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We are living in a society where facts are considered as ritual and practices. Facts are often ignored or often magnified extravagantly. To know the facts about Rig Veda is to know the Aryan invasion period, to know the beginning of the social order, to know the start of literature, to know the language formation, to know the beginning of the written history of India. UPSC demands every of its aspirant to know regarding the ancient history and Vedic age in India among that Rig vedic era in special. Facts about Rig Veda are important from an exam point of view as well as general awareness point of view. Through this article let us look into the facts about Rig veda in detail.
Rig Veda Period – Background
The vedic age in India started by the Indo Aryan invasion towards North India during the period of 6th century. The Aryans who are sanskrit speaking people who lived by cattle rearing invaded India by the end of 6th century as different waves. The northern India invaded by the Aryans came to be known as Aryavartha. From their period the written Vedas took place. The period has been prominently divided into two such as early Rig Vedic Period and Later Vedic Period. Rig Veda is isadi to be the first written Veda among the four. The early Rig Vedic period specifies the start of the new social order, literature, emergence of religions, economy and everything. The early vedic age is calculated in between (1500 BC to 1000 BC).
Facts about Rig Veda
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When we analyze the facts about Rig Veda mostly two kinds of approaches are done. One is the facts about the literary work called Rig veda is taken and the other is the early phase of the vedic era which is called the rig Vedic period is also taken since the early vedic age is also called the Rig Vedic age.
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The facts about the Rig Veda are as follows. Rig Veda is one of the oldest veda. It consists of 1028 hymns which were sung in praise of different gods. It has all the parts which a veda had like Brahmanas, Aryankas, Samhithas and upanishads.
When we consider about the facts about rig Veda in the perspective of that particular age, facts may fall under different heads as follows:
- Early Rig vedic Life
- Political Organization
- Economic condition
- Religion
Early Rig Vedic Life
The facts about the Rig veda regarding the life of the early vedic people is always related to the place where they stayed. The early Rig Veda people were confined to the river Indus. The Rig Veda mentions Sapta Sindhu many times or the land of seven rivers. The seven rivers Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej which includes the indus and saraswati. People were used to settling in these areas and began to start their life over the valleys.
Women and men were given equal status in intellectual development and spiritual department. There were no child marriage and practice of sati were prevailes at that time. Both the men and women could wear upper garments. Both of them also wore ornaments. The eating of cow was prohibited at that time since the cow was considered as a sacred animal. The division of social order was not rigid at that time.
Political Organization
Political organization doesn’t mean the formation of a political party and its functioning. It is meant how the political structure of the society prevailed over the time. The basic unit of the political organization was kula or family. Several families join together based on their kinship to form a village or grama. Garment was called the leader of the grama. Several Grama joined together to form a visu which was headed by vishayapathi. Highest political unit of the time was tribe or Jana. The head of the tribe was rajan or King. It was monarchical in nature and succeeded by hereditary. The king was assisted by Priest or purohita and senani or commander. There were two popular bodies called sabha and samiti. Sabha was the council of elders and the latter was council of the entire people. Some of the examples of the tribal kingdom prevailed at that time are Bharatas, Matsys, Purus and Yadus.
Economic Condition
The economic facts about Rig Veda depends upon the mode of living of the Aryans. The Aryans were mainly of cattle rearing people. Their wealth was calculated in terms of how much cattle they have. They began to practice agriculture. The use of iron made them to clear forests and make it suitable for cultivation. Carpentering was another occupation they followed. They made plough and chariots. Spinning was another important occupation and they made cotton and wools out of it. There were also goldsmith in them who made ornaments. There potters also who made different kinds of vessels and pots. All kind of professions was there. Trade was another important activity. The river were served as the channel for the transportation of goods and facilitated the trade. Gold coins called nishka were used as exchange of trade.
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Religious facts about rig Veda
The Rig Vedic people worshiped natural forces as God. The gods of Rig Vedic era were Prithvi (Earth), Agni (fire), Vaayu (Air), Varuna (Rain), and Indra (Thunder). Among these Indra was the most prominent God. There were also female gods like Aditi and Usha. There were no temples as well as idols during this period. Prayers were offered as an expectation of rewards. Major offerings were ghee, milk and grain etc.
Conclusion
When we look into the facts of Rig Veda we can understand that from the prehistoric time the people began to live in society and record the history of themselves in the Rig Veda Period. The study of this time period is so important to understand the problems and find the solutions to most of the problems in today’s world. The study of this time period is important to understand the wrong teachings and keep yourself in the right path of history. The study of this time period is so important to crack exams like UPSC, SSC and PSC. Keep studying, Keep winning.
