moved out and spread eastwards and introduced copper
technology in local areas. This surmise is corroborated by the finds of Late
Harappan ware in association with OCP at Ambakheri and Bargaon in Western
UP. However, the picture is hazy and needs more research.

10.3 BEGINNINGS OF IRON TECHNOLOGY

Iron metallurgy is more complex than copper and involves several stages in the
process of ore procurement and the manufacturing of finished tools. According
to some scholars iron metallurgy started at one place and then diffused to other
regions. This mono-centric theory is being questioned today and the available
data shows that Iron technology emerged independently in various regions of
the Old World.

Antiquity of Iron
Antiquity of Iron in India is a highly debatable issue. It is well established that
Rigvedic people had no knowledge of Iron. Early Buddhist literature and
Kautilya’s Arthashastra refer to iron smithing in early historic India.

The middle phase of Ahar Chalcolithic period (2500-2000 BCE) has given clear
evidence of several iron artifacts which became more prominent in the Late Ahar
phase (2000-1700 BCE). In the PGW culture (1000-600 BCE) iron is reported
from several sites in the Ganga valley and it is found in the context of south
Indian Megaliths in the 1st millennium BCE.

Excavations conducted at Raja Nal Ka Tila and Malhar in north-central India are
significant for tracing the origin of iron technology in this region. From Raja Nal
Ka Tila iron is reported from pre-NBP deposits (1400 BCE and 800 BCE). A
number of iron tools and iron slag were found from this site. The most important
evidence of iron working has come from the site of Malhar in district Chandauli
of Uttar Pradesh. This site is located in a hematite rich rocky area. Four cultural
periods viz. Pre-Iron, Iron, NBPW and Shunga-Kushana period have been
identified from this site. Iron tools along with the finds of furnaces and iron slag
establish this as an important iron metallurgical centre.

It is plausible that iron metallurgy developed independently and had more than
one independent centre of origin. Iron was found either as a by-product of copper
smelting or it was extracted separately and developed parallel to copper smelting.
Several cultures are associated with Iron Age. Black-and-Red ware culture which
is of pan-Indian character; PGW and NBPW culture of north India; and Megalithic
culture of south India are important in this context.

Black-and-Red Ware culture

Black-and-Red Ware or BRW culture is represented by a distinctive pottery which
due to inverted firing technique has black colour on the inside while the rest of
the fabric is red in colour. BRW has been found from all over India. It was found
in the Harappan context in Gujarat; as a pre-Painted Grey Ware (Pre-PGW) culture
in northern India and in the context of Megaliths of south India. Excavations at
Atranjikheda and Noh have revealed that BRW was sandwiched between OCP
178
and PGW level. This chronological sequence (OCP-BRW-PGW) has been found Emergence of Iron
at most sites but more prominently at Jodhpura and Noh. Co-existence of BRW
and PGW found at Ahichchhatra, Aalamgirpur and Hastinapura, is remarkable.
The extension of this pottery tradition can be marked at Pandu-Rajar-Dhibi in
east, Deshalpur in west, Ropar in the north and Aadichnallur in south.

This is an independent culture due to its distinct stratigraphical profile and

associated cultural remains. From this cultural phase evidence of iron has been
reported from Noh. A few burnt bricks are reported from Atranjikheda.

Pottery
This pottery has a fine fabric and was made on fast wheel. It comprises of mainly
table ware. Majority of this pottery has no painting but some BRW found at Ahar
has white painting on both sides of pottery. This ware shows regional variations.
In north India this pottery is plain, with a fine fabric, and comprises mostly table
ware. In west India it has white paintings and is available in both fine, medium
to course fabrics. Bowl with a spout and dish-on-stand are typical pottery types
found at Ahar. On the basis of TL dating this culture has been placed between
1450-1200 BCE.

10.4 MEGALITHIC CULTURE

The word ‘Megalith’ has originated from the Greek term ‘Megas’ (large) and
‘Lithos’ (stone). These are big stones erected to mark burial sites. Colonel
Meadows Taylor was the first person who conducted extensive explorations in
1852-62 in the Shorapur-Doab of Karnataka and wrote on the megaliths. After
excavations at Brahmagiri, Sir Mortimer Wheeler established the importance of
Megaliths in Indian Archaeology.

Distribution
The Megaliths are spread across the country and are primarily located in the
Vindhyas in southern Uttar Pradesh, Vidisha region of Maharashtra, and in most
parts of South India (Map 10.1). Megaliths in these regions are associated with
iron. Megaliths are also found in the north-east India, Madhya Pradesh (Bastar
Region), and in Singhbhum region of Bihar. However, here they represent a
separate culture and are not associated with iron.

Types of Megaliths
Megaliths are structures which are built of dressed or undressed large stones,
erected in the memory of dead, usually over the earth’s surface. In forms and
structures, they are of seven types such as Menhir, Dolmenoid cist, Topi Kal,
Kudai-Kals or Hood stone, Cairn circle, Multiple- Hood stone and Alignment.
a) Menhir: An upright stone standing alone or in alignment with others. Length
ranges from 1.5 m. to 2.5 m. Found in Deccan, Kerala and Chitrakoot distrct
of UP.
b) Dolmen: The meaning of dolmen is ‘Table of Stone’. These megaliths take
the shape of a stone table. For making dolmens four stone slabs are placed
and arranged in box like structure. Sometimes stone slabs are placed in a
Swastika shape and covered with a flat capping stone. Some dolmens were
provided with a port-hole. These holes were designed to offer grave-goods
179
Vedic Period and Cultures in to the dead buried in these dolmens. Dolmen Cists found in the Vindhyas
Transition
are small and made from several small stone slabs. These dolmens were
used as burials where pottery and iron objects were found with a number of
dead. Dolmens are frequently found in Brahmagiri (Karnataka) and
Chingalpet (Tamil Nadu) and associated with post-cremation rite.

Map 10.1: Important Iron Age Sites in South India. Source: EHI-02, Block 3.

c) Umbrella Stone (Topi-Kal): These megaliths have an umbrella-like structure.

These are called Topi-Kals in the local language. In this type of Megalith,
four stone slabs were joined and erected over a burial and a big rounded
stone was placed over these in such a fashion that it looked like an umbrella.
These megaliths have been found from Ariyannur and Cheramanangad in
Kerala.
d) Hood Stone: These are similar to Topi-Kals. Here, dome shaped big stone-
slabs were placed over the ground surface. It looks like a snake-hood.
Sometime five to twelve hood stones are found over the burial. These are
arranged in circular form and are called multiple hood-stones. These were
supposed to cover pit burials and found more frequently in Kerala.
e) Cairn Circle: These are found within stone circles. In this type of megalith,
a pit of around 2m depth and 3.5m diameter was dug for funeral. After
cremation, peripheral stone blocks were placed in a circular form and used
as marker for a single or multiple human burials. Excavations of these burials
180
 have revealed that the body was placed in burials with a packing of clay soil Emergence of Iron
and stone rubble. These burials are found in Chingleput, Chitradurg and
Gulbarga districts in south India and Kakoria in north India.
f) Rock Cut caves: These were made of laterite-stone. These caves have been
formed by digging out stairs and pit in the rock. These stone cutting was
possible only due to use of iron tools. Further, rocks were cut in order to
make a cave. Some additional doorways were also provided in the front.
After creating a door, the inside chamber was created with a rectangular
rock-cut pillar in dome shape. These caves were provided with a central
opening to the roof to offer grave goods to the dead.
g) Sarcophagi: This was a terracotta coffin made for the post-cremation rites
of children. These are found in three types — legged coffins, circular and
elongated urn burials. Legged coffins are terracotta boxes with animal-like
legs at the bottom. These terracotta boxes were fired well in order to give
strength to the Sarcophagi. Sarcophagi are found frequently in Chingleput,
Brahmagiri and Maski regions of south India.

Chronology
The Megalithic culture ushered in the Iron Age in south India. At some places it
is found as being overlapped with the Neolithic culture. The date of south Indian
megaliths is not certain and has been decided on the basis of stratigraphy, Sangam
literature, coins, pottery and radio-carbon dating. On the basis of cultural sequence
at Brahmagiri, Wheeler has placed the date of Megaliths between 3rd century
BCE to 1st century CE. South Indian Megaliths represented burial monuments
and, pottery, iron tools along with coins of that period were found frequently
from them. From Chandravalli, Rouletted ware and a Roman silver coin of 1st
Century CE were found. In a Cist burial at Coimbatore, a coin of Roman emperor
Augustus (63 BCE-14 CE) was found.

Various types of burial practices are mentioned in the Sangam literature which
describe the different methods of erecting memorial stones in memory of heroes
who died during cattle raids. Cremation, Cist Burials, Pot-burials, Inhumation
and exposure of dead body in the open are the five major types of post-death
rites described in Manimekalai and Silpadikaram. All these types of practices
are reflected in the Megalith culture of south India. The Sangam literature was
composed during 1st century BCE-3rd century CE.

Some radio-carbon (14C) dates are available from megalithic sites. Two
radiocarbon dates of 1105 BCE and 955 BCE are reported from the megalithic
context at Hallur site in Karnataka. From Vidarbha, the sites of Naikund and
Takalghat have given radiocarbon dates of 700 BCE. The south Indian megalith
culture began much before the megalithic culture of Vidarbha. On the basis of
these evidences Megalithic Culture of south India and the Deccan can be placed
between 1000 BCE and 100 BCE.

Relationship with Iron

Megalithic culture is closely associated with the beginning of the use of iron in
south India. However, the term ‘Megalithic Culture’ cannot be used synonymously
with Iron Age culture. Some thirty three types of iron tools have been identified
from Megalithic burials (Figure 10.5). These include hoes, sickles and axes for
the purpose of agriculture; dishes and tripod stands for domestic use; chisel and
181
Vedic Period and Cultures in nails for artisanal activities; swords, daggers, spears and arrowheads for war and
Transition
hunting (Jain, 2006). Mahurjhari near Nagpur has given evidence of head
ornaments of horses which were made of copper sheets with iron-knobs. Evidence
from megalithic site of Naikund in Vidarbha is highly significant as an iron
smelting furnace has been found. Similarly iron slag in large quantities has been
found from Paiyampalli in Tamilnadu. This indicates that iron smelting was a
local activity. This region is rich in iron ore. From north Indian site of Kakoria,
no iron tools were found, hence the Megalithic culture of Kakoria is associated
with Chalcolithic culture. On the other hand, Iron Age burials from Kotia in the
same region have a megalithic character. This period can be understood as one
of technological advancement when people learnt to control fire in order to extract
iron from ore.

Various items of gold (bangles, rings, earrings, beads), silver (studs and beads),
copper/bronze (bangles and dishes, lids) have also been found but on a lesser
scale. The prominent sites which have yielded objects of gold are Adichanallur
(Tamilnadu), Maski (Karnataka), Nagarjunakonda (Andhra Pradesh), Mahurjhari
and Junapani (Maharashtra). Silver has been found at Junapani and
Nagarjunakonda. Copper lids of dishes are obtained from Khapa (near Nagpur)
and Adichanallur. Beads of semi precious stones such as agate and carnelian and
shell and horn were also used.

Fig. 10.5: Iron Implements from South Indian Megalithic Graves. 1. Arrowheads;
2. Daggers; 3. Sword; 4. Spearhead; 5 Trident; 6. Battle Axe; 7. Hoes; 8. Plough Share;
9. Sickles; 10. Stirrup; 11. Laddles; 12. Tripod; 13. Lamp. Source: EHI-02, Block 3.

182
Megalithic Life ways Emergence of Iron

Megaliths are usually found near sources of water, stone, and iron, gold or other
metals. Megalithic culture was primarily a rural culture of settled community in
which agriculture and animal husbandry were the major modes of subsistence.
Perhaps they were acquainted with irrigation technology and used iron tools in
cultivation. Grains of rice, barley and gram are found from their burials. The
major domesticated animals were cow, buffalo, horse, sheep and goat. This culture
can be marked as having a complex society where different elements were
collaborating to achieve specialization in craft and technology. From megalithic
burials a number of artifacts such as iron tools, Black-and-Red Ware, beads of
semi-precious stones, shell, paddy- husk and ornaments (bangle, necklace, ring)
have been found. Many a time more than one person was buried in a single
burial. This indicates that they believed in life after death. Some kind of communal
effort is assumed in the construction of megaliths as dealing with big stones was
a very onerous task.
Check Your Progress Exercise 1
1) Write a paragraph of ten lines on the Pre-Iron Age cultures of India.
.......................................................................................................................
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2) What are the different types of Megaliths? Discuss any two.
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10.5 PAINTED GREY WARE CULTURE

Not all sites in north India where PGW has been found are associated with iron.
For instance, sites of the Gagghar-Hakra region are without iron whereas those
of the Ganga-Yamuna Doab have given evidence of iron objects. The Iron Age
of north India is broadly associated with PGW culture. The term PGW stands for
Painted Grey Ware which is a pottery tradition that is grey in color and decorated
with black designs.

Geographical Distribution
This pottery has been found from a wide region of northern India. This pottery
was first discovered at Ahichhatra (Bareilly district) during the excavations in
1940. Now more than 100 archaeological sites of this culture have been
discovered. PGW is mainly confined to Uttar Pradesh, Northern Rajasthan and
east-northern India. The major archaeological sites of this culture are Ahichhatra,
183
Vedic Period and Cultures in Hastinapura, Kaushambi, Shravasti, Sringaverpura and Mathura in Uttar Pradesh;
Transition
Vaishali in Bihar; Manda in Jammu; Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh; Ropar in Punjab;
Noh in Rajasthan and Bhagwanpura in Haryana. The extent of this pottery tradition
can be traced to Manda in north, Ujjain in south, Tilarakot (Nepal) in east and
Lakhiyopir (Sindh, Pakistan) in the west. The concentration of PGW sites is
more prominent in the Upper Ganga valley. It appears that the expansion of
PGW culture in eastern India occurred late as most of the PGW sites in middle
and lower Ganga valley have limited number of pot-sherds and these sherds
were obtained from early-NBP or NBP cultural phase.

