Vedic Age || UPSC

Page from Rig Veda | Image via Wikimedia Commons

• Aryan Names appear in Kassite inscriptions of about 1600 BC from Iraq and Mitanni inscriptions of 14th century BC from Syria. 
• Brahmavadini : or an expounder of the Vedas are those women who composed some hymns of  the Vedas. The prominent among them were Lopamudra(wife of sage Agastya) , Vishwawara, Sikta, Ghosha and  Maitreyi. 
• Vedangas : Limbs of Vedas, are 6 auxiliary disciplines of Vedic culture that developed in ancient times, and have been connected with the study of Vedas- Shiksha/Phonetics, Chandas/poetic meters, Vyakarna, Nirukta/etymology, Kalpa/rituals and astronomy/jyotisha. 
• Vedic Rivers : The whole region in which the Aryans first settled in Indian sub continent is called the Land of Seven Rivers - Saraswati + 5 Indus Rivers + Kubha.

Sindhu	Most mentioned river in Rig Veda.
Saraswati	Most pious river of Vedic age. Referred as Matetama, Devitama and Naditama.
Parushni	Modern name is Ravi river. Famous battle of 10 Kings- Dasharajnya was fought on this river.
Askini	Chenab
Sadaneera	Gandak
Shutudri	Sutlej
Rivers of Afghanistan mentioned                 in Rig Veda	Kubha(Kabul), Gomal, Suvastu(Swat)

Vedas : 

There are 4 Vedas and each has been sub classified into 4 major styles of  text - Samhitas ; Aryankas ; Brahamanas and Upanishads. Aryankas are identified as Karma -Kanda while Upanishads as Gyana-Kanda. Aryankas and Brahamans are variously classified - sometimes as ceremonial Karma Kanda and other times as Gyana-Kanda. Some scholars add a 5th category - Upasanas. Of the 4 Vedas Rig, Sam and Yajur are also called trayi vidya or the triple science of reciting hymns(Rig), performing sacrifices( Yajur) and chanting songs(sam Veda).

Rig Veda : 

• Oldest Indic text and contains 1028 Sanskrit hymns and 10600 verses in all dedicated to Rig Vedic deities. 250 hymns are dedicated to Indra, followed by 200 hymns for Agni.
• Hymns are organized into 10 books(mandalas). 
• 9th mandal is entirely dedicated to Soma. 
• Mandalas 2-7 are called family books - each is attributed to a particular rishi and transmitted by his lineage. Mandala 1 and 10 are youngest.
• Sakalya and Baskala are most likely surviving branch(recension) of RigVed.
• In western usage, Rigved usually refers to Rigved Samhita, however technically speaking, the Rig Veda refers to entire body of texts transmitted along with the Samhita portion.
• Gayatri mantr is in 3rd Mandal.
• Purush Sukta mentions 4 varnas.
• Offers no direct evidence of social or political system or structured caste system in Vedic era; Horse, cattle, sheep and goat play important role in Rigved; Elephant, camel, ass, buffalo, wolf, hyena, lion are also mentioned.

Sam Veda : 

• Veda of melodies and chants consisting of 1549 stanzas taken almost from Rig Veda (except for 75 mantras).
• Comprises 2 main parts : first part include 4 melody collection(gaana) and second part 3 verse books(archika) . A melody in the song book corresponds to a verse in the archika book.

Yajur Veda : 

• Consists of prose mantras; compilation of rituals offering formula that were said by priests while an individual performed ritual actions such as those before yajna fire.
• Broadly divided into 2 groups - black or Krishna (un-arranged and unclear) and white or Shukla (well arranged, clear). 
• 1875 verses, that are distinct yet borrowed and build upon the foundation of verses of Rig Veda.
• Primary source of sacrifices and rituals during Vedic times.

Atharva Veda :

• Knowledge storehouse of the atharvanas, the procedures for everyday daily life.
• Sometimes called Veda of magical formulas but also incorporates the daily rituals for initiation into learning(upanayan), marriage and funerals.
• Collection of 730 hymns with about 6000 mantras, divided into 20 books.
• Attributed to mythical priest- Atharvan and Angiras.
• Mundaka Upanishad is embedded inside the Atharva Ved.
• Mentions Sabha and Samiti as 2 daughters of Prajapati.

Embedded Vedic Texts : 

Samhita : 

• Refers to the most ancient layer of texts in the Vedas. Vedic Samhita refer to mathematically precise metrical archaic text of each  Vedas.

Brahamanas : 

• Commentaries on hymns of the four Vedas.
• Are primarily a digest incorporating myths, legends, explanation of Vedic rituals and in some cases speculations about natural phenomena or philosophy.
• Lack a homogeneous structure across the Vedas. A total of 19 Brahamanas are surviving in their entirety - 2 associated with Rig Ved, 6 with Yajur, 10 with Samveda and 1 with AtharvaVed(Gopatha).
• Noted for their instructions on proper performance of rituals, as well as explain the symbolic significance of sacred words and rituals actions in the main text.

Aryankas : 

• Constitute the philosophy behind ritual sacrifices of Vedas. Typically represent later sections of Vedas and are one of many layers of Vedas.
• Rig Veda- Aitreya Aranyaka and Kaushitaki Aranyaka.
• YajurVed - Taittriya,Katha,Brihad and Maitryaniya.
•  Samaveda - Talavakara.
•  Atharva Veda- no surviving aryankas. 

Upanishads : 

• Commonly referred as Vedanta. Concepts of Brahma and Atman are central ideas of Upanishads. Main theme is philosophy. As they are generally the last part of the Vedas, they are also known as Vedanta. 
• There are more than 200 known Upanishads and most important are referred as mukhya Upanishad.
• Chanogya and Brihadaranya are oldest among mukhya Upanishads.
• Rig Veda - Aitreya Upanishad.
• Sama Veda - Chandogya and Kena.
• Yajur Veda - Kathopanishad, Taitriyya and Maitrayani. Kathopanishad contains the story of conversation between Yama and Nachiketa.
• Atharva - Mundaka(Satyamev jayate), Mandukya (different from Mundaka) and Prashna.
• Upanishads form one of the 3 main sources for Vedanta philosophy, along with Bhagvad Geeta and Brahmasutras.

Puranas : 

Vast genre of Indian literature about myths, legends and other traditional lore. These are ancient Indian mythological texts, which consist of the narrative stories about the creation of the universe and illustrates its history till the supposed destruction of the universe. Found in both Hinduism and Jainism. There are 19 Maha Puranas( Mukhya) and 18 Upa Puranas (Minor). Do not enjoy authority of scripture in Hinduism but are considered as Smriti. Several Puranas list 5 characteristics/signs of Puranas- Sarga(cosmology),Pratisarga(cosmogony),Vansa(genealogy of gods,sages and kings), Manvantara(cosmic cycles) and Vanshanucharita (legends during the times of various kings).