Text 1.3: Aryan Civilization and the VedasTopic 3:Ancient India and China (2600 B.C.E. - A.D. 550) Lesson 1: Early Civilization in South Asia

BELLWORK

What factors do you think led to the transition of the Aryan people from nomadic herders to farmers?

OBJECTIVES

Discuss the development of the Aryan civilization

Explain the main characteristics of the Aryan civilization

Compare and contrast the Aryan civilization to the Indus civilization

Aryan Civilization and the Vedas

2000 B.C.E. to 1500 B.C.E. a new civilization

developed after the decline of the Indus

civilization

It shaped the subcontinent for centuries to come

Aryans the Vedic Period

A number of the groups that shaped this era

spoke Indo-European languages

They intermarried with other groups and

eventually called themselves Aryans (noble ones)

Through acculturation these groups formed what

would later be known as Vedic civilization in

South Asia

Aryans the Vedic Period

The early Aryans in India built no cities and left no

statues or stone seals. Most of what we know

about them comes from the Vedas

Aryan priests memorized and recited the Vedas

for a thousand years before they ever wrote

down these sacred teachings

The period from 1500 B.C.E. to 500 B.C.E.. is

often called the Vedic Period for this reason

Aryans the Vedic Period

In the Vedas, the Aryans appear as warriors who

fought in chariots with bows and arrows

They loved food, drink, music, chariot races, and

dice games

These nomadic herders valued cattle, which

provided them with food and clothing

As they settled as farmers, families continued to

measure their wealth in cows and bulls

From Nomads to Farmers

Aryans gave up their nomadic ways and settled into villages to cultivate crops and breed cattle

Local farmers taught Aryans how to raise crops and other skilled crafts

The Aryans spread eastward to settle in the heavily forested Ganges basin

From Nomads to Farmers

By about 800 B.C.E. they had learned to make tools out of iron

Equipped with iron axes and weapons they carved farms and villages out of the rainforests of the northeast

Government

The Aryan people had a tribal political system

that later formed the basis for the small

independent kingdoms that formed in

northwestern India

Aryan tribes were led by a rajah, who was often

the most skilled war leader, had been elected to

his position by an assembly of warriors

Government

Rajah considered the advice of a council of elders

made up of the heads of families while he ruled

Rajahs often fought with one another to control

trade and territory across the northern plain

Some rajahs became powerful hereditary rulers,

extending their influence over many villages

Social Structure

Aryan society was made up of four groups of

people

Ancient Indian society was seen as needing four

classes of people to function properly

Each of these classes, called varnas,were based

on a person's ability and interest

Social Structure

The classifications were:

Brahmins - those who learn

Kshatriyas - those who accumulate power

Vaisyas - those who produce goods

Sudras - those who serve

Social Structure

Later, the society was divided by occupational

groups

During the medieval period, these ancient

divisions would evolve into a more rigid,

hierarchical system known as the caste system

People were rigidly fixed in the class or caste into

which they were born

The Rig Veda describes how the universe was

created by a divine Universal Being referred to as

Purusha

From Purusha, everything, including the planets,

air, animals, and plants came into being

The people of the four classes in society are also

said to have been created by Purusha

The Aryan Religion

The Aryans worshiped gods and goddesses who

embodied natural forces such as sky, sun, storm,

and fire

They viewed these gods and goddesses as

manifestations of a single, divine, absolute

The chief Aryan deity was fierce Indra

Indra’s weapon was the thunderbolt, which he

used not only to destroy demons but also to

announce the arrival of rain, so vital to Indian life

The Aryan Religion

Other major gods included:

Varuna the god of order and creation

Agni, the god of fire and the messenger who

communicated human wishes to the gods

The Aryans also honored animal deities, such as

monkey and snake gods

The Aryan Religion

Brahmins offered sacrifices of food and drink to

the gods

Through the correct rituals and prayers, the

Aryans believed, they could call on the gods for

health, wealth, and victory in war

As the lives of the Aryans changed, so, too, did

their beliefs. Some religious thinkers were

moving toward the notion of Brahman

The Aryan Religion

Brahman is a single spiritual power that existed

beyond the many gods of the Vedas and that

resided in all things

There was also a move toward mysticism

Aryan mystics practiced meditation and yoga,

spiritual and bodily disciplines designed to

enhance the attempt to achieve direct contact

with the divine

The Aryan Religion

The religions that emerged in India after the

Vedic Period were influenced by both mysticism

and the notion of Brahman