The PGW was an iron-using rural culture, which was spread along river banks.
Some sites mentioned prominently in the Mahabharata such as Hastinapura,
Kurukshetra, Panipat, Tilpat, Baghpat, Mathura and Bairat have been excavated.
PGW has been discovered at all these sites. The picture they depict is that of an
agro-pastoral lifestyle.

Pottery types
Pottery of this culture is made on a fast wheel with well-levigated clay. This
pottery has a thin core and a smooth finish. It is very well fired. The entire PGW
assemblage is homogeneous with a few regional variations. This pottery comprises
of mainly table ware and was probably meant to be used by the wealthy sections.
Some large sized vessels like vases and carinated handis have also been found.
Black Slipped Ware, Plain Grey Ware and Black-and-Red ware are associated
potteries. PGW forms a small percentage of the total pottery assemblage.

PGW carries various geometric designs such as lines, criss-crosses, circles, dots,
sigma and semi circles etc (Figure 10.6). Swastika is also depicted on some pottery.
More than fifty decorative patterns have been identified. These decorations are
made on the outer surface in matt black color (Figure 10.7). Some have decoration
on inner side also. The pottery was painted before firing. A thin slip was applied
on both surfaces and pottery was fired in reducing conditions at around 600°C in
order to create smooth ashy surface and core. These people had expertise in
firing technique and thus achieved a uniform grey colour. The people of PGW
period were innovative and this is also reflected in their archaeo-metallurgy.

Fig. 10.6: Sherds of PGW (right) and Harappan Red Ware (left) from Rupnagar, Punjab.
Credit: Aman 0980. Source: Wikimedia Commons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Painted_Grey_Ware_culture#/media/File:BaraSite.jpg)
184
Chronology Emergence of Iron

The earliest dates of this pottery are reported from Atranjikheda and Noh, which
are 11th century BCE and 9th century BCE respectively. Most of the sites show
7th-6th century BCE as a period of PGW culture. In the middle-Ganga valley this
pottery is found in a late context (around 6th century BCE) indicating that it
reached these areas when NBPW culture had already started. Broadly the time
period of PGW culture is between 1000-600 BCE.

The PGW culture represents a well developed rural life. Some surplus production
is indicated by the discovery of round and square storage bins. Agriculture was
the main mode of subsistence. Animal husbandry, fishing was also practised.
The main crops of this period were rice (Hastinapura) and barley (Noh). Wheat
does not appear to be a popular food grain. Cow and horse were the main
domesticated animals. Bones of horse were recovered from the excavations at
Hastinapura. Food grains and meat formed a major part of the diet. Hearths and
agricultural implements were obtained from Atranjikheda. The site of Jakhera
has yielded sickle, hoe and a ploughshare. However, most of the iron implements
are related to hunting or warfare. These include lances, spearheads, blades, daggers
and arrowheads. It is in the succeeding period of NBPW that we see that
agricultural implements increase in number.

Fig.10.7: Painted Grey ware. Sonkh (UP). Government Museum, Mathura.

Credit: Biswarup Ganguly. Source: Wikimedia Commons
(https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Painted_Grey_Ware_-_Sonkh_-_1000-
600_BCE_-_Showcase_6-15_-_Prehistory_and_Terracotta_Gallery_-_Government_
Museum_-_Mathura_2013-02-24_6461.JPG)

The houses of this period were made of mud bricks and wattle-and-daub. From
Bhagwanpura some baked bricks were found but the use of baked bricks was not
popular. Beads of semi-precious stone such as lapis lazuli, jasper, agate, and
carnelian have been recovered from many sites. The unavailability of the raw
materials in zones of PGW-using culture suggests some kind of trans-regional
trade and exchange network. No evidence of coins is found from this cultural
phase. The people of this period were involved in barter or exchange with other
regions. Some basic site hierarchy is suggested in the research (different areas)
of Makkhan Lal, George Erdosy and M.R. Mughal. Most of the PGW sites studied
by these scholars were found to be smaller than 5 hectares and estimates suggest
that they were inhabited on an average by 60-450 people. (Singh, 2008). Some
socio-economic complexity is assumed for this period. A few proto- urban
elements present at some sites (Jakhera) seemed set to usher in fully-fledged
urbanization of the sixth century BCE.
185
Vedic Period and Cultures in
Transition 10.6 NORTHERN BLACK POLISHED WARE
Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW) is an important pottery tradition of the
Indian subcontinent. The time range is 700 BCE-100 BCE. It was during this
period that processes related to the formation of states and emergence of urbanism
in the Ganga valley crystallized.

This is a fine ware, sometimes as thin as 1.5 mm, well fired, wheel-made deluxe
pottery. It was made on a fast wheel and has a distinct metallic sound. The shining
surface has been created so brilliantly that its gloss has not faded even after 2500
years. The common shapes are bowls with straight, convex, tapering and
corrugated sides; dishes with incurved rims and convex sides; knobbed lids;
sharply carinated handis and miniature vases. This pottery has been found at
more than 1500 sites and extends from Taxila and Charsada in the northwest to
Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh; and from Pabhas Patan in Gujarat to Tamluk in
Bengal. The main excavated sites are Ropar in Panjab, Raja Karna Ka Tila and
Daulatpur in Haryana; Hastinapura, Atranjikheda, Kaushambi, Shravasti in UP;
Vaishali, Patna and Sonpur in Bihar. At sites in the Panjab, Haryana, Rajasthan
and UP, it is preceded by PGW phase with an overlap between them. In eastern
UP and Bihar NBPW follows Black-and-Red ware phase (Singh, 2008).

Geographical Distribution
The NBPW was first reported during the excavations at Saranth (Varanasi) in
1904 and then at Bhita near Prayagraj. During the excavations at Taxila, excavators
believed it to be a Greek black pottery because such types of glazed ceramics
were very popular in Greek culture. Its concentration in northern India (Ganga
valley) is remarkable, that is why, it is called ‘Northern’ Black Polished Ware.
However, it is not confined to northern India alone. This pottery is found in
several colors such as silver, golden, orange, chocolate and pink, although the
dominating color of this pottery is black. That is why this pottery is termed as
‘Black’. The shining surface does not appear to be a result of polish. So, the
name ‘NBPW’ appears to be a misnomer for this pottery.

Pottery types
This pottery has a shining layer on the outer surface and black colour inside.
This pottery has been divided into five categories. The first type is of fine fabric
and comprises bowls. The second type of ceramic is of relatively thin fabric and
plates are the main shapes.

The NBPW was mainly a table ware (Figure 10.8). Some NBP potsherds were
painted in two colors. This shows close similarity to and influence of PGW over
NBPW. This pattern of decoration includes vertical lies on horizontal bands,
dots in circle, circle, taurine and semi-circles. It is probable that this pottery
evolved out of PGW. This pottery had an important place in social life as some
broken potsherds were found riveted with copper wires.

Manufacturing Technology
NBPW was fired in a controlled atmosphere in closed firing pits. This was a
great technological innovation in the history of earthenware manufacturing. The
closed kiln facilitated the control over firing conditions to achieve a reducing
and oxidizing environment and the maximum utilization of temperature. It was
186
believed that black gloss of NBPW was the result of some sort of post-firing Emergence of Iron
treatment in which kiln-hot pottery was coated with some organic liquid of
vegetable or animal origin. Yet another geo-chemical study proposes that the
black color of NBPW was due to the presence of magnetic iron oxide. The
characteristic gloss was a product of the alignment of mica platelets to the surface
of the slip. But none of the theories successfully provide a correct explanation
for the gloss of NBPW. It is well established that NBP producers had achieved a
high technological excellence and NBPW production technology was restricted
to a special section of craftsmen. When this pottery gradually lost its importance
in society the manufacturing technology also disappeared.

NBPW Culture
NBPW culture is related with an era of extensive use of iron technology in the
Indian subcontinent. The radiometric dates push its antiquity to 8th century BCE
but it is generally associated with the archaeological sites of urban character
which developed during the early phase of Buddhism (sixth century BCE
onwards) in the Ganga valley.

The NBPW phase is associated with the ‘Second Urbanization’ which is reflected
in the settlement patterns, habitation, coins, agriculture and animal husbandry,
art and architecture and trade activities of this period. Considerable increase in
human population is revealed in the growth of smaller settlements near bigger
ones.

Fig. 10.8: NBP Pottery. Source: EHI-02, Block 3.

187
Vedic Period and Cultures in Some of the earliest punch-marked coins are associated with NBPW. A standard
Transition
measurement system had come into existence which was essential for trade and
commerce. Buddhist literature mentions about increased trade activities and
formation of different trading groups in this period.

Despite the existence of extensive trade activities, the major mode of subsistence
was agriculture and animal husbandry. The people in this period were cultivating
two crops in a year. Canal and ponds were used for irrigation. Grains of rice,
wheat, barley, pulse, mustard etc. were major agricultural produce. Metal and
bone arrowheads were found from Ujjain, Allahpur, Shravasti and Kaushambi.
Net-sinkers and metal fish hooks were used for fishing.

This period is marked with increased art and craft activities. Terracotta figurines
of elephant, bull, deer, chariot and other toys were found from this cultural context.
In this period terracotta figurines of mother goddess, snakes and mythical creatures
that have human head and animal bodies were also found.

According to Mahaparinibbana Sutta of Digghanikaya, sites of Champa,

Rajagriha, Shravasti, Saketa, Kaushambi and Varanasi were functioning as major
cities during the sixth century BCE. Excavations at these sites have exposed
well developed town-plans. People of this period were living in rectangular
houses. Houses were made with baked bricks. From all the sites, soakage pits
and ring wells have been found which indicate people’s concern with hygiene.
For drainage of water, terracotta pipes were used.

All together this culture presents a coherent picture of the development of urban
centres in corresponding areas. This cultural period can be marked as the
foundation period of Indian culture when people adopted a comparatively new
technology for their societal needs.

10.7 URBANIZATION IN GANGA VALLEY

An early attempt towards theorizing urbanization in archaeology was made by
Gordon V. Childe who proposed ten criterions to identify the cities in his seminal
paper ‘The Urban Revolution’ (Childe, 1950). His study was mainly based on
Mesopotamian urbanism. He proposed that a place can qualify for a city status if
it has the following ten characteristics:
1) Big settlement size
2) Craft specialization
3) Centralization of surplus
4) Monumental public architecture
5) Ruling class and developed social stratification
6) Writing
7) Predictive and exact science
8) Conceptualized and sophisticated art styles
9) Inter-regional long distance trade
10) Social organization beyond kinship.

188
The above theory of Childe is largely dependent on the concept of surplus Emergence of Iron
production. Surplus production ushered in the development of ruling class, social
stratification and other traits of cities. This hypothesis was later used by Marxist
historians for interpreting the urbanization of early India. D.D. Kosambi associated
iron technology with the advent of urbanization in ancient India. He pointed out
that extensive use of iron tools led to the clearing of forests and growth of
agricultural surplus. Due to this process population increased dramatically and it
further assisted in the exponential growth in agricultural production that finally
led to the development of urban centers and a ruling class. R.S Sharma (Sharma,
1974) argues that the forces of production released sufficient surplus production
for the rise of class-based and state-based society. He further explains that surplus
production gave rise to social hierarchy that emerged in the form of varna system
in ancient India. This interpretation was in line with Childe’s theory of urban
revolution where surplus was necessary for the emergence of a ruling class and
the further development of societal complexity and other traits of urban centers.
However, this interpretation is very static and fails to examine the dynamic process
of urbanism. A. Ghosh raised the pertinent point that ‘between accumulation of
surplus and need for it, which preceded the other?’. He maintained that surplus
cannot be accumulated and utilized in the absence of a state. M.K. Dhavalikar
suggested that urbanization means - a large population, a strong agricultural base,
well developed trade, including skilled craftsmen. But centralized power structure
(i.e. State) functioned only as a binding force.

The ‘Second Urbanization’ in the Ganga valley occurred during the sixth century
BCE. During this period settlements proliferated and a four tier hierarchy within
settlements was visible. This happened due to rapid growth in population.
Agriculture provided a strong base for this process. Different kind of grains such
as cereals, barley, pulses, wheat and rice were produced. It is pertinent that during
this period iron implements for agricultural purposes are found in abundance
from archaeological sites. Iron tools certainly boosted agricultural produce which
assisted in feeding a large population and led to accumulation of surplus
production. But can iron be marked as a prime mover of this process? This issue
continues to be debatable. It is reasonable to assume that other factors were
crucial too. Societal response to a particular technology, availability of resources
and social complexity played a crucial role in the emergence of state.

Check Your Progress Exercise 2

1) Identify true () and false statements (×)
a) Excavations at Saipai and Sanauli revealed the archaeological
context of copper hoards. ( )
b) Chalcolithic cultures were another type of Harappan cultures. ( )
c) Chalcolithic people of Rajasthan procured copper raw materials
from Khetri Mines. ( )
d) Iron technology in India was borrowed from Mesopotamia. ( )
e) Black-and Red-Ware has been found from all over India. ( )
f) Sarcophagi were terracotta coffins. ( )
g) Iron was not found in Megalithic burials. ( )
h) NBPW is associated with Second Urbanization in Ganga Valley ( )
i) PGW has also been found in pre-Iron age context. ( ) 189
Vedic Period and Cultures in 2) Discuss the major Iron Age cultures of north India.
Transition
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10.8 SUMMARY
Use of iron was a leap forward in human life in terms of subsistence and
development. There were many iron using cultures in early India. The Painted
Grey Ware culture and Northern Black Polished Ware culture were the most
important. In the initial phase there was a predominance of weapons while the
later phase had a preponderance of agricultural implements. Whether iron
equipments indeed helped in clearing the forests leading to surplus production
and the founding of the State is still a debatable issue and needs more research.
Surplus did not increase in a short period of time but was a long and slow process.

