what you don't know about "Ajanabha varsha"

 

The quote seems to be little philosophical. isn't it ?? 

So our journey started from earth formation, birth of organisms, mammals, gradually to human evolution, and then to  the greatest civilizations we had, but in these talks where was our dear country??

I don't remember if I had talked anything about India.🤔🤔

As a result, I'm sprinting to Ajanabha Varsha. Name was given to India most likely  during the Vedic period, and it was named after a Vedic god. "Aja" is another name for Lord Brahma, the Vedic God, "nahba" means center or navel, and "varsa" means breadth of space..............😓😓 it's fine,  it's fine, if you didn't knew about this fact before, since I didn't either, until I had read about the Vedic period.

Now you can relate a little, what would be the topic of the day. of-course it's Vedic Civilization of India (started after fall of Harappan civilization) which was divided into  phases- Rig Vedic or early Vedic period (1500-1000 BC) and later Vedic period (1000-600 BC).

..Like a lotus turned downwards, is a heart,
a span below the neck and a span above the navel.
Know that heart to be the abode of God.
Surrounded by nerves, it hangs down like a lotus bud.
At its end is a subtle nerve,
in which is established an auspicious Being, who is everything.

A great fire is at its center, which has

flames all around, spreading in all directions.

It is the first partaker, the ageless knower.

why poetry today, this is what you are thinking right now ????😅😅don't worry, not trying my luck in poetry though!! (The above is an excerpt from the Taittiriya Aranyaka: Ten books of hymns, mantras, and - typical of Aranyaka texts - Vedic theology constituting two Upanishads.)

It's just because the Vedic period is characterized by hymns, prayers, mantras  so I thought to give you a glimpse of it.

 So what exactly Veda is? The word veda comes from the root vid, which means 'to know.' The term veda refers to the sacred knowledge contained in the Vedic writings. The vedic literature is divided into two categories namely the mantras and brahmanas (refers to the texts explaining the meaning of the mantras). The four Vedas and associated Brahmanas are often known as shruti, or "hearing," because they were directly heard by the sages.

well a question is coming your way from my side.😑😑how many of you know the names of all 4 vedas????

1 Rig Veda: consists of 1028 hymns, organized into ten books known as maṇḍalas.

2 Yajurveda: contains the rituals and hymns of the Yajnas

3 Samaveda:  first part includes four melody collections and the second part three verse “books” 

4 Atharvaveda: collection of beliefs and rituals addressing practical issues of daily life of the Vedic society.

In 2007 the Rigveda was included by UNESCO in the list of literature signifying World Human Heritage.

 

The early Vedic Aryans dwelt in the sapta-sindhu (area of seven rivers) region. This region primarily encompasses the northern part of South Asia up to the Yamuna River. Sindhu,  Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi ,Beas, Sutlej, and Sarasvati were among the seven rivers. During the Later Vedic period, they gradually moved eastward, settling in eastern U.P. (Kosala) and north Bihar (Videha).

                                                          (image taken from studyadda.com)

The early Vedic Aryans were pastoralists. Cattle rearing was their main occupation. They

 reared cattle, sheep, goats, and horses for purposes of milk, meat and hides. A large number of words are derived from the word "gow" meaning cow. The cows were thought of as providers of everything. Cattle was the chief measure of wealth and a wealthy man who owned many cattle was called 'gomat', thus prayers were offered for an increase in the number of cattle. small scale farming, Hunting, carpentry, tanning, weaving, chariot-making, metal smeltery etc. were some other economic activities. The products of these activities were exchanged through barter, they often used cows as medium  of exchange. 

Since the Rigvedic people were engaged in wars with each other they worshipped Indra as a god, along with Indra, Agni, the fire deity, was the god of the home and was regarded as a god-to-man intermediate. Plants and herbs were associated with Soma. Soma was also a plant that yielded an intoxicating juice. This liquid was consumed during sacrifices. Varuna, another major god, was the custodian of the rita, or cosmic order. At yajnas, or sacrifices, all of these gods were invoked and propitiated. The chiefs of the tribes coordinated the sacrifices, which were carried out by priests.

