VEDIC PERIOD

The Indus civilisation declined around 1700 BC due to a variety of causes. The advent of the Aryans in India around 1500 BC marked the beginning of the Rig Vedic (Early Vedic Period) from 1500-1000 BC followed by the Later Vedic Period from 1000 - 600 BC. Original Home and Identity: The world 'Aryan' literally means of high birth', but generally the word 'Aryan' is used to refer to people who spoke the Indo-Aryan language. The question of original home of the Aryans is perhaps the most controversial topic of ancient Indian history and a variety of opinions have been put forward by different scholars. Though consensus eludes the scholars, most of the scholars agree with the theory put forward by the Max Muller that Aryans came to India from Central Asia.





Most scholars agree that the culture of the Aryans was more or less of the some type. Originally they lived somewhere in the steppes stretching from Southern Russia to Central Asia and spoke the Indo-European languages which are currently spoken in changed forms all over Europe, Iran and the grater part of the Indian subcontinent. As a result, several words of common usage show the striking similarities between Sanskrit and some of the principal languages of Europe. The earliest life of the Aryans seems to have been mainly pastoral; agriculture being a secondary occupation. Their society was male dominated. They seem to have domesticated.yarious animals the most important of which was the horse. The domesticated horse appears in the sixth millennium B.C in the Black Sea and the Ural mountain area. The swiftness of the horse enabled the people to move in different directions from about 2000 B.C. onwards either from pressure of population, shifting of course of rivers or from desiccation of posture lands. The tall, comparatively fair, and mostly long-headed Aryans harnessed the horses to light chariots with spoked wheels and migrated in bands westwards, southwards and eastwards. They brought with them their patrilinear famlly, system, their worship of sky gods and their horses and chariots. Some invaded Europe, to become the ancestors of the Greeks, Latin's, Colts and Tautens. Other appeared in Anatolia called the Hittites, the Kassites conquered Babylon and a north-east Syria a people called Mittani, whose kings had índo-Iranian names is attested to by inscriptions. The Boghaz Kui inscriptions dated to 1400 BC gives the copy of a peace treaty between the Hittites and the Maryanni rulers of the Mittanni, in which the names of the Vedic gods-Indra, Mitra, Nasatya and Varuna are mentioned. Yet other groups of Aryans speaking Indo-Iranian language moved to the border between Indian and Iran where, one group migrated to India speaking Indo-Aryan and another group migrated to Iran. So, the larguage of Zend Avesta (old Persian) is very similar to the Rig Vedic Sanskrit. In fact, the Vedic culturehas close affinities with the ancient Aryan culture of Iran as both of them seem to have derived from one and the same Indo-Iranian culture. The migrants to India called themselves Aryans, a word generally anglicized with Aryans. The name was also used by the ancient Persians, and Survives in the word Iran. The Persian Achaemenid emperor Darius I called himself as Aryan in the 6h century B.C.

A little earlier then 1500 B.C., the Aryans appeared in India. We have archaeological traces of their advent. Possibly they used Socketed axes, bronze dirks and swords, which have been discovered in North-western India. Archaeological evidence of the horse and cremation appears in Swat Valley in Pakistan. The earliest Indo-Aryan lived in the geographical area covered by eastern Afghanistan, North-West Frontier Province, Punjab. Since Afghanistan was occupied by the Indo-Aryans and the Iranian Aryans for some time, a part of this country came to be known as Araiya or Haraiya. It is important to understand that the Aryan invasion of India theory has been rendered obsolete for want of archaeological evidence and has been replaced by the theory of Aryan migration to Indian occurring in several waves over several centuries, the earliest wave of which is represented by the Rig Vedic people who appeared in the sub-continent in about 1500 B.C. Geography of the Vedic Age Early Vedic Period: The Rig Veda is the only source which gives us an idea of the geography of the Early Vedic Period. The Aryans in the early Vedic age had knowledge of the Indus valley which was called Saptasindavah or the land of the seven rivers. Indus (sindhu) is the most mentioned river in the Rig Veda. Indus had various tributaries joining it from the west such as Suvasthu (swat), Kubha (Kabul), Krumu (Kurram) and Gomati (Gomal). Indus also had various tributaries joining it from the east such as Sutudri (Sutlej), Vipasa (Beas), Parushini (Ravi), Asikni (Chenabs) and Vitase (Jhelum). Saraswati is considered as the holiest river in the age of the Rig Veda many hymns were composed on its banks. Saraswati is referred to as 'Naditarna' or the best of the rivers in the Rig Veda. Saraswati is identified with the Ghaggar-Hakra Channel in Haryana and Rajasthan. But its Rig Vedic description shows it to be the Avestan river Haraxwati (helmand river) in south Afghanistan from where the name Saraswati was transferred to India. Yamuna is mentioned thrice and Ganga is mentioned only once. Though Rig Veda mentions the term 'Samudra' it probably meant only a collection of water and not sea. So, we have no reference to the sea in the Rig Veda. Rig Vedic people had knowledge of Himvant or the snow mountains. They also had knowledge of Majuvant from which Aryans got Soma, an intoxicating drink. Soma was the drink of Gods. So, the Rig Vedic Aryans had knowledge of eastern Afghanistan, North West Frontier Provinces and the Punjab (Punjab then included east Punjab, west Punjab as also Haryana).