10.9 KEY WORDS

Animal Domestication : Adaptation of animals to humans, which were
then used for serving as pets or suppliers of
animal products (e.g., meat, milk, wool, etc.)
or for providing labour and other services.

Archaeo-botany : This is the study of ancient plant remains

recovered from archaeological excavations for
the study of ancient past environment and
human subsistence.

Complex Society : Complex societies are identified by reduced

residential mobility leading to intensified
economic production and division of labor, the
presence of hierarchical position,
institutionalized leadership, and hereditary
status differences.

Environmental archaeology : This is the interdisciplinary study of past

human environment interactions to understand
long-term relationship between humans and
their environments.
Radiocarbon Dating : This is a popular absolute dating method
which can date archaeological material
spanning around 55000 years to the modern
period. This technique is based on
measurement of ratio of stable atom of Carbon
(C12) and carbon isotope (C14). This method is
limited to such artifacts which have carbon as
190 one constituent.
Smelting : This is an advanced stage of metallurgical Emergence of Iron
process by which a metal is obtained from ore
by heating beyond the melting point. This is
performed in the presence of oxidizing agents
as air, or reducing agents as coke.
Thermoluminescence : This is an absolute dating method which is
(TL) dating used to date objects which have been fired in
past (like pottery).
Urban Revolution : This is a hypothesis suggested by Gordon V.
Childe and explains sudden changes in
primitive societies leading to the development
of large, urban and complex societies.

10.10 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

EXERCISES
Check Your Progress Exercise 1
1) Please see Section 10.2 and its Sub-sections.
2) Please see Section 10.4 and its Sub-sections
Check Your Progress Exercise 2
3) a) , b) x, c) , d) x, e) , f) , g) x, h) , i) .
4) You will be discussing Painted Grey Ware Culture and Northern Black
Polished Ware culture. Please see Section 10.5 and 10.6 and their Sub-
sections.

10.11 SUGGESTED READINGS

Allchin, F. R. (1995). The Archaeology of Early Historic South Asia. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Chakrabarti D.K. (1999). India: An Archaeological History (Palaeolithic
Beginnings to Early History Foundations). New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Childe, G. (1950). The Urban Revolution. Town Planning Review 21(1): 3–17.
Ghosh, A. (1989). An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology. New Delhi:
Munshiram Manoharlal, vol. 1 & 2
Erdosy, G. (1988). Urbanisation in Early Historic India. Oxford: BAR
International Series 430.
Jain, V.K. (2006). Prehistory and Protohistory of India. An Appraisal. Delhi:
D.K. Printworld.
Sharma, R.S. (1974). Iron and Urbanization in the Ganga Valley. Indian Historical
Review 1(1): 98–103
Singh, U. (2008). A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the
Stone Age to the 12th Century. New Delhi: Pearson Education India
Wheeler, Mortimer (1959). Early India and Pakistan. London: Thames and
Hudson
191
Vedic Period and Cultures in
Transition UNIT 11 INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENTS
AND ASCETICISM*

Structure
11.0 Objectives
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Changes in Society and Religion in Sixth Century BCE
11.3 Beginnings of Asceticism
11.4 Upanishadic Thought
11.4.1 Atman-Brahman
11.4.2 The Theory of Transmigration
11.4.3 Doctrine of Emancipation
11.5 The Saddarshana or Six Systems of Philosophy
11.6 Nastika Schools of Thought
11.6.1 Buddhism
11.6.2 Jainism
11.6.3 Scepticism and Materialism
11.7 Summary
11.8 Key Words
11.9 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises
11.10 Suggested Readings

11.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit, you will learn about the:
intellectual developments in the sixth century BCE;
main features of Upanishadic thought;
six systems of philosophy;
philosophy of Buddhism and Jainism; and
asceticism and how it was incorporated in orthodox and heterodox circles.

11.1 INTRODUCTION
Major developments occurred in social, economic and political realms in the
sixth century BCE. We will study the processes of ‘Second Urbanization’,
emergence of cities and towns, rise of Janapadas and Mahajanapadas and the
new religions of Buddhism and Jainism, in the subsequent Units. In this Unit,
we will be dealing with intellectual developments that took place in the sixth
century BCE.

The mid-first millennium BCE in the Indian subcontinent saw the flowering of
speculative thought. New ideologies emerged. Though such thought was present
in an embryonic form in the Vedas, new intellectual ideas developed more fully
*Dr. Suchi Dayal, Academic Consultant, Faculty of History, School of Social Sciences, IGNOU,
192 New Delhi
and in different ways within the heterodox sects. In the Brahmanical orthodox Intellectual Developments
and Asceticism
tradition the Upanishads encapsulated this change. In the heterodox tradition,
many ideas emerged which questioned the efficacy of the yajna and were against
the validity of Vedic learning. We will be learning about these in this Unit.

11.2 CHANGES IN SOCIETY AND RELIGION IN

SIXTH CENTURY BCE
The sixth century BCE was period of profound change. The old tribal society
was breaking up. The feeling of security and comfort that clan solidarity gave
was withering away. The deep feeling of disquiet was turning some to asceticism.

The sacrifice or yajna was a central feature of the Brahmanical religion. The
Vedas celebrated great sacrifices which were initiated on behalf of wealthy
tribesmen and powerful chiefs. The main purpose of sacrifices was to propitiate
the gods and in return obtain boons from them. The aim of the sacrifice was to
fulfil one’s desires with regard to greater wealth, sons, cattle, success in war and
long life. The mediation of the priests ensured this and much more. The priests
knew the intricacies of the ritual and sacrificial formulae; they were the ones
who alone knew how to bring the gods to sacrifice and hence enjoyed great
power.

Many changes can be seen in the religious ideology by the Later Vedic period.
The notion of sacrifice became all important. Now the universe was believed to
have originated from sacrifice. Regular sacrifices ensured the continuity of the
cosmos and prevented chaos. Thus, the gods were secondary, it was the Brahmana
who was supreme in terms of his role as a mediator in sacrifice; he could elevate
the happiness and social position of his patron or conversely destroy him by his
slightest variation of the ritual. However, this was also the beginning of growing
dissatisfaction with the excessive ritualism of the Vedic religion. The sacrificial
cult was no longer considered valid. Buddhist and Jaina texts at many places
speak disparagingly about the Brahmanical sacrifices and rituals and adopt an
anti-Brahmanical stance. Besides this, certain changes in the social fabric were
proving to be too tumultuous. There was a deep sense of anxiety among the
populace. The ‘Second Urbanization’ had ushered in new towns, coinage, new
forms of wealth and new classes of rich setthis and gahapatis (the immensely
wealthy traders and financiers). The new-found prosperity was based on the use
of iron which led to the clearing of forests and the availability of more and more
land for cultivation. The introduction of plough agriculture and the resultant
surplus made possible the emergence of states – monarchies and oligarchies.
The kshatriyas became powerful, and land and money were the new criterion of
wealth. Cattle were important but receded into the background. Most prominent
commercial cities were also the capitals of the janapadas such as Kaushambi,
Kashi, Ayodhya and Rajagriha. The other features of this vibrant economy were:
the use of metallic money, trade, trading networks, usury, social stratification,
guilds, and an increasing sense of alienation. These changes coincided with other
developments. Clan hierarchy of the earlier period was giving way to territorial
identity. Janapadas and Mahajanapadas emerged. The janapadas were named
after the kshatriyas and others constituting the jana (tribes), such as Gandhara,
Kuru, Pancala, Matsya, Chedi, Kashi, Kosala, Magadha etc. Power came to be
exercised by the kshatriyas and the use of force became legitimized. This was a
post-tribal society in which kinship ties were breaking away. An increasingly 193
Vedic Period and Cultures in hierarchical society was hostile to anyone who did not conform to the norms of
Transition
the society. A new order was coming into existence. A king speaks, thus, in
Maitrayani Upanishad, “I am like a frog in a dry well”. This is indicative of the
growing insecurity. Attempts to find an escape from the difficult times led to the
emergence of ‘heterodox sects’.

Apart from this, there was an urgency to find answers to the fundamental questions
of human salvation or liberation. Various ideas were forwarded but none were
found to be satisfactory. Many believed that asceticism was the answer to the
problems of continuous change that the society was going through. Besides this,
there was a realization that an individual through meditation could attain self-
knowledge which would transcend the stage of even the gods. Asceticism resulted
in complete freedom from all social obligations and ties and in turn ensured for
the renouncer moral status higher than that of a sacrificing brahmana.

But, was the emergence of speculative thought just a form of ‘life negation’?
May be not! The ascetics were not only trying to escape the pessimism of the
times but also were in search of True Knowledge. The wisdom in the Vedas was
not found to be sufficient. With the emergence of questions about creation, cosmos
and Man in the Rigveda and the Hymn of Creation representing the earliest record
of philosophic doubt, the beginnings of abstract thinking had been laid. It was in
the sixth century BCE that a bewildering variety of speculations and alternative
ideas regarding the origin of the universe, the nature of soul, cosmic energy and
consciousness began to emerge. Some of these were accepted by the Brahmanical
system and incorporated into the Upanishads which represented the orthodox
tradition. Others led to the origin of heterodox sects which did not believe in the
efficacy of the Brahmanical ritual and repudiated the authority of the Vedas.

In the orthodox belief system, the universe had emerged from the primeval
sacrifice. Later tapas (power derived from asceticism) played an important role
in the act of creation. Other more heterodox teachers put forward naturalistic
and atheistic cosmogonist theories. According to them, the origin of the universe
was ascribed variously to water, fire, wind or ether. For some, the universe
emerged without the agency of any god or any impersonal entity but due to fate
(niyati), time (kala), nature (svabhava) or chance (samgati). It was believed the
world had emerged due to internal evolution or ‘ripening’ (parinama) and not
because of any external force. The Buddha believed that any speculation on first
causes was futile. There were others who were pyrrhonists who denied the
possibility of any certain knowledge at all. Materialists rejected the existence of
soul and all other immaterial entities. Some believed in the atomic theory. Thus,
the intellectual life of the sixth century BCE was throbbing with ideas and
fundamental questions.

The people who were leading the speculative thought were ascetics. However,
the literature of this period mentions some kshatriyas too who were as keen, for
example, Janaka of Videha, Ashvapati of Kaikeya, Hiranya-nabha of Kosala,
Ajatashatru of Kashi (Varanasi), Pravahana Jaivali of Kuru-Panchala.

11.3 BEGINNINGS OF ASCETICISM

The term ‘ascetic’ refers to a person who has renounced worldly pleasures, opted
out of society and has cast himself away. In the mid first millennium BCE, he
194 was struggling to comprehend the Ultimate Reality, discover the ecstasy (ananda)
of liberation from all bondage. He was restoring to austerity (tapa) and meditation Intellectual Developments
and Asceticism
(dhyana) in order to achieve the goals, he had set before him.

Asceticism was not something novel. In later hymns of the Rigveda, we find
references to a class of holy men who were different from the Brahmanas. They
were called munis. They went about naked, maintained ritual silence and dwelt
with the demi-gods and birds. They had attained special powers which made
them different from ordinary mortals. In the Atharvaveda there was a category
of men called vratyas. It broadly meant an Aryan who did not any longer believe
in the sacredness of the Vedas. He could also be understood as a priest of non-
Vedic fertility cult. Thus, certain alternative ideas which were not based on the
sanctity of the Vedas were being raised as early as the Later Vedic period. All
efforts were made to incorporate them in the Brahmanical set up and these could
have been a source for new doctrines and practices.

By the time of the Upanishads, ascetics had become quite common and they
were the ones who were propounding the new teachings and metaphysical
theories. In the mid first millennium BCE, the ascetic either confined himself to
isolation from all, or he could join other ascetics as a group and follow a guru or
a teacher. Those who joined a sect had to follow certain restrictions on their
conduct and behaviour. They could not observe caste rules, followed celibacy,
could not own property, broke food taboos, and carried distinctive outward
symbols of their order (a robe, or going naked). Ascetic groups referred in the
Vedic literature and some texts like the Aranyakas and Upanishads were overly
concerned with asceticism.

Tapasvin, sramana, sanyasin, parivrajaka, yogi are some of the terms that we
come across in the texts. They were all renouncers, who having given up on
pleasures of life, had taken to a life of austerity. They were given to controlling
the functions of the body (breathing mainly) and wandering from place to place
in search for the Ultimate Truth. Parivrajaka was a young man who had taken to
the life of a wanderer for a short while before becoming a grihastha. But more
often, parivrajaka was a state of permanent renunciation.

Most of the ascetics wandered from place to place either alone or as part of
groups under the guidance of a teacher. They participated in discussions held in
Kutuhala-shalas (discussion halls) on philosophical subjects. Some of the
brahmana ascetics lived in hermitages in the forests sometimes with their families
though conforming to a celibate status. They were sedentary. Meditation and
severe penance accorded them magic potency. They acquired hidden powers.
They could crumble mountains to dust, turn the rivers dry, burn the opponents if
angered, protect a city, and increase its wealth and much more. The power which
was earlier ascribed to the sacrifice or the yajna, was now transferred to tapsya
and meditation.

