reference to the trading activities and use of coins, though coins were nowhere excavated from later Vedic age strata. Coins were first found archaeologically only in the pre-mauryan period.

The increasing resources of the later Vedic age were pooled by the king. Bali became a customary contribution, bhaga was a share of the produce (1/6 to 1/2) while shulka was an additional tax. It appears that bhaga was the oldest tax levied on people by the kings. But bali, bhaga and shulka were still not full fledged taxes. The Vaishyas or Vis community was the chief tax payers. The resources were unequally distributed by the king for the benefit of the brahmanas and kshatriyas at the expense of the Vaishyas and Sudras. This led to increasing inequalities in the distribution of wealth. There was increasing complexity of the Social and political organisation which added a new dimension to the economic development.

Vedic Society Early Vedic Period: Kinship was the basis of social structure, and a man was identified with the clan to which he belonged. Rigveda society is basically a tribal society. The Rig Veda shows some consciousness of the physical appearance of people in the northwestern part of India in about 1500 - 1000 B.C. Varna as used in the Rig Veda means coloure The Rig Veda speaks about Arya varna (Aryans) and dasa varna (non-aryans), where possibly the distinction was on the basis of colour. The Arya varna consisted of the Aryans whose tribes were called Janas'. The term Janapada' or territory is not used even once in the Rig Veda since the territory or kingdom was not yet established. The jana was divided into group of people called 'Vis'.

The Vis was divided into grama or smaller tribal units meant for fighting. When the · gramas clashed with one another it caused Sangrama or war. Gramas were divided into Kulas (family) the head of which was called Kulapa. The tribal society of the Rig Vedic period is broadly divided into three groups - priests, warriors and the people. The fourth division called the Shudras appeared towards the end of the Rig Vedic period, because the term Shudra is mentioned for the first time in the tenth book of the Rig Veda, which is the latest addition. In the age of the Rig Veda differentiation based on occupations had started, but this division was not very sharp. The most numerous varna of Vaishya arose out of the Vis or the mass of the tribal people. Towards the end of the early Vedic period, the exploitation of vis led to creation of social inequalities, and this helped the rise of princes and priests at the cost of the common tribal people. But the society was till tribal and largely egalitarian. The non-Aryan consisted of dasas, dasyus and panis. The dasas conquered by the Aryans were gradually transformed into Sudras. Dasas were called as Avrata (not


obeying the ordinances of gods), akratu (not following sacrifices), anasah (snub nosed), midravach (indistinct speech) and Krishnatvach (dark skinned). There was active hostility towards the dasyus and it was more distinct than towards the dasa. Panis were the trading community with lot of cattle wealth and were despised by the Aryans. We repeatedly hear of slaves who were given as gifts to the priests. They were mainly. women slaves employed for domestic purposes. It is clear that in Rig Vedic times slaves were not used directly in agriculture or other productive activities. Untouchability is unknown in the Rig Vedic period. The concept of 'Gotra' did not arise in the Rig Vedic period. So people in the Rig Vedic period married irrespective of the concept of Gotra.. Later Vedic Period: The later Vedic society came to be divided into four Varnas called the brahmanas, rajanyas or kshatriyas, vaishyas and shudras. The growing cult of sacrifices enormously added to the power of the brahmanas. In the beginning the brahmanas were only one of the sixteen classes of priests, but they gradually overshadowed the other priestly groups and emerged as the most important class. Sometimes the brahmanas come into conflict with the rajanyas, who represented the order of the warrior-nobles, for positions of supremacy. But when the two upper orders had to deal with the lower orders they made up their differences. From the end of the later 'Vedic period on it began to be emphasised that the two should cooperate to rule over the rest of the society. The Vaishyas constituted the common people and were involved in producting functions such as agriculture, cattle-breeding etc. Some of them also worked as artisans. However, towards the end of the later Vedic age, the name Vaishya began to be equated with the trading class. The Vaishyas appear to be the only tribute-payers in later Vedic times, and the brahmanas and Kshatriyas are represented as living on the tributes collected from the Vaishyas. All the three higher varnas shared one common feature: they were entitled to upanayana or investiture with the sacred thread according to the Vedic mantras. The fourth varna was deprived of the sacred thread ceremony and the recitation of the gayatri mantra and with this began the e imposition of disabilities on the sudras. Nevertheless, there were several public rituals connected with the coronation of the king in which the Sudras participated. Certain sections of artisans such as rathakara or chariot-maker enjoyed a high status, and were entitled to the sacred thread ceremony. Therefore, even in later Vedic times varna distinctions had not advanced very far.

The institution of gotra appeared in later Vedic times. Literally it means the cow-pen or the place where cattle belonging to the whole clan are kept, but in course of time it signified descent from a common ancestor. People began to practice gotra exogamy. No