marriage could take place between persons belonging to the same gotra are having the same lineage. Ashramas or four stages of life were not well established in Vedic times. In the postvedic texts we hear of four ashramas - that of Brahmachari or Student, Grihasta or Householder, vanaprastha or hernit and Sanyasin or ascetic who completely renounced the worldly life. Only the first three are mentidned in the later Vedic texts; the last or the fourth stage had not been well established in later Vedic times though ascetic-life was not unknown. Even in post-vedic times only the stage of the householder was commonly practised by all the varnas. Position of Women in the Vedic Period Early Vedic Period: Rig Vedic society was a patriarchal and patrilinear society with patrilocal norms. The birth of daughters was not desired, but once they were born, they were treated with kindness and consideration. Their education was not neglected and some of them even composed hymns and rose to the rank of seers. Girls were married long after they reached puberty. There seems to have been considerable freedom in the selection of a husband, Monogamy was the rule though polygamy was permitted. Polyandy was also evident as is seen in maruts marriage with Rodasi. The practise of Niyoga existed. Niyoga was a variant of widow remarriage in which a young childless widow was temporarily married with the husband's brother for the purpose of producing children. There was no stigma attached to Niyoga. Womeh had a position of honour in the household. The wife participated in the religious offerings of the husband. There is no evidence of seclusion of women as is seen by women's participation in Vidhatha and Sabha. Later Vedic Period: The status of women declined in the later Vedic period relative to the early Vedic period. There was an attempt towards establishment of social stratification on gender lines. The birth of the girl child was rfot welcome. Upanayana ceremony (investiture ceremony) was not performed for girls. Though right to education was denied for girls, we have reference to great scholarly women as gargi, maitreyi and katyayani. Many religious ceremonies earlier performed by women were now performed by priests. Women also were deprived of the right to attend assemblies.

Vedic Religion Early Vedic Period: The Rig Vedic religion was anthropomorphic in nature. The failure of the Aryans to understand and explain the various natural phenomena made them personity the natural forces, attributing to them human or animal qualities. There were 33 Rig Vedic gods divided into three groups corresponding to the three divisions of the


universe, namely terrestrial (prithivsthana), atmospheric (antarikshasthana or madhyamastana) and celestial (dyusthana). The prominent Rig Vedic gods were, Indra: He is the most important Rig Vedic god and 250 hymns are devoted to him. He is known as Purandhara or the breaker of forths. He played the role of a warlord and is also considered to be the rain god. A hymn tells of his most significant victory, his triumph over the demon vrita and the release of the waters. Indra is known by various names as Rathestha, Shatakrata, Jitendera, Meghavan and Somapa.

Agni: He is the fire god who is the second most important god. 200 Rig Vedic hymng are devoted to him. He is considered as the intermediary between the gods and the people. Agni is the personification of the sacrificial fire. Agni is the priest of the gods and the god of the priests. He has three forms: terrestrial as fire, atmospheric as lightning, and celestial as the sun. The cult of fire occupied a central space not only in India but also in Iran.

Varuna: He was supposed to uphold the Rta or the natural order. He regulates all activities in this world. He is called the world sovereign. He is the personification of water. All gods obey him and none can defy his orders. Soma: Soma was the god of plants and an intoxicating drink is named after him. In many hymns the method of preparation of Soma drink has been mentioned. Soma is the "drink of Gods.

Maruts: They personify the storm Aditi: Goddess of eternity Arnayani: Goddess of the forest. Nirrti: Goddess of decay and death. Ushas: Goddess of dawn Sarma : Messenger of Gods Vastospati: God of Settlements

Solar Phenomenon: Is worshipped in five forms as Surya, Mitra, Savita, Pushan and Vishnu. They dominant mode of worship of gods was through the recitation of prayers and offering of sacrifices. The Rig Vedic people did not worship gods for spiritual uplift or for ending the miseries of existence. They asked mainly for Praja (children) Pashu (cattle), food, wealth, health, etc. Later Vedic Period: The two outstanding Rig Vedic gods Indra' and agni lost their former importance. On the other hand Prajapati the creator, came to occupy supreme

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positioning the later Vedic age. Rudra, a minor god in the Rig Vedic period became important in later Vedic times. Vishnu came to be conceived as the preserver and protector of the people. Pushan was the god who looked after the cattle and came to be regarded as the god of the Shudras.

Though people continued to worship gods for material reasons, the mode of worship changed considerably. Sacrifices both domestic and public became more important than prayers. Sacrifices involved killing of animals in public, became more important than prayers. Sacrifices involved the killing of animals on a large scale leading to destruction of cattle wealth. The guest was known as goghna or one who was fed on cattle. The sacrificer was known as yajamana the performer of the yajna and he also carefully pronounced the formulae. The formulae and sacrifices were invented, adopted and elaborated by the priests called the brahmanas who claimed a monopoly of priestly knowledge and expertise. The brahmanas were given dakshina or gifts in the form of cows, gold, cloth, horses and other materials. The Satapatha Brahmana states that in the ashvarmedha sacrifice, north, east, west and South should be given to the priest. There is a reference where land, which was being given to the priests, refused to be transferred to them. Towards the end of the Vedic period began a strong reaction against priestly domination, against oults and rituals, especially in the land of the Panchalas and Videha where, around 600 B.C., the Upanishads were compiled. These philosophical texts criticised the rituals and laid stress on the value of right belief and knowledge. They emphasised that the knowledge of the self or atman should be acquired and the relation of atman with Brahma should be properly understood. Kshatriyas called for reform of the priest dominated religion. There was emphasis on the changelessness, indestructibility and immortality of atman or should and this served the cause of stability which was needed for the rising state power headed by the Kshatriya raja. Stress on the relation of atman with Brahma fostered allegiance to superior authority.