Vedangas
For proper understanding of the Vedas, one needs to know Vedangas which are supplement on the Vedas. These are 6 in number:
- Siksha: Pronunciation of the words; education.
- Nirukta: Origin of the words.
- Chhanda: Metricts used in Sanskrit verses.
- Jyotish: Understanding of astronomy.
- Vyakaran: Sanskrit grammar.
- Kalpa: Knowledge of rituals (Dharmasutras)
The Kalpa Sutra is further divided into:
- Shrauta Sutra – prescribes rules for the performance of different types of sacrifices and rituals.
- Grihya Sutra – concerned with comparatively simpler domestic sacrifices. It includes rituals pertaining to crucial life stages (Samskaras) such as Upanayana (initiation), Vivaha (marriage), and Antyeshti (funerary practices).
- Dharmasutra – pertaining to the rituals’ Dharma.
Upanishads
The literal meaning of Upanishad is to “sit near someone”. There are 108 Upanishads, of which 13 are the most prominent. It introduces the concept of ‘Atman’ and ‘Brahman’. It states that the core of one’s self is neither the body nor the mind, but the Atman or the “soul”. It further points out that the core of all creatures is the Atman itself and can be experienced through meditation. According to the Upanishads, the Brahman is the underlying substance of the universe. It is an unchanging ‘Absolute being’. The Upanishads are mainly philosophical in nature and speak of the highest knowledge.
- Satyamev Jayate in the National Emblem is taken from Mandukyopanishad.
- The Chandogya Upanishad clearly refers to the first 3 ashrams and discusses the (mainly two) types of marriage:
- Anuloma marriage – the marriage of a man in his own varna or below his varna. It is the most accepted and common form of marriage in society.
- Pratiloma marriage – the marriage of a woman in a varna lower than her own. It is not sanctioned by the Vedas.
Officers and their profile in Vedic Period
- Vrajapati: Officer-in-charge of pasture land + Jivagribha: Police official + Kshatri: Chamberlain + Senani: Supreme commander-in-chief + Sthapati: Chief Judge + Gramani: Head of the village; + Bhagadugha: Revenue collector + Kulapati: Head of the family + Mahishi: Chief Queen + Spasas: Spies & Messengers; + Suta: Charioteer + Madhyamasi: Dispute resolving; + Takshan: Carpenter + Palagala: Messenger; + Sanghrahriti: Treasurer + Govikartana: Keeper of forests & games + Akshavapa: Accountant; + Purohita: Priest of highest order.
Puranic Literature
The word Purana literally means ‘ancient’ or ‘old’.
- Traditionally, Puranas are considered to be composed by Ved Vyasa.
- The Puranas treat various topics concerning religious developments that occurred around the 5th and 6th centuries.
- The Puranas reflect the growth of Hindu Dharma, the condition of society in ancient times, social customs, religious ceremonies as well as yogic methods of discipline.
- Traditionally, a Purana discusses five subjects or “five signs” in the time span of 4 ages/yugas (Satya, Treta, Dvapara, and Kali):
- Sarga – the primary creation of the universe.
- Pratisarga – recreation, secondary creation after annihilation.
- Manvantaras – the reigns of the various Manus.
- Vamsha – the genealogy of gods and rishis.
- Vamshanucharita (Royal lineage) – the history of Solar (Suryavanshis) and Lunar (Chandravanshis) dynasties.
- All Puranas are strongly sectarian – some are devoted to Shiva, some to Vishnu and some to a goddess. However, the Purana that is devoted to a particular god often pays considerable attention to other gods as well.
- It is commonly accepted that four yugas make up a Mahayuga, that 1000 Mahayugas make a Kalpa, that every Kalpa is further divided into 14 Manvantaras which are presided over by a specific Manu. Each yuga is periodically destroyed and again, the recreation of the world occurs with the cyclic decline and revival of Dharma.
- The Puranas are divided into 18 Mahapuranas (such as Vishnu, Brahma, Narada, Padma, Garuda, Matsya, Kurma, Shiva, Agni, Bhagavata, etc.) and numerous Upapuranas (secondary Puranas).
- The Puranas are regarded as post-Vedic texts. The 18 Main Puranas are as follows:
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Dharmashastra
- The Dharmashastra are the Sanskrit texts about morality and religious duty. They provide guiding rules and principles for the order and regularity of society and righteous conduct.
- Dharmashastra refers to the fulfilment of Purusharthas (life goals) such as Dharma (righteous conduct), Artha (material well being), Kama (desires, sensual pleasures) and Moksha (liberation from the cycle of life and death).
- The Dharmashastra are subdivided into Dharmasutras (c. 600 – 300 BCE) and Smritis (c. 200 – 900 BCE). They recognise three sources of Dharma – the Vedas (Shruti – what is heard), Smriti (what is remembered) texts and Shistachara (good manners and practices of cultured people).
- A person’s Dharma was dependent on many factors such as gender, marital status, varna and ashram. Out of the four varnas, three varnas – Brahmanas, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas were considered Dvija (twice-born, as they had the right to the sacred thread ceremony considered akin to second birth), while the fourth varna – Shudras were burdened with many civil disabilities.
- The four ashrams dividing the life of a male Dvija were:
- Brahmacharya (celibate student hood)
- Grihastha (household caretaker)
- Vanaprastha (partial renunciation)
- Sanyasa (complete renunciation)
- The different ashram stages were not followed by all and it was not applicable to women and Shudras.
Epics
The other important literature of ancient India is the Great Epics – the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Both were written in the form of long poems and took place in ancient Hindu Kingdoms on the Indian subcontinent. They describe the political, social and economical structure of ancient India.
Mahabharata |
Ramayana |
1. Roughly composed between c. 400 BCE – 400 CE. | 1. Roughly composed between c. 400 BCE – 300 CE. |
2. It is composed by Ved Vyasa and consists of 18 Parvas (books) and has around 1 lakh verses (longest epic poem ever written). | 2. Ramayana is composed by Valmiki and consists of seven Kandas (books) having 24,000 verses. |
3. The Mahabharata is essentially the story of the rivalry between two bands of brothers in the Hastinapura Kingdom, which culminates in a great battle. | 3. The word Ramayana literally means the journey of Rama. It is a story of good over evil. |
4. Traditionally, the war is believed to have happened in the Dvapara Yuga. But, historians consider the events and social character of the Mahabharata corresponding to an earlier age of development than the Ramayana, as the Mahabharata settings pertain to the Indo-Gangetic divide and upper Ganga valley. | 4. It is considered that Rama lived in the Treta yuga (age), earlier than the Mahabharata. Since the settings of the Ramayana shifted eastwards to the middle Ganga valley, and the language of the Ramayana is more polished and its concepts are more closely related to later societies, historians consider it of a later stage than the Mahabharata. |
5. The Mahabharata is more realistic. | 5. The Ramayana is more idealistic. |
Conclusion
Witness the arrival of a new sort of people on India’s northern horizon after the demise of Harappan urbanisation. These people were animal herders who dispersed in groups from Southern Russia to other areas of the globe. At various times, many of these tribes passed via Afghanistan on their way to India. With borrowings from the local languages, their language, known as Indo-Aryan or Sanskrit, became dominant. The Rigveda is one of their oldest writings, and there were many more after that.