Those who took to asceticism, sooner or later, obtained insight into the nature of
reality. They came to understand the cosmic mystery, the nature of the universe
and found bliss beyond life and death. With this the realization of being ultimately
free dawned upon them. He who attained salvation became a conqueror above
conquerors. All sects aspired to attain this experience, but the interpretation
differed from sect to sect. The development of asceticism and mysticism soon
became a challenge for the brahmanas who were quick to incorporate this element
into their ideology. The Ashrama theory of the four stages of life was propounded
195
Vedic Period and Cultures in for the first time in the Dharmasutras. In the Ashrama theory, the terms used for
Transition
the four stages in a life-cycle were brahmachari, grihastha, vanaprastha and
sanyasa. The fourth stage of sanyasin was the final stage. It was possible for a
person to become a sanyasin only subsequent to the performance of social
obligations. The fourth category allowed one to opt out of the system only after
having fulfilled the social obligations of a grihastha. This was strongly
emphasized to ensure that the social dissent remained muffled. For the Buddhists
and Jainas, however, the grihastha stage could be by-passed and one could become
a renouncer without having to go through the householder’s stage. That is why
their doctrines were all the more threatening to the established social order. The
discussions and teachings of those mystics who chose to follow the traditional
path, were incorporated and added to the Aranyakas and Upanishads. Thus, we
find that the system of yoga, which was part of the traditional orthodox Hindu
system, developed by this time.

11.4 UPANISHADIC THOUGHT

Upanishads are the earliest recorded discourses on the key philosophical doctrines
about the atman (self), brahman (Ultimate Reality), karma, yoga, samsara
(worldly existence), moksha (enlightenment), purusha (man) and prakriti
(nature). The major Upanishads can be dated to the period between the eighth to
sixth century BCE. They represent a transition from the philosophical ideas of
the Vedas to the development of new ideologies that emerged in the post-Vedic
period.
The word ‘upanishad’ is made up of three parts: upa+ni+shad, which means
that it was an instruction which was to be imparted to the student who is ‘sitting
down near one’s teacher’. It also means ‘rahasyam’, indicating that it was a
secret doctrine to be imparted only to a few, those who were worthy of such an
instruction.
The Upanishads represented a change in how knowledge was now being sought.
There was a shift from the acceptance of the Vedas as revealed knowledge to the
possibility that knowledge could be gained through intuition, observation and
analysis. Earlier, during the Vedic sacrifices, the yajamana would initiate the
sacrifice with the mediation of a brahmana priest. The Upanishads, on the contrary,
were a search for the Ultimate Liberation of the soul but without the mediation
of a priest or the presence of any intermediaries. The Upanishadic religion saw a
smaller role for Vedic deities and the aim was not the attainment of pleasures of
heaven with god Indra but release from all bondage i.e. moksha. It came to be
realized that the Vedic ritual alone could not lead one to the Brahman or the
Ultimate Reality.
Alternative belief systems were developed which embodied new ideas about the
Ultimate Reality and how to attain it. Doubts about the efficacy of the yajna in
promoting happiness surfaced. The moot questions now were: what is reality?
How are the questions of mortality and immortality tied to the notions of the
self, rebirth and retribution? How can moksha be attained? There was considerable
thought behind the development of new techniques of perception which included
dhyana (meditation) and yoga. The natural way of life conducive to achieving
this was asceticism (tapas). Some form of renunciation was present in the Vedic
sacrifices also. For instance, the granting of either fruits or animals as owned by
the yajamana as offering in the yajna amounted to renunciating what one owned.
196
The aim for him was, however, the pleasures of the heaven of Indra. But now, the Intellectual Developments
and Asceticism
aim had changed to that of release or liberation: moksha.

We will be discussing the main features of the Upanishadic thought below.

11.4.1 Atman-Brahman
The Upanishads talk about two concepts—Atman and Brahman. These two have
become the cornerstone of Indian philosophy. Brahman is visualized as the
Universal Soul. Atman is the Individual Soul. The Atman is something like an
essence which pervades every individual being. It is a life force, a consciousness
or the Ultimate Reality. One of the most well-known teachings of Atman appears
in Chandogya Upanishad as the instruction of the brahmana Uddalaka Aruni to
his son Shvetaketu. Uddalaka begins his explanation that one can know about
the universal of a material substance from a particular object made of that
substance. For example, by means of something made of clay, one can know
clay; by means of an ornament made of copper, one can know copper. He takes
these examples to demonstrate that objects are not created out of nothing. Rather,
the creation is a process through which multiplicity of forms get transformed
from an original being (sat). Such forms characterize our everyday experiences.
Just as bees collect nectar from different sources, but when gathered together
they form an undifferentiated mass; just as different rivers after flowing into the
ocean become one with the ocean, similarly Atman resides individually in every
being but merges with the Brahman and becomes one with it. Uddalaka next
asks his son to put some salt in a glass of water. Shvetaketu does so. Upon being
asked by his father to fetch the salt, Shvetaketu could not find it as it had dissolved
in the water. Next, Aruni asks his son to taste the water. Upon being found salty,
Aruni preaches Shvetaketu instruction on the Ultimate Reality. He says, ‘You
don’t perceive that one Reality (sat) exists in your body, my son, but it is truly
there. Everything which is has its being in that subtle essence. That is Reality!
That is the Soul! And you are that, Shvetaketu!” (As cited in Basham, A L. [2004],
pp. 253)

The Upanishads use a rich imagery to express the difficult meanings of the Self
and Brahman. Below is a small dialogue between Uddalaka Aruni and his son
Shvetaketu on the meaning of Atman:
- “Fetch me a fruit of the banyan tree”.
- “Here is one, sir”.
- “Break it”.
- “I have broken it, sir”.
- “What do you see?”
- “Very tiny seeds, sir”
- “Break one”.
- “I have broken it, sir”.
- “Now what do you see?”
- “Nothing, sir”
- “My son”, the father said, “What you do not perceive is the essence, and in
that essence the mighty banyan tree exists. Believe me, my son, in that essence is
the Self of all that is. That is the Truth, that is the Self. And you are that Self,
Shvetaketu!”
197
Vedic Period and Cultures in (Chandogya Upanishad, vi, 13. As cited in Basham, A.L., 2004, pp. 252-53)
Transition
“Tat tvam asi”, you (individual) are that (universal essence), is the leading theme
of the Upanishads.

Uddalaka’s explanation of creation has influenced the satkaryavad theory —

that the effect exists within the cause. It was accepted by the Samkhya, Yoga and
Vedanta darshanas. Uddalaka’s conceptions about the Self are different from
those present in the Early Vedic texts where the emphasis is not on human body
or the individual person but on the primordial or the ideal body (Black, Brian.
“The Upanishads”. Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy).

The Upanishads believed that the knowledge of the Atman leads to liberation or
Ultimate Freedom. This freedom is the freedom from death. Yajnavalkya’s
teachings in the Upanishads believed that the Atman dwells within the body; it is
because of the Atman that the body is alive; when death comes, the Atman does
not die but finds a new dwelling place in another body.

During the closing part of the Vedas, the sages had conceptualized of a single
creator or the controller of the universe. They called it Prajapati, Vishvakarman,
Purusha, Brahmanaspati, Brahman. He was at this stage only a deity. The search
for the nature of this deity begins in the Upanishads. The sum and substance of
the Upanishadic doctrine is represented by the formula Atman=Brahman. The
Brahman comes to mean the Ultimate Essence of the universe. The state of
Brahman is likened to a state of dreamless sleep. The Atman permeates not only
man but is present in everything – the sun, the moon, the world. This Atman is
Brahman. Just as from the ingot of iron, all that is made of iron is known, similarly,
from this Atman, Brahman is known, everything else is known. The essence of
man and the essence of the universe are one and the same and it is Brahman. It is
the most active principle in the universe and yet the most passive and unmoved.
Thus, it is said in the Mundaka Upanishad:
As a spider ejects and retracts (the threads),
As the plants shoot forth on the earth,
As the hairs on the head and body of the living man,
so, from the imperishable all that is here.
As the sparks from the well-kindled fire,
in nature akin to it, spring forth in their thousands,
So, my dear sir, from the imperishable
living beings of many kinds go forth,
And again, return into him
(As cited in Dasgupta, Surendranath, 2004, pp. 49-50)

The Universal Essence is sometimes defined in purely negative terms. “The Self
can only be described as ‘Not this, not this’. It is incomprehensible, imperishable,
… unattached, … unfettered, … it does not suffer, … it does not fail.”

11.4.2 The Theory of Transmigration

The idea of Transmigration has its beginnings in the later portions of the Rigveda.
However, it is in the Upanishads that is presented in the most advanced form.
The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad has the first occurrence of this doctrine in a
198 developed form. This doctrine developed in the Upanishads in two stages. In
one, the idea of transmigration is treated in combination with the Vedic idea of Intellectual Developments
and Asceticism
recompense in the other world, and in another, the idea of transmigration comes
to the forefront in supersession of the idea of recompense in the other world.
Thus, it is said that those who perform pious and good deeds travel the way of
the fathers (pitryana) after death. Their soul enters first into smoke, then into
night, the dark half of the month, etc., and at last reaches the moon; after a
residence there as long as the remnant of his good deeds remain he descends
again through ether, wind, smoke, mist, cloud, rain, herbage, food and seed, and
through the assimilation of food by man he enters the womb of the mother and is
born again. Here, we see that the soul enjoys the recompense in the world of the
moon but is re-born again in this world.
The other way is the way of gods (devayana), meant for those who cultivate
faith and asceticism (tapas). These souls at death enter successively into flame,
day, bright half of the month, bright half of the year, sun, moon, lightning, and
then finally into Brahman never to return. Deussen says that “the meaning of
the whole is that the soul on the way of the gods reaches regions of ever-increasing
light, in which is concentrated all that is bright and radiant as stations on the way
to Brahman the ‘light of lights’” (as cited in Dasgupta, Surendranath, 2004, p.
54).
The other part of the doctrine of Transmigration does not refer to good deeds or
bad or refer to devyana or pitryana. In this idea the Self itself destroys the body
when it becomes weak. It builds a newer and fairer frame by its own activity
when it reaches the end of the present. At the time of death, the Self collects
within itself all senses and faculties and after death all its previous knowledge,
work and experience accompanies him. The falling off of the body at the time of
death is only for the building of a newer body either in this world or in the other
worlds. The Self which, thus, takes rebirth is regarded as an aggregation of diverse
categories. The root of all this is the desire of the Self and the consequent fruition
of it through will and act. When the Self continues to desire and act, it reaps the
fruit and comes again to this world for performing acts. All the course of these
rebirths is affected by the Self itself by its own desires, and if it ceases to desire,
it suffers no rebirth and becomes immortal. The most distinctive feature of this
doctrine is that it refers to desires as the cause of rebirth and not karma. Karma
only comes as the connecting link between desires and rebirth – for it is said that
whatever a man desires he wills, and whatever he wills he acts (Dasgupta,
Surendranath, 2004, pp. 55-56).
In whatever way the theory of Transmigration was expounded it linked all life
forms into a single system. Even the gods had to undergo transmigration. As one
Indra died, another was born. The same law applied to animals, insects and plants.
A closely connected doctrine is that of karma. Man’s past actions determine his
birth in this world. Bad karma leads to birth in lowly dominions and a life of
good deeds, asceticism, dana leads to higher births. This theory became the
cornerstone of all Indian thought. Now, suffering could be easily explained as
the result of one’s deeds. Similarly, social inequalities could be justified. To
many people the theory of karmic retribution must have held out hope for the
possibility of a better life in next birth. This would have held a promise in a
situation wrought with fear and tension. However, to others, death was always
terrible. A way had to be sought to escape the recurring cycle of birth and death.
Pessimistic outlook towards life, never mind how adequate, found its answer in
asceticism and meditation. 199
Vedic Period and Cultures in
Transition
11.4.3 Doctrine of Emancipation
Emancipation or mukti is further developed in the Upanishads. We already know
the two paths through which the soul travels after death. Pitryana allows the
soul to enjoy the fruits of his karma but the soul takes rebirth again. In devayana,
those who are faithful and performed asceticism went by the way of gods but
never return back and suffer rebirth. Mukti is a state of infiniteness that a man
attains when he knows his own Self and, thus, becomes Brahman. Rebirth is the
only option for the ignorant but one who has no desire and has divested himself
of all passions becomes one with Brahman.
Check Your Progress Exercise 1
1) What were the main features of society and religion in the sixth century
BCE which led to the emergence of asceticism?
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
2) Discuss the Atman-Brahman doctrine of the Upanishads in 100 words.
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................

11.5 THE SADDARSHANA OR SIX SYSTEMS OF

PHILOSOPHY
The Hindu system of philosophy classifies philosophical thought into two classes:
Nastika and Astika. Nastika literally means na asti (it is not). They do not regard
the Vedas as supreme knowledge, nor try to establish their own validity on their
authority. They are principally three in number: Buddhists, Jainas and Charvakas.
The Astika-mata or the orthodox schools are six in number. These are Sankhya,
Yoga, Vedanta, Mimamsa, Nyaya and Vaisheshika. They are also called the six
systems of philosophy or Saddarshana. They have different origin and purpose
but later came to be regarded as equally valid ways of salvation. They were
divided into three groups of two, which were thought to be related and
complementary. These were: Nyaya and Vaisheshika; Sankhya and Yoga; and
Mimamsa and Vedanta. A very clear rendition of the chief characteristics of these
schools of thought has been presented by Professor A. L. Basham (2004) which
are summarized below.
Nyaya
Nyaya means ‘analysis’. It is a school of logic and epistemology rather than
200 theology. Its teacher was Aksapada Gautama. Its sutras are dated to the Common
Era. The belief is that clear thinking and logical argument are essential for attaining Intellectual Developments
and Asceticism
highest bliss. This is essentially a system of reasoning which was given a religious
basis.