It is vital to emphasis that during the whole Vedic period, no temples were built, and no statues were worshiped. Indian religion took up these characteristics much later. 

But in the later vedic phase, agriculture became the mainstay of the Vedic people. buffalo had been bred for agricultural uses. During this time, the god Indra is given the title 'Lord of the Plough.'  The introduction of iron circa 1000 BC was a major element in the spread of the Aryan culture throughout the later Vedic period. People now grow wheat, rice, beans, lentils, millet, sugarcane, and other crops. Cooked rice was among the dana and dakshina foods. Thus, with the advent of agricultural production, agricultural commodities began to be offered in rites. With the passage of time, the Vedic people also gained a greater understanding of seasons, farming, and irrigation. The settlements slowly began to acquire characteristics of towns. Changes in their material lives inevitably influenced their attitudes about gods and goddesses. As a result, Prajapati the creator, Vishnu protector of the universe, and Rudra the destroyer who were minor gods in the Rigveda, became important in this period. Another notable feature was the increase in the number and frequency of yajnas. These yajnas provided them brahmans a substantial sum of money in the shape of dana and dakshina. Ashvamedha, Vajapeya, Rajasuya, and other notable yajnas were among them.

You've probably heard about these yajnas in the Mahabharata and Ramayana stories.🤔🤔didn't you?? ok recreating the scene for you.......remember when Lord Rama was performing Ashvamedha yajna, no one to stopped the horse, but at last Luv and Kush caught that horse challenging Lord Rama.............still not able to recall??👀 well take an advice of mine...just watch both the epics in your free time, instead of scrolling on social media.😑😑 it's just an advice.

Moving towards society of the period, I would like to share with you a fact that there was no caste system present at that time and occupation was not based on birth. That means anyone could choose a different profession and it's absolutely true, thus the society was egalitarian in nature in the early vedic phase in both social and economic spheres. The family was the fundamental element of Rigvedic society. It was patriarchal in nature. Monogamy(practice of could marrying one at a time)  was the traditional pattern of marriage, but chiefs practised polygamy(practice of marrying more than one women a at time). The family belonged to a broader unit known as vis or clan. Jana or tribe was formed by one or more clans. The jana was the most important social unit. The clan's members were all blood relatives to one another. 

The warriors, priests and the ordinary people were the three sections of the Rigvedic tribe. The chief social unit of the Aryans was known as Jana. The chief of this unit was the political leader called Rajan. The main function of the chief was to protect the jana and cattle from the enemies. He was helped in his task by the tribal assemblies called Sabha, samiti, vidatha, gana and parishad. Out of these Sabha and samiti were the most important assemblies. The post of the chief was not hereditary. The tribe generally elected him. The women in society enjoyed respectable positions. They were married at a proper age and could choose  husband of their own choice, and widows were allowed to remarry. They could also take part in the proceedings of the tribal assemblies called Sabha and Samiti.

Early vedic society is a pleasing part of history, which changed completely towards the coming of the later vedic phase.

                                                    a societal development in later Vedic.

 

The later Vedic family became large. The institution of gotra developed in this period. This means that people having common gotra descended from a common ancestor and same gotra people could not marry. Monogamous marriages were preferred even though polygamy was frequent. Restrictions on women appeared during this period, the participation of women in public meetings was restricted. The most important change was the rise and growth of social differentiation in the form of the varna system. The four varnas in which society came to be divided were the brahmanas, kshatriyas, vaishyas and shudras. The growing number of sacrifices and rituals during the period made the brahmanas very powerful by connecting themselves with dharma. The nature of chiefship changed in this period. The territorial idea gained ground. The chiefship had become hereditary. The idea of the divine nature of kingship gets a mention in the literature of this period. The brahmanas helped the chiefs in this process. The elaborate coronation rituals such as vajapeya and rajasuya established the chief authority. 

All these attributes of change from later Vedic period onwards paved the way to formation of 16 most powerful Mahajanapadas in the 6th century BC.

So guys, this is the end......of the post. Hope you read everything from above without coming to the conclusion directly. (It's a joke though.) I hope you enjoyed the post, more than enjoyment,  understood the developments from that period. 

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