Vedic culture (1500 BC to 600 BC).

There are two periods in Vedic culture.

1. Rigveda period (1500 BC to 1000 BC).

2. North Vedic period (1000 BC to 600 BC). life

Vedic culture was agrarian and rural culture. The language of this culture was Sanskrit. Sanskrit is the language of Vedic culture. The foundation of this Vedic culture has been laid by Arya.

We have many languages in India, in those languages we call Indo-Dravidian in the south and Indo-Aryan in the north. The name Arya may have been derived from the word Indu Aryan. The word Arya means Sanskrit, noble, honorable.

Max Muller, a German philologist, states that the Aryans must have originated in Asia Minor. There is a village called Bodhi Chakoi in Asia Minor. Inscriptions describing Aryan features have been found in those villages. In fact, many researchers have differing opinions. For example, Lokmanya Tilak in his book Arctic home of the vedas suggested that Arya must have come from the Arctic region. Even so, Max Muller's theory is considered true. Max Muller translated the Rig Veda into English.

When Arya came to India, he was living in Saptasindhu region. Saptasindhu is a region of seven rivers namely Indus, Sutlej, Ravi, Beas, Jhelum and Saraswati. He initially raised livestock in the region. However, due to adverse weather conditions, they moved south. The region where Arya lived was called Aryavart. In his Dharma Sutra, vasishta calls the region between the two rivers Ganga and Yamuna as Aryavart. As a result, the Aryans settled in the fertile region between the two rivers, Ganga and Yamuna, where they also farmed. Agriculture is considered to be the major occupation of human Vedic period.

The word Vedic is derived from the root Vid. The word Vid means knowledge or wisdom. This culture came to be known as Vedic culture due to the fact that so much knowledge, so much literature was created during this period. To study this culture one has to study two major factors.

1. Vedic literature.

2. Administration in the Vedic period.

Vedic literature

1. There are four types of Vedic literature.

1.1. samhita

1.2. Brahmanya

1.3. Aranyaka

1.4. Upanishads


1.1. Samhita: - There are four Vedas in this type of literature.

1.1.1. Rigveda

1.1.2. Yajurveda

1.1.3. Samaveda

1.1.4. Atharvaveda

1.1.1. Rigveda: - Rigveda is also called the original scripture of Aryans. This Rigveda is also called the oldest and largest Veda. This Veda has 10 mandals, 1028 suktas, 10580 ovi (ovee, owi, owee). The third mandala contains the Gayatri mantra, the seventh mandala describes the battle of Dashraj. The river Saraswati is mentioned in this Rigveda as the holiest river. The Rigveda also mentions Indra, the god of gods, Purandar. The same Rigveda mainly mentions the metal iron. This Rigveda covers the early life of the Aryans, their administration, justice system, religion system, all these things. It is in this Rigveda that the birthplace of Ram, Ayodhya is mentioned.

1.1.2. Yajurveda: - Mantras to be recited while performing Yajna rituals are called Yajus. The Vedas in which this Yajus are compiled are called Vedans Yajurveda. Yajurveda is also called Yajna Veda as it contains information about when to perform Yajna, who should perform it, how to do it, which mantra to say. There are two types of this Yajurveda.

1.1.2.1. Krishna Yajurveda

1.1.2.2. Shulka Yajurveda.

1.1.3. Samaveda: - The word Sama means singing, the word Samman means vowel. Thus the Veda which forms the basis of Indian music is the Sama Veda. The main purpose of Samaveda is to teach how to sing songs, in what rhythm.

1.1.4. Atharva Veda: - Atharvan is the people who worship fire. As the Vedas of the Atharvan people, this Veda got the name Atharva Veda. These Vedas include the problems of daily life and the solutions to them. These Atharva Vedas include healing of diseases, destruction of enemies, destruction of demons as well as how to perform funeral rites, different types of rituals as well as sorcery, Bhanamati, Mantratantra, Botany etc. Many texts originate from this Atharva Veda which contains many things.

There are also sub-vedas of these four major Vedas. Rigveda's Ayurveda, Yajurveda's Dhanurveda, Samaveda's Gandharvaveda, Atharvaveda's Shilpaveda are sub-vedas. Along with these four Vedas, there are two other major types of literature in this genre. 

1. Ramayana: - Also known as Chaturvi Sati Sahastra Samhita, this famous literature has been written by sage Valmiki.

2. Mahabharata: - Samhita is the second literary genre in this genre, which is the largest poem in the world. The real name of Mahabharata is Jai Samhita. This poem was written by Vyas Muni. In fact, Vyasamuni said it and Ganpati Bappa wrote it. Part of the Mahabharata is the Bhagavad Gita, the sacred text of Hinduism.

1.2. Brahmanya: - This literature is also called Brahmanya Granth. The Brahmanical text is the material that explains how to use Vedanta in Yajnavidhi. As all these materials were useful to the Brahmins, he got the name Brahmanya Granth.


1.3. Aranyaka: - Aranyak is a book composed in Aranya (forest). The literature that was created by quietly, in solitude, by contemplation, by study was called Aranyaka. Aranyaka is the literature after the Brahmanical texts and before the Upanishads.


1.4. Upanishads: - The word Upanishads means sitting close. The Upanishads are also called Vedanta. The Upanishads are the knowledge gained by sitting near the Guru. Example: The motto of Satyamev Jayate in Maharashtra in India was also the motto of the Mauryan Empire. That is, Satyamev Jayate is taken from Mundak Upanishad among the Upanishads.

This was the case with the four major works of Vedic literature, including two sub-literature

Vedanga: - The six supplementary scripts required for the study of Vedas are Vedanga.

Shad darshan: - Shad darshan is the supplementary science required for the study of Vedas.

Administration in the Vedic period

Administration in the Vedic period: - There are some social and political institutions of the time to understand the Vedic culture. There was a clan or clan which was called family. At that time there was a family system together. The head of the family was called the head of the clan.

Villages: - In the Vedic period, villages were called villages. He was known as a villager who settled disputes in the village. The tax collector was known as Bhagduk. They called the nation Jan. The head of the people was called Rajan. As a matter of fact, the defense of our state is the most important task of the state.

Purohit: - Purohit means head of religion.

Mahishi: - Mahishi means queen / empress.

Category: - An organization formed by coming together is a category. The head of this category is called Shrestha.

Vanik Sangh: - Vanik means trade union.

At the same time, in this Vedic period, although the king was the best, there were two institutions to control this king.

1. Meetings: - Meetings used to have senior citizens in this organization.

2. Committees: - Committees used to consist of ordinary citizens.

Aryans laid the foundation of such Vedic culture. The language of this culture was Sanskrit. The main occupation of this culture was agriculture. It was this Vedic culture that made the great literature available to the world through Vedic literature.

During this Vedic period, four classes of Shudras, Vamsas, Kshatriyas and Brahmins were formed. In this Vedic period, women like Gargi, Lopamudra, Gosha, Sati were also highly educated. From this it is clear that women also used to learn in that period.

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