Vaisheshika
It was the school of ‘individual characteristics. It is older than Nyaya but
complementary to it. In the medieval period both were merged into one.
Vaisheshika sutras deal with physics and metaphysics. The founder to whom the
earliest sutras are attributed is Uluka Kanada. They have some similarities with
the Buddhist and Jaina schools of thought. They believe that nature is atomic.
The atoms are the instrument of soul. The soul is distinct from the atoms. Salvation
depends on realizing the atomic nature of the universe and its difference from
the soul. The basic tenet of Vaisheshika goes like this: Each element has individual
characteristics called visheshas. They are to be distinguished from the four non-
atomic characteristics called dravyas (time, space, soul and mind). The atoms
are eternal but at the end of the great dissolution, with the death of Brahma, the
atoms become separated from one another. The new Brahma utilizes the old
atoms to fashion a new world. Thus, Vaisheshika believes in the dualism of matter
and soul.

Sankhya
Sankhya means ‘count’. It is the oldest of the six systems and occurs in a
rudimentary form in the Upanishads. Ancient sage, Kapila, was its founder. In
matters of rigid dualism and fundamental atheism this school shares a lot with
Jainism. It postulates a remarkable doctrine of the evolution of the cosmos in
simple terms. Its theory goes like this: there are twenty-five basic principles
(tattva) of which the first is prakriti and the last is purusha. Creation or rather
evolution does not take place due to any divinity but due to the inherent nature of
prakriti. Purusha is ‘the person’ or the Soul. Purusha is not dependent on Prakriti
and the same is true of Prakriti. A universe is devoid of soul, and yet evolving.
Soul becomes involved with matter, and their salvation lies in realizing their
difference from it. A very important feature of Sankhya metaphysics is the doctrine
of the three constituent qualities (guna), causing virtue (sattva), passion (rajas)
and dullness (tamas). When the cosmic matter is at an undeveloped stage, the
three constituent qualities are in equilibrium. As the world evolves, one or the
other quality predominates in different objects or beings and the proportions
account for the values of the universe. This three-fold classification had a profound
effect on subsequent Indian life and thought.

Yoga
It is translated as ‘spiritual discipline’ or ‘application’. It consists of all kinds of
religious exercises and acts of self-mortification present in Indian religions. The
follower is called a yogi. Though yoga was part of every school of thought, it
represents a distinct system in which psychic training is the chief means of
salvation. The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali is its basic text. Patanjali was a well-
known grammarian who lived in about second century BCE. They share a lot in
terms of metaphysical ideas with the Sankhya school, but they differed in that
they introduce a god into the picture. The god of the yoga school is an exalted
being who is symbolized in the sacred syllable of OM which plays an important
role in meditation and giving insight into the sublime purity of the Soul. The
course of training is divided into eight stages:
201
Vedic Period and Cultures in 1) Self-control (yama)
Transition
2) Observance (niyama)
3) Posture (asana)
4) Control of breath (pranayama)
5) Restraint (pratyahara)
6) Steadying the mind (Dharana)
7) Meditation (Dhyana)
8) Deep Meditation (Samadhi)
The method of attaining spiritual strength and salvation is through yogic practices
which aim to awaken the kundalini. This is how it happens: the chief vein of the
body is called susumna. It runs through the spinal column. Along its path there
are six ‘wheels’ (chakra) or concentration of psychic energy. At the top of the
vein, inside the skull is sahasrara also called as the lotus, which is a very powerful
psychic center. In the lowest wheel behind the genitals in a chakra called
kundalini, the ‘serpent power’. It rests generally in a quiescent state. By yogic
powers the kundalini is awakened and rises up the vein susumna, passes through
all the six ‘wheels’ of psychic force and unites with the topmost sahasrara. When
this happens, salvation is reached.
Mimamsa
It is a school of exposition. Its earliest work is the sutras of Jaimini (second
century BCE). They explain the Vedas as eternal, self-existent and wholly
authoritative. This led to some development of logic, semantics and dialectics in
this school. It developed a full philosophy of salvation in the seventh and eighth
centuries. According to it, respect for the Vedas and observance of their rules are
essential first steps to salvation. Later, this school merged with the Vedanta.

Vedanta
Literally meaning “the end of the Vedas”, it is also called Uttara Mimamsa (later-
Mimamsa) tradition. The doctrines of the Vedanta are based on the Upanishads
and Brahma Sutras of Badarayana. The classical Vedanta is that of the great
philosopher Shankara (788-820 CE) who had produced extensive commentaries
on the Brahma Sutras and the chief Upanishads. The doctrine of Shankara is
often called as advaita (‘allowing no second’, i.e. monism) or kevaladvaita (strict
monism). He believed in the idea of ‘double standard of truth’. According to
this, on the everyday level of truth, the world is produced by Brahma. It goes
through an evolutionary process similar to the one present in the Sankhya school
from which he borrowed the doctrine of the three gunas. However, on the highest
level of truth, the whole universe, including the gods, is maya – illusion.
Ultimately, the only reality is Brahman, the World Soul of the Upanishads with
which the Individual Soul is identical. Once the unity between the two is
recognized through meditation, salvation is attained.

11.6 NASTIKA SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT

The Upanishadic doctrine was part of the orthodox tradition. However, there
were others who did not believe in the Brahmanical religious ideas and expounded
their own metaphysics and philosophy. Let us discuss these heterodox sects
202 constituting the Nastika school of thought.
11.6.1 Buddhism Intellectual Developments
and Asceticism

It was founded by the Buddha (“the Enlightened one” or “the Awakened”) in the
sixth century BCE. The story of Gautama and his quest for enlightenment along
with his teachings and precepts will be dealt with in Unit 12. Here, we will be
discussing the metaphysical and psychological basis of the Buddhist thought.

The Pali canon was sifted and codified at the three councils of Rajagriha, Vaishali
and Pataliputra. It was committed to writing in Ceylon during the reign of King
Vattagamani (89-77 BCE). The Pitakas along with commentaries, semi-canonical
works and verse chronicles form a large body of literature which gives a good
enough idea about the Buddhist ethics and philosophy. The basic propositions of
this school are as follows: There is dukha (suffering) inherent in life. It can only
be eliminated by giving up ‘thirst’ (tanha, often translated as ‘craving’) which
includes personal ambition, desire, longing and selfishness of all kinds. Longing
can be stopped, and this can be done by taking a middle course between self-
indulgence and extreme asceticism and leading a moral and well-ordered life.
The doctrine central to these teachings is called ‘Chain of Dependent Origination’
(paticca-samuppada). It is a series of twelve terms or states, one leading to another
and finally ending is pain and dukha. The mechanics of this doctrine is that
dukha or pain is due to ignorance – as sort of cosmic ignorance which leads to
the delusion of the self-hood. This ignorance is a facet of the universe’s
fundamental nature which is: it is full of sorrow (dukha); it is transient (anicca);
and it is soulless (anatta).

The universe is transient. Every being or object is transient. A human being is a

compound of five psychosomatic elements — body, feelings, perceptions, states
of mind, and awareness. They vary from minute to minute and lead to ever newer
configurations. For example, the old man is not the same person as the baby in
arms seventy years ago. In fact, he is not the same person as a man a minute ago.
Every moment man is changing and leading to the coming into being of a new
man caused by the first. This is the chain of cause and effect which links one
state to another. The universe is in a constant state of flux. All ideas about
permanence arise from a state of ignorance out of which sorrow springs.

Buddhism does not believe in soul. The universe is soulless. Even the gods are
soulless. In transmigration nothing passes from one life to another. There is only
a chain of cause and effect, in which the new includes the old. If nothing passes
from life to life, and if transmigration is in force, then how would one explain the
Buddhist principle of bad karma in one’s life affecting another? According to
the Buddhists, the answer is that as a result of chain of cause and effect, evil
done by an earlier being affects the present existence of that being, no matter
how different from each other they might be.

The only stable entity is Nirvana (in Pali, Nibbana). This is the state of bliss,
reached when one realizes True Knowledge. Nirvana is outside the universe and
is not part of it. That is how one can explain the paradox that the universe is in a
constant state of flux and Nirvana is at rest.

11.6.2 Jainism
Vardhamana was the 24th tirthankara in Jainism and was known to his followers
as Mahavira (‘the Great Hero’). He renounced material life at the age of thirty.
203
Vedic Period and Cultures in At first he followed the path of Nirgranthas (‘free from fetters’) which had been
Transition
founded some two hundred years earlier by Parsvanatha. The term Nirgrantha
was used by the followers of Mahavira.

Jainism, like Buddhism, is primarily atheistic, in the sense that the gods are
considered to be present but are not important enough in the universal scheme.
The world functions according to the universal law and not according to the
wishes of any deity.
The universe functions due to the interaction of living souls (jivas, literally ‘lives’),
and five categories of non-living entities (ajivas). All living beings contain soul,
but according to Jainism, all inanimate objects like stones, rocks, running water
also contain soul. There are an infinite number of souls in the universe. Karma is
a subtle matter which in a fine atomic form adheres to an individual soul and
makes it different from other souls. An activity leads to karma of some kind.
Deeds of cruel nature produce more karma. The karma already acquired leads to
the acquisition of more karma, and thus, the cycle of transmigration continues.
Transmigration can only be escaped by dispelling the karma already sticking to
the soul. One also has to ensure that no further karma is acquired. The annihilation
(nirjara) of karma is done through penance, and the prevention (samvara) of the
influx (asrava) and fixation (bandha) of karma in the soul is ensured by disciplined
conduct, as a result of which it does not reach dangerous quantities and is dispersed
immediately. When the soul is finally free it rises to the highest heaven to the top
of the universe, where it remains in bliss through all eternity. This for the Jainas
is Nirvana.
For them monastic life is essential for attaining Nirvana. One can attain Nirvana
through fasting, self-mortification and meditation. All additional karma can be
rid off through strict discipline. Layman cannot do this. Nudity is essential to
attain Nirvana.
The life of a Jaina monk is governed by five vows: non-violence, non-stealing,
truth, abjuring sexual activity and possession of property. The act of killing or
injury is the most potent cause of the influx of karma and, therefore, to be avoided.
Agriculture is prohibited because cultivation and harvesting entails destruction
of life in plants and soil. Jainism went much further than other religions in their
doctrine of non-violence. They believed that any act, no matter how unintentional,
of a man if leads to injury to others, then it is a sin and leads to karma.

11.6.3 Scepticism and Materialism

The sixth century BCE saw the active participation in discussion by many teachers
including Mahavira, Gautama Buddha, Gosala and others. From this time onwards
the materialist school begins to get popular. According to this school, all religious
observance and morality were futile. A man should enjoy life to the fullest and
make the most of the joys. The frugal virtues of Buddhism and Jainism were
rejected. A man should not forsake happiness due to concomitant sorrow. Just as
he accepts the corn with the occasional husk, he should accept joys of life with
an occasional sorrow.

Many teachers of this period did not believe in the primacy of gods. Gods were,
according to them, mere super-natural beings but having limited powers. They
believed in the transmigration doctrine though its mechanics were interpreted
204 differently.
Check Your Progress Exercise 2 Intellectual Developments
and Asceticism
1) What are the six systems of philosophy? Explain.
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
2) Write True or False against the following statements:
i) The Upanishads contain the teachings of the Buddha. ( )
ii) The concept of Atman meant the individual soul. ( )
iii) The heterodox sects were against the authority of the Vedas. ( )
iv) The Sankhya school was the oldest of the six systems of ( )
philosophy.
v) The word Vedanta means ‘the end of the Vedas’. ( )
vi) The Pali canon was committed to writing in China. ( )
vii) The doctrine central to Buddhism is called paticca-samuppada. ( )
viii) Jainism is not atheistic in nature. ( )

11.7 SUMMARY
The sixth century BCE was a period of intense change. The developments
occurring on the social, political and economic front were tearing apart the social
fabric. The Vedic religion had become expensive and onerous. Voices of protest
against the Vedic ritual and sacrifices led to the emergence of heterodox sects.
For them it was not the collective ritual but the individual and his quest for
salvation that mattered. Besides, the questions regarding the place of individual
in the universe, the meaning of Self, and the origin of consciousness were turning
many to asceticism. There was a yearning to achieve the Highest Truth which
would end all suffering, uncertainties and doubts. This resulted in the emergence
of a multitude of speculative theories. The forest hermits had also opted for
asceticism but within the framework of orthodoxy. It was chiefly among them
that the literature of the Upanishads developed.

11.8 KEY WORDS

Ahimsa : non-injury, non-violence.
Ashrama : the four stages of life — brahmacharya (celibate
studenthood); grihastha (the householder stage);
vanaprastha (partial renunciation); and sanyasa
(complete renunciation).
Atman : the imperishable Ultimate Reality within the Self,
according to the Upanishads.
Bhikku : Pali (skt. Bhikshu), literally one who lives by begging
alms; a Buddhist monk. 205
Vedic Period and Cultures in Brahman : the imperishable, ultimate reality in the universe,
Transition
according to Upanishads.
Charvaka : an atheistic materialist philosophical school, also
known as Lokayata.
Darshana : Literally ‘view’; philosophy.
Karma : Doctrine according to which actions have
consequences that manifest themselves in present and
future lives.
Moksha : Liberation from the cycle of birth and death.
Nibbana : skt. Nirvana. A term used in the Buddhist philosophy
to mean liberation from the cycle of birth and death.
Paribbajaka : In Pali. Literally, wanderer, renunciant.
Patichcha-samuppada : In Pali. The law of dependent origination; a part of
the Buddhist teaching.
Tirthankara : Literally, ‘ford builder’; a Jaina saint.

