TNSCERT 6 HISTORY UNIT 5

5.VEDIC CULTURE IN NORTH INDIA AND MEGALITHIC CULTURE IN SOUTH INDIA

     VEDIC AGE

• period between 1500 BCE - 600 BCE
• began with the arrival of Aryans

     WHO WERE THE ARYANS?

• semi nomadic pastoralists, came from Central Asia
• speaking Indo-Aryan language
• did cattle rearing, also practised slash and burn agriculture 

     ARYANS AND THEIR HOME IN INDIA

• During Rig Vedic times - the Aryan homeland was Punjab [Sapta Sindhu - the land of seven rivers]
• 1000 BCE - settled in Indo-Gangetic plain

     SOURCES

    

     VEDIC LITERATURE

• classified into Shrutis and Smritis
• SHRUTIS - eternal, means listening (or unwritten)
• comprise 4 vedas (Rig, Yajur, Sama, Atharva) Brahamanas, Aranyakas, Upanishads
• National Motto - Satyameva Jayate (Truth alone triumphs) is taken from Mundaka Upanishad
• SMRITIS - not eternal, means definite and written literature, teachings on religion such as Ithihasas, Puranas, Tantras, Agamas

     ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOURCES

• material remains from archaeological sites in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan

     VEDIC CULTURE

   

     POLITY AND SOCIETY

• Kinship-based
• kula - basic unit of the polity, head - kulapati
• village (Grama), head - Gramani
• Group of villages - Vis, head - Vishayapati
• Rajan (king) and several tribal kingdoms (Rashtras) were [Bharatas, Matsyas, Puras] 

     KING

• Purohit (Chief Priest), Senani (the army chief) to assist the king
• King's power limitied by assemblies - Vidhata, Sabha [a council of elders], Samiti [assembly of people] and Gana 
• Of these Vidhata, (the tribal assembly) was the oldest
• Hereditary kinship began to emerge
• Later Vedic period - Janas amalgamated to form Janapadas
• The importance of Samithi and Sabha diminished and the Vidhata completely disappeared
• Bali was a voluntary contribution of the people to the King (a tax - 1/6 of the agricultural produce or cattle for a person)
• The Kuru and Panchala kingdoms flourished 
• large cities like Ayodhya, Indraprastha and Mathura also emerged

    SOCIAL ORGANISATION

• Patriarchal
• Early Vedic society had 3 divisions [vis - general public, warrior class - kshatriyas, priestly class - Brahmanas]
• Later a rigid four-fold varna system developed (with skilled labourers - sudras)
• vedic age is evidenced by good number of texts(not adequate amount of material evidence)

     STATUS OF WOMEN

• Women enjoyed some freedom earlier
• child marriage and sati unknown
• no bar on the remarriage of widows, no right to property
• later Vedic period - status of women declined
• Polygamy became common, widow remarriage was not encouraged
• Education was also denied

     ECONOMIC LIFE

• occupation - pastoralism and agriculture
• main occupation - cattle rearing
• carpenters, chariot makers, potters, smiths, weavers and leather workers were there
• Ochre Coloured Pottery - attributed to this period
• Horses, cows, goats, sheep, oxen and dogs domesticated
• staple crop - Yava (barley)
• no mention of wheat or cotton in the Rig-Veda
• later period - they tamed elephants
• pottery - Painted Grey Ware Culture
• crops of wheat, rice and barley cultivated
• Barter system (exchange of goods) was prevalent
• They used Nishka, Satmana (gold coins), Krishnala (silver coins) for business transactions

     RELIGION

• earlier worshipped Prithvi (earth), Agni (fire), Vayu (wind), Varuna (rain), Indra (Thunder)
• lesser female deities like Aditi (goddess of eternity) and Usha (appearance of dawn)
• Yajna centered, Idol worship - not yet come into existence
• lateron Indra and Agni lost their importance, Prajapathi (the creator), Vishnu (the protector), Rudra (the destroyer) became prominent

    EDUCATION

    GURUKULA SYSTEM OF EDUCATION

• The students received education through oral tradition meaning rote learning, and were required to memorise everything.
• The subjects of the study included the four Vedas, Ithihasas, Puranas, grammar, logic, ethics, astrology, maths and military science.
• Only Dvijas could be Shishyas. No women could have formal education

    AGE-BASED ASHRAMAS 

• Brahmacharya (Student Life)
• Grihastha (Married Life)
• Vanaprastha (Going to the forest to meditate)
• Sanyasa (Leading a life of an ascetic so as to attain Swarga

CONTEMPORARY CULTURE IN SOUTH INDIA AND TAMIL NADU

• Vedic period coincided with Chalcolithic cultures (chalco - copper)
• Though Chalcolithic culture was contemporary to mature Harappan phase, continued to exist 
• later Vedic culture in north India and the Iron Age in south India belong to the same period.
• Towards the end of Iron Age, people stepped into what is known as Megalithic Culture (600 BCE and CE 100)
• Megalithic Period in ancient Tamilakam synchronised with the pre Sangam period
• The Black and Red Ware Pottery became the characteristic of the Megalithic period

   MEGALITHIC IRON AGE IN TAMIL NADU

• Megalith is derived from Greek, (‘Megas’- great, ‘lithos’- stone) 
• Using big stone slabs built upon the places of burial is known as Megalith

   SOME OF THE MEGALITHIC  IRON AGE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES IN TAMIL NADU

     ADICHANALLUR - THOOTHUKUDI DISTRICT

• artefacts unearthed were Urns (large pottery jars), pottery of various kinds (Red Ware, Black Ware), iron implements, daggers, swords, spears and arrows, some stone beads and a few gold ornaments
• Bronze objects representing domestic animals and wild animals like tiger, antelope and elephant have been unearthed

    KEEZHADI - SIVAGANGAI DISTRICT

• ASI excavated an ancient town dating to Sangam Age in Keezhadi village at Tirupathur taluk
• Excavations have produced evidence for brick buildings, and well laid – out drainage system
• Tamil – Brahmi inscription on pottery, beads of glass, carnelian and quartz, pearl, gold ornaments and iron objects, shell bangles, ivory dice have been unearthed
• In 2017, ASI sent two samples of these for Radio carbon dating to Beta Analytic, Florida, USA. 
• They dated samples as 200 BCE

     PORUNTHAL - DINDIGUL DISTRICT

• Finds – Grave goods, glass beads (in red, white, yellow, blue and green), iron swords, pottery with Tamil Brahmi scripts, pots filled with rice, semi-precious metals such as quartz, carnelian, bangles made of glass and shell
• Iron sickle, pike, pot and tip of ploughs - the practice of rice cultivation in Tamil Nadu

     PAIYAMPALLI - VELLORE DISTRICT

• Finds –Iron artefacts, along with Megalithic Black and Red Ware Pottery 
• Evidence for iron smelting, dated 1000 BCE

     KODUMANAL - ERODE DISTRICT

• identified with the Kodumanam of Pathitrupathu
• More than 300 pottery inscriptions in Tamil –Brahmi have been discovered
• Archaeologists have also discovered spindles, whorls (used for making thread from cotton) and pieces of cloth, along with tools, weapons, ornaments, beads, particularly carnelian
• Menhir found at burial site is assigned to the Megalithic period

    MEGALITHIC MONUMENTS IN TAMIL NADU

• Megalithic system of burial - the dead body was placed in a big pot along with burial goods
• Dolmens - Megalithic tombs made of two or more upright stones with a single stone lying across the burial site

• Megalithic Dolmens - Veeraraghavapuram village (Kanchipuram district), Kummalamaruthupatti (Dindigul district), and in Narasingampatti, (Madurai district)