11.9 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

EXERCISES
Check Your Progress Exercise 1
1) See Section 11.2.
2) See Sub-section 11.4.1.
Check Your Progress Exercise 2
1) Please see Section 11.5
2) i) False, ii) True, iii) True, iv) True, v) True, vi) False, vii) True, viii) False

11.10 SUGGESTED READINGS

Basham, A. L. (2004). The Wonder That Was India. Third revised edition. Picador.
Black, Brian (not dated). The Upanishads. Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy.
ISSN-2161-0002. https://www.iep.utm.edu/
Dasgupta, Surendranath (2004). A History of Indian Philosophy. Vol. 1. Project
Gutenberg.
Singh, Upinder (2008). A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India. Dorling
Kindrsley.

206
 Intellectual Developments
UNIT 12 JAINISM, BUDDHISM AND and Asceticism

AJIVIKAS*

Structure
12.0 Objectives
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Rise of New Religious Ideas
12.3 Material Milieu
12.4 Gautam Buddha and the Origin of Buddhism
12.4.1 Development of Buddhism
12.5 Origin of Jainism
12.5.1 Teachings of Mahavira
12.5.2 Development of Jainism
12.6 Other Heterodox Ideas
12.7 Ajivikas
12.8 Impact of New Religious Movements
12.9 Summary
12.10 Key Words
12.11 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises
12.12 Suggested Readings

12.0 OBJECTIVES
In this Unit, you will learn about:
the background to the rise of new religious ideas during the sixth century
BCE;
the emergence and growth of Buddhism and Jainism;
the main tenets of these religions;
the influence these religions came to wield on contemporary society; and
the other heterodox ideas prevalent in the sixth century BCE.

12.1 INTRODUCTION
The sixth century BCE was an important stage in Indian history as far as the
development of new religions is concerned. In this period, we notice a growing
opposition to the ritualistic orthodox ideas of the brahmanas. This ultimately led
to the emergence of many heterodox religious movements. Among these,
Buddhism and Jainism developed into well-organised popular religions. This
Unit attempts to analyse the emergence and significance of these new religious
ideas.

Firstly, it deals with the factors that were responsible for the emergence and
growth of heterodox ideas. Then it goes on to explain how the Buddha and
This Unit has been adopted from EHI-02, Block 4. 207
Vedic Period and Cultures in Mahavira tried to find a solution in their own ways to end human suffering.
Transition
Since the causes for the emergence of these two religions are common in nature,
there is some similarity in the principles adopted by these religions. However,
they differ completely on some of the basic principles. We have discussed these
points in this Unit.

The other heterodox religious ideas which were current during the sixth century
BCE have also been dealt with. Finally, we examine the impact of these religious
movements on contemporary economy and society.

12.2 RISE OF NEW RELIGIOUS IDEAS

The new religious ideas during this period emerged out of the prevailing social,
economic and religious conditions. Let us examine some of the basic reasons
which contributed to their emergence:

Ancient Kingdoms and Cities of India during the time of the Buddha (c.500 BCE). Credit:
Avantiputra7. Source: Wikimedia Commons. (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Mahajanapadas_(c._500_BCE).png)

1) The Vedic religious practices had become cumbersome, and in the context
of the new society of the period, had become in many cases meaningless.
Sacrifices and rituals increased and became more elaborate and expensive.
With the breakup of communities, the participation in these practices also
became restricted to some and as such irrelevant to many sections in the
society.
2) Growing importance of sacrifices and rituals established the domination of
the brahmanas in the society. They acted both as priests and teachers and
through their monopoly on performing sacred religious rites, they claimed
the highest position in society which was now divided into four varnas.
3) Contemporary economic and political developments, on the other hand,
helped the emergence of new social groups which acquired considerable
208
 economic power. You have seen that merchants living in cities or even rich Jainism, Buddhism and
Ajivikas
agricultural householders possessed considerable wealth. Similarly, the
kshatriyas whether in the monarchies or in the gana-samghas, came to wield
much more political power than before. These social groups were opposed
to the social positions defined for them by the brahmanas on the basis of
their heredity. As Buddhism and Jainism did not give much importance to
the notion of birth for social status, they attracted the vaisyas to their folds.
Similarly, the kshatriyas i.e. the ruling class were also unhappy with
brahmanical domination. Briefly put, it was basically the discontent generated
by the dominant position of the brahmanas in the society, which contributed
to the social support behind the new religious ideas. It is worth remembering
that both the Buddha and Mahavira came from kshatriya class but in their
search for answers to the pressing problems of society they went beyond
boundaries set by their birth. Further, when we try to find out how their
ideas were received by their contemporaries, we notice that they had a range
of people responding to them: kings, big merchants, rich householders,
brahmanas and even courtesans. They all represented the new society which
was emerging in the sixth century BCE and the Buddha and Mahavira, and
other thinkers of those times, in their own ways, responded to the problems
of a new social order. The Vedic ritualistic practices had ceased to be of
much relevance to this new social order.

The Buddha and Mahavira, were by no means, the first to criticise the existing
religious beliefs. Many religious preachers before them, like Kapila, Makkali
Gosala, Ajita Kesakambalin and Pakuda Kachchayana had already highlighted
the evils of the Vedic religion. They also developed new ideas on life and God.
New philosophies were also being preached. However, it was the Buddha and
Mahavira, who provided an alternative religious order.

This was the background which helped the emergence and establishment of new
religious orders in the sixth century BCE. Among these Buddhism and Jainism
were most popular and well organised.

12.3 MATERIAL MILIEU1

Scholars have contemplated over the fact as to why Buddhism and Jainism arose
in north eastern India? Both the heterodox religions cannot be simply understood
as a reaction again the growing rigidity and ritualism of the Brahmanas. If this
had been so, then such religious ideas would have emerged in western UP where
there was a more rigid entrenchment of brahmanical principles. R. S. Sharma
believes that the answer has to be sought within the material conditions of the
life of the people. Let us examine some of his observations below:

1) Iron had been introduced in western UP by 1000 BCE and it gradually spread
to eastern UP. Evidence for the use of iron has been documented at the sites
of Prahladpur (Dist. of Varanasi), Chirand (Bihar), Vaisali, Sonpur (Gaya)
etc. between 8th to 5th century BCE. Between 600-300 BCE eastern UP saw
the advent of plough, iron axe, share and sickle in agriculture. This led to
the clearing of jungles and large settlements came up. R. S. Sharma believes
that the existing socio-economic conditions were not conducive for the
growth of agriculture. Cattle wealth was being decimated in the land of
1
This section has been written by Dr. Suchi Dayal 209
Vedic Period and Cultures in Kuru and Pancala in western UP through slaughter in sacrifices. Shatapatha
Transition
Brahmana indicates the prevalence of the same practice in eastern UP and
Bihar. Once sanctioned by religion, sacrifices became a senseless destruction
of cattle, and hence, an impediment to agricultural progress. Just to give an
idea about the scale of animal wealth that was destroyed during sacrifices,
mention may be made of Ashvamedha sacrifice in which 600 animals of
various types were killed. Thus, large scale destruction of cattle wealth was
proving to be detrimental to the growth of agriculture. Early Pali texts were
deeply concerned about agriculture, sowing and cultivating. It is in this
context that Buddhist emphasis on ahimsa and non injury assumes a new
significance. Gautama Buddha maintained that animal sacrifice did not
produce any merit. Suttanipata considered non-violence as the greatest virtue.
Both the teachings of Buddhism and Jainism emphasized non-injury, and
this became revolutionary teaching in a time when cattle were being killed
for religion or food. .

2) The introduction of iron, the resultant surplus, along with various other factors
led to the formation of urban settlements in this period. Trade flourished
and we see the emergence of trading groups like the setthis. The Brahmanical
attitude to trade was not encouraging. Sea voyage was considered a taboo
as this could impact the purity of the caste structure adversely. The earliest
law givers prescribe trade and agriculture for the vaisyas who were ranked
lower than the brahmanas and the kshatriyas. Besides, trade in men, liquids,
cloth, leather, food grains etc. was prohibited for the brahmanas who could
take to agriculture in times of distress. The people of Magadha and Anga
were looked down upon as they traded in certain commodities. In contrast,
the Buddhists treated sea voyages with approval. The first lay converts to
Buddhism were from the trading class. Rich traders like Anathapindika gave
generous donations to the Sangha.

3) The advent and use of money currency led to the emergence of the practice
of usury and money lending. The existing social ideology did not favour the
lending of money on interest. As an early Lawgiver, Apastamba lays down
that brahmanas should not accept food from a person who charges interest
(vardhisikah). On the other hand, there are repeated references to debtor,
creditor, debt and interest in the Pali texts. Money lending was not
condemned. However, there was an emphasis on clearing of debts which
supposedly made a person happy.

4) The urban setting led to emergence of eating houses, prostitutes which did
not find favour with the Brahmanical texts. Apastamba lays down that the
brahmanas should not eat food prepared in shops. But Buddhist texts do not
exhibit such an attitude. Early Pali texts refer to prostitutes living in cities.
Amrapali was a famous courtesan who charged fifty kahapanas for one
night. The Brahmanical texts did not approve of prostitution. According to
Baudhayana, food offered by a prostitute or an unchaste woman is prohibited.
In contrast the Buddha did not believe in any such injunctions. Women were
admitted in the Buddhist order and there was no prohibition on prostitutes
joining the Sangha.

5) The new form of social set up that was characterized by the advent of iron,
large settlements, new forms of wealth and valour led to the emergence of
210 kshatriyas as a powerful class of warriors. Their powerful status brought
 them in direct competition with the brahmanas who always credited Jainism, Buddhism and
Ajivikas
themselves at being at the top of the social hierarchy. The Buddha and
Mahavira both belonged to the kshatriya class. The Buddhists accorded first
place to the kshatriyas who they felt were the protector of the fields, and
thus had a right over a part of the peasants produce in the form of taxes.

Thus, Buddhism may well be regarded as the product of the material milieu of
the sixth century BCE. Negatively it undermined those religious practices which
hampered the growth of agriculture. It was suited perfectly to the new detribalised
class based and state based social structure which was the product of the second
phase of iron.

12.4 GAUTAM BUDDHA AND THE ORIGIN OF

BUDDHISM
Buddhism was founded by Gautama Buddha who had been given the name of
Siddhartha by his parents. His father was Suddhodana, the chief of the Sakya
clan and mother was Maya, princess of the Koliya clan. He was born in the
Lumbini grove (modern Rummindei) in the Nepal Tarai region. We know this
through an inscribed pillar of Ashoka. The date of the birth of the Buddha is a
matter of dispute but most of the scholars place it about 566 BCE.

Though his life was spent in royal splendour, it failed to attract the mind of
Gautama. As tradition describes it, he was deeply affected by the sight of an old
man, a sick person, a dead body and an ascetic. The misery of human life cast a
deep spell on Gautama. In order to find a solution to the misery of mankind, he
left home at the age of 29 (Figure 12.1).

Fig. 12.1: Scene of the Buddha’s Great Departure from Palatial Life, Gandhara. 1-2 CE.
Guimet Museum. (The Buddha is surrounded by a halo, accompanied by numerous guards,
mithuna loving couples and devata, who have come to pay homage.) Source: Wikimedia
Commons. (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_Departure.JPG)

Gautama spent six years as a wandering ascetic. From a sage named Alara Kalama
he learnt the technique of meditation and the teachings of the Upanishads. Since
these teachings did not lead Gautama to final liberation, he left him along with
five brahmana ascetics. He practised rigid austerities and resorted to different
kinds of self torture to find the truth. Ultimately abandoning this he went to
Uruvela (near, modern Bodh Gaya on the banks of Niranjana river) and sat under
a pipal tree (Bodhi tree). Here he attained the Supreme Knowledge
(Enlightenment) on the 49th day of his continuous meditation. Since then he was
called the Buddha (the Enlightened One). From here he proceeded to the Deer
park at Sarnath near Varanasi and gave his first sermon which is known as
“Dharmachakra Pravartana’ (setting in motion the wheel of Dharma) (Figure
12.2).
211
Vedic Period and Cultures in
Transition

Fig.12.2: Teaching Buddha (Dharmacakra Mudra)

Gupta Period, Sandstone, H.160cm. Archaeological Museum, (ASI), Sarnath, India. Credit:
Teraprapas. Source: Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Buddha_in_Sarnath_Museum_(Dhammajak_Mutra).jpg)

Asvajit, Upali, Mogallana, Sari-putra and Ananda were the first five disciples of
the Buddha. The Buddha laid the foundations of the Buddhist Sangha. He
preached most of his sermons at Shravasti. Anathapindika, the rich merchant of
Shravasti became his follower and made liberal donations to the Buddhist order.

Soon he started visiting places to propagate his sermons. He visited Sarnath,

Mathura, Rajgir, Gaya and Pataliputra. Kings like Bimbisara, Ajatasatru
(Magadha), Prasenajita (Kosala) and Udayana (Kausambi) accepted his doctrines
and became his disciples. He also visited Kapilavastu and converted his foster
mother and his son Rahula to his faith. At the age of 80 (486 B.C.), he died at
Kusinagara (Kasia in Deoria district in Uttar Pradesh), the capital of the Mallas
(Figure 12.3).

Fig.12.3: The Parinirvana of the Buddha, Gandhara 2-3rd century. Credit: PHG. Source:
212 Wikimedia Commons. (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paranirvana.JPG)
Let us now examine the teachings of the Buddha which became popular and Jainism, Buddhism and
Ajivikas
gave a new direction to the religious ideas of the time.
Teachings of the Buddha
The basic teachings of the Buddha are contained in:
The Four Noble Truths, and
The Eight-Fold Path
The following are the Four Noble Truths:
1) The world is full of suffering.
2) All sufferings have a cause; desire, ignorance and attachment are the causes
of sufferings.
3) The suffering could be removed by destroying its cause.
4) In order to end suffering one must know the right path. This path is the
Eight-Fold Path (Ashtangika Marga).
The Eight-Fold Path consists of the following principles:
Right View. It is to understand that the world is filled with sorrow generated
by desire. The ending of desire will lead to the liberation of the soul.
Right aim. It seeks to avoid the enjoyment of the senses and luxury. It aims
to love humanity and increase the happiness of others.
Right speech, which seeks to emphasize the speaking of truth always.
Right action, which is understood to be unselfish action.
Right livelihood. It instructs that a man should live by honest means.
Right effort. It is the proper way of controlling one’s senses so as to prevent
bad thoughts. It is through correct mental exercises that one can destroy
desire and attachment.
Right mindfulness. It is the understanding of the idea that the body is
impermanent, and meditation is the means for the removal of worldly evils.
Right concentration. The observation of it will lead to peace. Meditation
will unravel the Real Truth.
Buddhism laid great emphasis on the law of ‘karma’. According to this law the
present is determined by past actions. The condition of man in this life and the
next depends upon his own actions.
Every individual is maker of his own destiny. We are born again and again to
reap the fruits of our ‘karma’. If an individual has no sins, he is not born again.
Thus, the doctrine of karma is the essential part of the teachings of the Buddha.
The Buddha preached ‘nirvana’, the ultimate goal in the life of a man. It means
the shedding of all desires, and ending of sufferings, which finally leads to freedom
from rebirth. By a process of elimination of desire, one can attain ‘nirvana’.
Therefore, the Buddha preached that desire is the real problem. Prayers and
sacrifices will not end the desire. So, unlike the emphasis on rituals and ceremonies
in the Vedic religion he laid emphasis on the moral life of an individual.
The Buddha neither accepted nor rejected the existence of God. He was more
concerned about the individual and his actions. Buddhism also did not believe in
the existence of soul. Besides these the Buddha laid stress on certain other aspects: 213
Vedic Period and Cultures in The Buddha emphasized on the spirit of love. Love could be expressed
Transition
towards all living beings by following ‘ahimsa’ (non-killing). Though the
principle was well understood, it was not emphasized as much as in Jainism.
An individual should pursue the middle path and both severe asceticism as
well as luxurious life are to be avoided.
Buddhism in a very short period emerged into an organized religion and the
Buddha’s teachings were codified.
The Buddhist canon (collection of teachings) is divided into three sections namely:
1) The Sutta Pitaka consists of five sections (nikayas) of religious discourses
and sayings of the Buddha. The fifth section contains the Jataka tales (birth
stories of the Buddha).
2) The Vinaya Pitaka contains the rules of monastic discipline.
3) The Abhidhamma Pitaka contains the philosophical ideas of teachings of
the Buddha. It is written in the form of questions and answers.

12.4.1 Development of Buddhism

Let us examine the factors which contributed to the popularity of Buddhism.

Spread of Buddhism
Even during the lifetime of the Buddha, Buddhism was accepted by a large section
of the people. For example, the people of Magadha, Kosala, Kaushambi had
embraced Buddhism. The republics of Sakyas, Vajjis and Mallas also followed
the process. Later on, Ashoka (Figure 12.4) and Kanishka made Buddhism the
state religion and it spread to Central Asia, West Asia and Sri Lanka. The appeal
of Buddhism for a large section of population was because of the following
factors:

Fig.12.4: The Words “Bu-dha” (The Buddha) and “Sa-kya-mu-ni” (‘Sage of the Sakyas’)
in Brahmi Script on Ashoka’s Rummindei Minor Pillar Edict (c. 250 BCE). Credit: Dharma
from Penang, Malaysia. Soure: Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/
index.php?curid=72611830

Emphasis on practical morality; an easily acceptable solution to the problems

of mankind and a simple philosophy attracted the masses towards Buddhism.
The ideas of social equality laid down in the codes of Buddhism made many
lay followers accept Buddhism.
Merchants, like Anathapindika, and courtesans like Amrapali, accepted the
faith because they got due respect in this religion.
The use of popular language (Pali) to explain the doctrines also helped in
the spread of the religion. This was because the Brahmanical religion had
214 limited itself to the use of Sanskrit which was not the language of the masses.
 The patronage extended by kings was another important reason for the rapid Jainism, Buddhism and
Ajivikas
growth of Buddhism. For example, according to tradition, Ashoka sent his
son Mahendra and his daughter Sanghamitra to Sri Lanka to preach
Buddhism. He also established many monasteries and contributed liberally
to the sangha.
The institution of Sangha had helped to organize the spread of Buddhism
effectively.
The Institution of Sangha
The Sangha was the religious order of the Buddhists. It was a well-organized
and powerful institution which popularised Buddhism. Membership was open to
all persons above fifteen years of age, irrespective of caste. Criminals, lepers
and persons affected by infectious diseases were not given admission into the
Sangha. Initially the Buddha was not in favour of admitting women in the Sangha.
However, he admitted them at the repeated requests of his chief disciple Ananda
and his foster mother Mahapajapati Gotami.

On admission, the monks had to ceremonially shave their head and wear yellow
or saffron robes. Monks were expected to go on a daily round in order to preach
Buddhism and seek alms. During the four months of the rainy season they took

Map of Buddhist Missions during Reign of Ashoka. Credit: Javierfv1212. Source:

Wikimedia Commons. (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Asoka%CC%A0_
Buddhist_ Missions.png)
215
Vedic Period and Cultures in up a fixed abode and meditated. This was called the retreat or ‘vasa’. The Sangha
Transition
also promoted education among the people. Unlike Brahmanism, people of
different orders of the society had entry to education. Naturally the non-brahmins
who were deprived of education got access to education in Buddhism and thus
education reached wider sections of the society.

The Sangha was governed by democratic principles and was empowered to

enforce discipline amongst its members. There was a code of conduct for the
monks and nuns and they were bound to obey it. The Sangha had the power to
punish the erring members.

Buddhist Councils
According to tradition shortly after the death of the Buddha the first Buddhist
Council was held in 483 BCE in the Saptapami cave near Rajagriha (Figure
12.5). Mahakassapa presided over the assembly. All the teachings of the Buddha
were divided into two Pitakas, namely: Vinaya Pitaka and Sutta Pitaka.

The text of Vinaya Pitaka was established under the leadership of Upali and that
of Sutta Pitaka was settled under the leadership of Ananda.

The second Council was held at Vaishali in 383 BCE. The monks of Vaishali and
Pataliputra had accepted certain rules which were declared as contrary to the
teaching of the Buddha by the monks of Kaushambi and Avanti. The Council
failed to bring about a compromise between the two opposing groups. Hence the
council ended in a permanent split in the Buddhist order into Sthaviravadins and
Mahasangikas. The former upheld the orthodox Vinaya Pitaka while the latter
favoured the new rules and their further relaxation.

Fig. 12.5: The Sattapanni Caves of Rajgir (Bihar) which served as the Location of First
Buddhist Council. Source: Wikimedia Commons. (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Sattapanni.jpg)

The third Council was held at Pataliputra during the reign of Ashoka under the
chairmanship of Moggaliputta Tissa. In this Council the philosophical
interpretations of the doctrines of the Buddha were collected into the third Pitaka
called Abbidhamma Pitaka. An attempt was made in this Council to free the
Buddhist order from the dissidents and innovations. Heretical monks numbering
sixty thousand were expelled from the order. The true canonical literature was
defined and authoritatively settled to eliminate all disruptive tendencies.
216
The fourth Council was held during the reign of Kanishka in Kashmir. This council Jainism, Buddhism and
Ajivikas
was a gathering of Hinayanists of north India. It compiled three commentaries
(Vibhashas) of the three Pitakas. It decided certain controversial questions of
differences that arose between the Sarvastivada teachers of Kashmir and
Gandhara.
Buddhist Schools
In the second Council held at Vaishali, the Buddhist order was split into two
schools namely:
1) Sthaviravadins, and
2) Mahasangikas
The Sthaviravadins followed strict monastic life and rigid disciplinary laws as
originally prescribed. The group which followed modified disciplinary rules was
called the Mahasangikas.

Mahayana developed after the fourth Buddhist Council. In opposition to the

Hinayana group, which believed in orthodox teachings of the Buddha, those
who accepted the new ideas belonged to the Mahayana sect. They made images
of the Buddha and worshipped it as god. In the first century CE, during the
period of Kanishka, some doctrinal changes were made.
Check Your Progress Exercise 1
1) What were the material conditions that gave rise to new religious ideas in
the sixth century BCE?
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2) What are the main features of Buddhism?
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.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................

12.5 ORIGIN OF JAINISM

According to Jaina traditions, twenty-four Tirthankaras were responsible for the
origin and development of Jaina religion and philosophy. Of these, the first twenty-
two are of doubtful historicity. In the case of the last two, Parsvanatha and
Mahavira, Buddhist works confirm their historicity.
217
Vedic Period and Cultures in Parsvanatha
Transition
According to the Jaina tradition the twenty-third Tirthankara, Parsvanatha (figure
12.6) was the son of King Asvasena of Varanasi and his Queen Vama. He
abandoned the throne at the age of thirty and became an ascetic. He received
Enlightenment after 84 days of penance. He died at the age of 100 years, nearly
250 years before Mahavira. Parsvanatha believed in the eternity of ‘matter’. He
left behind him a good number of followers. The followers of Parsvanatha wore
a white garment. Thus, it is clear that even before Mahavira some kind of Jaina
faith existed.

Fig. 12.6: Jina Parsvanatha. Madhya Pradesh, 600-700 CE. Credit: Sailko. Source:
Wikimedia Commons. (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:India,_madhya_
pradesh,_ jina_parshvanatha_dalla_temp%C3%A8esta,_600-700.JPG)

Mahavira
The twenty-fourth Tirthankara was Vardhamana Mahavira (Figure 12.7). He was
born in Kundagrama (Basukunda), a suburb of Vaisali (Muzzaffarpur district,
Bihar) in 540 BCE. His father, Siddhartha was the head of Jnatrikas, a kshatriya
clan. His mother was Trishala, a Lichchavi princess. Vardhamana was given a
good education and was married to Yashoda. He had a daughter by her.

Fig.12.7: Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism in Current time Cycle. Credit:
Dayodaya. Source: Wikimedia Commons. (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Mahavir.jpg)
218
At the age of thirty, Vardhamana left his home and became an ascetic. At first he Jainism, Buddhism and
Ajivikas
wore a single garment which he abandoned after l3 months and began to wander
as a ‘naked monk’. For twelve years he lived the life of an ascetic following
severe austerities. In the 13th year of his asceticism, at the age of 42, he attained
the ‘Supreme Knowledge’. He was later known as ‘Mahavira’ (the supreme hero),
or ‘Jina’ (the conqueror). He was also hailed as ‘Nirgrantha’ (free from fetters).

For the next thirty years he moved from place to place and preached his doctrines
in Kosala, Magadha and further east. He wandered for eight months in a year
and spent the four months of the rainy season in some famous town of eastern
India. He often visited the courts of Bimbisara and Ajatasatru. He died at Pawa
(near Rajagriha) in Patna district at the age of 72 (468 BCE).

12.5.1 Teachings of Mahavira

Mahavira accepted most of the religious doctrines laid down by Parsvanatha.
However, he made some alterations and additions to them. Parsvanath advocated
the following four principles:
1) Truth
2) Non-violence
3) Non-possession
4) Not to receive anything that was not voluntarily given.
To this Mahavira added the fifth principle of celibacy (brahmacarya).

Mahavira believed that soul (jiva) and matter (ajiva) are the two basic existing
elements. According to him, the soul is in a state of bondage created by desire
accumulated through previous births. By means of continued efforts the soul can
be relieved of bondage. This is the final liberation (moksa) of the soul. The
liberated soul then becomes ‘the pure soul’.

According to Jainism, man is the creator of his own destiny and he could attain
‘moksa’ by pursuing a life of purity, virtue and renunciation. Moksa (nirvana)
can be attained by observing the following three principles (ratnatraya):
1) Right belief
2) Right knowledge
3) Right action
He advocated a life of severe asceticism and extreme penance for the attainment
of ‘nirvana’ or the highest spiritual state. He believed that the world was not
created by any supreme creator. The world functions according to an eternal law
of decay and development. He thought that all objects, animate and inanimate
have a soul. He believed that they feel pain or the influence of injury.

He rejected the authority of the Vedas and objected to Vedic rituals and the
supremacy of the brahmanas. A code of conduct was prescribed for both the
householder and monks. For the purpose of avoiding evil karma, a householder
had to observe the following five vows:
1) Non-injury
2) Non-stealing 219
Vedic Period and Cultures in 3) Non-adultery
Transition
4) Speaking the truth
5) Non-possession
It was also prescribed that worshippers should feed cooked food to the needy
every day. He preached that lay worshippers should not take to agriculture, since
this involved the destruction of plants and insects. A monk had to observe certain
strict rules. He had to abandon all worldly possessions. He had to root out every
hair of his head by his own hands. He could walk only during the day, taking
care that he does not kill or injure any being. He had to train himself so as not to
be affected by objects of the senses.

Jainism believed that the monastic life was essential to attain salvation and a
householder could not attain it.

According to tradition the original doctrines taught by Mahavira were contained

in fourteen old texts known as ‘purvas’. In the first Council at Pataliputra,
Sthulabhadra divided the Jaina canon into 12 ‘angas’ or sections. This was
accepted by Svetambaras. However, the Digambaras refused to accept this
claiming that all the old scriptures were lost. At the second Council held at Vallabhi
new additions were made in the form of ‘Upangas’ or minor sections. Among
the 12 Angas the Acharanga sutta and Bhagavati sutta are the most important.
While the former deals with the code of conduct which a Jaina monk is required
to follow, the later expounds the Jaina doctrines in a comprehensive manner.

12.5.2 Development of Jainism

Teachings of Mahavira became very popular among the masses and different
sections of the society were attracted to it. Like Buddhism, Jainism also underwent
change with time. We will now see what contributed to the spread of this religion
and what the developments in it were.

Spread of Jainism
Mahavira had eleven disciples known as Ganadharas or heads of schools. Arya
Sudharma was the only Ganadhara who survived Mahavira and became the first
‘Thera’ (chief preceptor) of the Jaina order. He died 20 years after Mahavira’s
death. The Jaina order in the days of the late Nanda King was administered by
two Theras:
1) Sambhutavijaya, and
2) Bhadrabahu.
The sixth Thera was Bhadrabahu, a contemporary of the Maurya King
Chandragupta Maurya.

The followers of Mahavira slowly spread over the whole country. In many regions
royal patronage was bestowed upon Jainism. According to Jaina tradition, Udayin,
the successor of Ajatasatru was a devoted Jaina. Jaina monks were seen on the
banks of the river Indus, when Alexander invaded India. Chandragupta Maurya
was a follower of Jainism and he migrated with Bhadrabahu to the south and
spread Jainism. During the early centuries of the Christian Era Mathura and
Ujjain became great centres of Jainism.
220
The success of Jainism was more remarkable than Buddhism. One of the important Jainism, Buddhism and
Ajivikas
causes for the success was the popular dialect (Prakrit; religious literature was
also written in Ardhamagadhi) used in place of Sanskrit by Mahavira and his
followers. The simple and homely morals prescribed to the masses attracted the
people. The patronage extended by kings helped Jainism to gain a place in the
minds of the people.

Jain Councils
Towards the close of Chandragupta Maurya’s rule, a terrible famine broke out in
south Bihar. It lasted for about 12 years. Bhadrabahu and his disciples migrated
to Sravanabelgola in Karnataka. Other Jainas remained in Magadha with
Sthulabhadra as their leader. They summoned a council at Pataliputra in about
300 BCE. In that council the sacred teachings of Mahavira were divided into
twelve angas.

The second Jain Council was held at Vallabhi (Gujarat) in 512 CE and was
presided over by Devardhi Kshemasarmana. The purpose of this Council was to
collect the sacred texts and write them down systematically. However, this time
the 12th Anga drawn at the first Council was lost. All the remaining Angas were
written in Ardhamagadhi.

Sects
The split in the Jaina order became wider from the third century BCE. The
differences over wearing a garment were apparent even during the time of
Mahavira. The followers of Bhadrabahu, after their return from Sravanabelgola
to Magadha refused to acknowledge the canon holding that all the 14 Purvas
were lost. Moreover, a wide gulf had developed between those who emigrated
and those who stayed back in Magadha. The latter had become accustomed to
wearing white garments and made a departure from Mahavira’s teachings, while
the former still continued going naked and strictly followed his teachings. Hence,
the first split in the Jaina order was between the Digambaras (sky clad or naked)
and Svetambaras (clad in white).

During later years further splits took place among both the sections; the most
important of them being one that renounced idol worship altogether and devoted
itself to the worship of the scriptures. They were called the Terapanthis among
the Svetambaras and the Samaiyas among the Digambaras. (This sect came into
existence about the sixth century CE)

12.6 OTHER HETERODOX IDEAS3

There were many non-brahmanical heretical sects who were expounding ideas
which were at variance with the orthodox Brahmanical beliefs. These were the
contemporaries of the Buddha as mentioned in the Sumanna-phala sutta of Digha
Nikaya. These teachers are largely mentioned as a group and not individually.
There is a lot of confusion about their teachings and much caution needs to be
exercised. Buddhist and Jaina sources are the main sources of information about
these sects.

It is mentioned in Sumanna-phala sutta that when the Buddha along with 1250
bhikkhus was stationed at Rajagriha, King Ajatashatru felt in need of spiritual
3
Section 12.6 and 12.7 have been written by Dr. Suchi Dayal 221
Vedic Period and Cultures in guidance. His ministers then suggested the names of the following heretical
Transition
teachers one by one.
1) Purana Kassapa
2) Makkali Gosala
3) Ajita Kesakambali
4) Pakudha Kaccayana
5) Sanjaya Belatthiputta
6) Nigantha Nataputta
Each is referred to as the leader of an order (ganacariyo), well known, famous,
the founder of a sect (titthakaro), respected as a saint (sadhu-sammato), revered
by many people, a homeless wanderer of long standing (cirapabbajito) and
advanced in years. Now let us discus the teachings of each briefly:
1) Purana Kassapa preached the doctrine of Akriya or non-action. He was a
brahmana teacher whose main doctrine was that action did not lead to either
merit or demerit. According to him, even if a man killed all the creatures on
earth, he would not incur any sin. Similarly, he would not earn any merit
through good deeds or even by standing on the bank of Ganges. Similarly,
self-control, gifts and truthfulness would not earn him any credit.
2) Makkali Gosala: A doctrine of niyativada is prescribed. According to the
most celebrated teacher of the Ajivika sect, Makkali Gosala, there is no
cause or basis for sin of living beings. Neither is there cause or basis for the
purity of living beings. No deed can affect one’s future births. No human
action, strength, courage and human endurance can affect one’s destiny. All
men are without power, strength or virtue. They are driven by destiny, chance
and nature (we will be discussing Ajivikism in more detail below).
3) Ajita Kesakambali: There is no merit in alms-giving, sacrifice or offering.
Good deeds or evil deeds do not lead to good karma or bad karma
respectively. There is no transmigration of soul. No ascetic can reach
perfection on the right path. Man is formed of four elements: when he dies,
earth returns to the aggregate of earth; water to water; fire to fire; air to air;
while the sense vanishes into space.
4) Pakudha Kaccayana: There are seven immutable elements. These are: the
bodies of earth, fire, water, air, joy, sorrow, life. Even if a man cuts off the
head of another with a sword, he does not take life as his sword passes
through these seven elements. This is the theory of Asasvatavada. These
seven elements do not lead to any pleasure or pain.
5) Sanjaya Belatthiputta: If you asked me, “Is there another world?” and if I
believed that there was, I should tell you so. But that is not what I say. I do
not say that it is so; I do not say that it is otherwise; I do not say that it is not
so; nor do I say that it is not not so. Clearly the above-mentioned lines
underline the satirical nature; a tilt at agnostic teachers who are not willing
to give any definite answer to any metaphysical question put to them.
6) Nigantha Nataputta: Nigantha can be identified with Vardhamana Mahavira,
the 24th tirthankara of Jainism. According to the passage, the four-fold
restraint is a barrier that surrounds a nigantha. By avoiding all sin, he becomes
perfected, controlled and firm.
222
 Jainism, Buddhism and
12.7 AJIVIKAS Ajivikas

The most prominent teacher of the Ajivika sect (Figure 12.8) was Makkali Gosala

Fig. 12.8: The 3rd Century BCE mendicant caves of the Ajivikas (Barabar hills, Near Gaya,
Bihar). Credit: Thomas Fraser Peppé 1870. Source: Wikimedia Commons https://commons.
wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Barabar_hill_with_Sudama_and_Lomas_Rishi_caves. jpg

Fig.12.9: Ajivika Monk in a Gandhara Sculpture of the Mahaparinirvana. Credit: Daderot.

Source: Four Scenes from the Life of the Buddha - Parinirvana - Kushana dynasty, late
2nd to early 3rd century AD, Gandhara, schist - Freer Gallery of Art - DSC05119.JPG.
Photo Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons. (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Ajivika_Monk_in_a_Gandhara_sculpture_of_the_Mahaparinirvana.jpg)
223
Vedic Period and Cultures in He was at one time closely associated with Mahavira but later went a separate
Transition
path. The theory that Ajivikas believed in, was Fatalism. It was around this
principle that a new sect developed which consisted of naked wanderers who
were dedicated to asceticism. They were popular till the Mauryan period. Ashoka
and his successor, Dasaratha, had also patronised Ajivikas. After this period, in
north India, the Ajivika community lost its influence and soon became
insignificant. The three heterodox sects of Buddhism, Jainism and Ajivikism
had much in common. All three were against the sacrificial rituals of the
Brahmanical religion and monistic theories of the Upanishads. The Ajivikas
(Figure 12.9) introduced cosmic principles in place of natural personification of
the Vedas and world-soul theory of the Upanishads. All the three religions
recognised the rule of natural law in the universe.

The Ajivikas belived in niyati, the all-encompassing rule of the principle of order.
According to them, Niyati controlled everything – all actions, all phenomena.
Human volition has no role and was completely ineffectual. Thus, strict
determinism was the central tenet of Ajivikism. They developed India’s earliest
atomic theory. They practised asceticism of the most severe form which often
ended in death by starvation.

According to both the Buddhist and Jaina sources, Makkali Gosala exalted Niyati
to the status of the motive factor of the universe and the sole agent of all
phenomenal change. Sin and suffering, attributed by other sects to karma, was
without cause or basis other than the force of destiny. Karma was unaffected by
virtuous conduct, by vows, by penances, by chastity, but it was not denied. Ajivikas
believed in transmigration of soul and every soul was fated to run the same
course through a period of 84,00,000 mahakalpas. All beings were driven by
destiny (niyati), chance (Sangati) and nature (bhava).

Vedic, Buddhist and Jaina philosophical systems do give some merit to free will.
Fatalism does not figure prominently in them. Though Indian doctrine of karma
was considered important to account for suffering or happiness in this life and
the next, the individual is credited with free will, who by choosing the right
course of action, could improve his condition and ultimately win salvation. This
doctrine Gosala opposed.

12.8 IMPACT OF NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS

The rise and development of the new religious ideas had brought some significant
changes in the contemporary social life. Following are some of the important
changes:
The idea of social equality was popularised in this period. Buddhists and
Jainas did not give any importance to caste system. They accepted members
of different castes in their religious order. This was a great threat to the age
long domination of the brahmanas in the society. Acceptance of women in
the Buddhist order also had an important impact in society because this
gave women equal status with men in the society.
Brahmanical texts had assigned an inferior position to traders. Sea voyages
were also condemned. But as Buddhists and Jainas did not give any
importance to caste and did not look down upon sea voyages so the trading
community was very much encouraged by these new religious ideas.
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 Moreover, the emphasis on ‘karma’ by these new religious ideas for future Jainism, Buddhism and
Ajivikas
life also indirectly favoured the activities of the trading community.
The new religions gave importance to languages like Prakrit, Pali and Ardha-
Magadhi. Buddhist and Jaina philosophies were discussed in these languages
and later, canons were written in the local language. This paved the way for
the development of vernacular literature. Thus, the Jainas, for the first time,
gave literary shape to the mixed dialect, Ardha-Magadhi, by writing their
canons in this dialect.
Check Your Progress Exercise 2
1) Who were the Ajivikas? What were their ideas?
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
2) Mark which of the following is right () or wrong (×)
a) The growth of trade and commerce helped in the emergence ( )
of heterodox ideas.
b) The Buddha delivered his first sermon at Bodhgaya. ( )
c) Mahavira added the idea of celibacy to the four principles of ( )
Parsavanatha.
d) Mahavira did not believe in the supreme creator. ( )
e) The concept of nirvana is same in Buddhism and Jainism. ( )

12.9 SUMMARY
In this Unit you have seen the emergence and establishment of new religious
ideas in the sixth century BCE in north India. The contemporary socio-economic
needs largely contributed to the emergence of these new religious ideas. Among
these, Buddhism and Jainism became very popular among the people. In spite of
some differences, both the religions put emphasis on humanity, moral life, karma
and ahimsa. Both of them were highly critical of caste system, domination of the
brahmanas, animal sacrifices and the ideas of god. This was a direct challenge to
the existing Vedic religion. Besides this, you have also learnt about other heterodox
sects like Ajivikas and their ideas. All these brought about a significant change
in the attitude of the people and they, as a result, began to question the age long
supremacy of the Brahmanical religion.

12.10 KEY WORDS

Ahimsa : Non-killing or non-violence
Heterodox : Non-orthodox
Karma : Action of an individual
Pitakas : Buddhist religious texts 225
Vedic Period and Cultures in Purvas : Jain religious texts
Transition
Schism : Division of an organization into two or more groups.
Sect : Group of people united by beliefs or opinions.
Tirthankara : Refers to the Jain preachers who acquired supreme
knowledge.

12.11 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

EXERCISES
Check Your Progress Exercise 1
1) See Section 12.3.
2) See Section 12.4.
Check Your Progress Exercise 2
1) Ajivikas were a sect whose most prominent teacher was Makkali Gosala.
He believed in the principle of niyati or fate. Rigid determinism and atomic
theory were the two central tenets of Ajivikism. See section 12.7
2) a) 
b) ×
c) 
d) 
e) ×

12.12 SUGGESTED READINGS

Allchin, Bridget and Raymond (1988). The Rise of Civilisation in India and
Pakistan. New Delhi.
Kosambi, D.D. (1987). The Culture and Civilisation of Ancient India in Historical
Outline. New Delhi.
Ghosh, A. (1973). The City in Early Historical India. Simla.
Sharma R.S. (1983). Material Cultures and Social Formations in Ancient India.
New Delhi: Macmillan India.
Sharma, R.S. (1983). Perspectives in the Social and Economic History of Ancient
India. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal
Wagle, N. (1966). Society at the Time of the Buddha. Bombay: Popular Prakashan.

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