The Vedas are the oldest books in the world. They were composed in the ancient language called Sanskrit and were passed on orally from one generation to the next before being written down. The word "Veda" means "knowledge" or "wisdom". There are four Vedas: the Rigveda, the Samaveda, the Yajurveda and the Atharvaveda.
The Rigveda is the oldest Veda. It contains more than a thousand hymns, called suktas or "well-said" verses, which are in praise of gods and goddesses such as Agni (the fire god), Indra (the rain and thunder god) and Soma. Besides religious hymns, the Vedas also tell us about the people who composed them, their way of life, their families, and the places where they lived.
In this chapter, we will learn about the Vedas and how they were composed and preserved, and we will also study the evidence provided by burials, especially the megaliths found in South India, which tell us about the beliefs and lives of people of that time.
The Vedas are the earliest written sources of ancient Indian history, though they were initially oral compositions. The word "Veda" comes from the root "vid", which means "to know". The four Vedas were composed over a long period.
The Rigveda is the oldest, composed about 3500 years ago. The other three Vedas – the Samaveda, the Yajurveda and the Atharvaveda – were composed later. The hymns of the Rigveda are called suktas, and they were recited during rituals and sacrifices. The priests, who were learned in the Vedas, preserved them carefully by memorising and reciting them, and that is how they were passed down from generation to generation.
The Rigveda tells us about people who called themselves Aryas (the noble ones) and their opponents, who were called Dasas or Dasyus. The Dasas may have been people who did not perform sacrifices or follow the same customs as the Aryas.
The families of the Aryas were grouped together in villages, which were called gramas. The leader of the village was called gramani. The head of the family was called kula. The groups of families that considered themselves related to each other were called jana, and the leader of the jana was the rajana or the king.
The rajas of the Rigveda did not have the large kingdoms or palaces that we associate with kings today. They were more like leaders who protected their people and led them in wars. In the Rigveda, battles were fought between different jana groups, and the kingship was not hereditary in the beginning.
The language of the Vedas was Sanskrit, which was spoken by the people of the northern part of the subcontinent. Over time, the language of the Vedas changed and developed.
The Rigveda is written in an old form of Sanskrit called Vedic Sanskrit, which is different from the Sanskrit spoken and written today. Because the Vedas were recited orally for centuries, it was important to pronounce the words correctly. Teachers trained their students to memorise and recite the hymns accurately, so that they would not be changed.
The Vedas are not books that narrate history in a straightforward manner. They contain hymns, prayers, rituals and philosophical discussions. Yet, they are of great historical value because they give us glimpses of the life, society, economy and beliefs of the people of that time.
For example, the Rigveda mentions places, rivers and tribes, which help historians to locate where these people lived. It mentions the river Saraswati and other rivers like the Ganga and the Yamuna. The hymns tell us about cattle, which was the most valued possession, and about the games and contests, such as chariot racing, held at gatherings. Thus, even a religious book can be a rich source of history.
Not everything can be learnt from books; sometimes the remains of the dead also tell us a great deal about the past. In different parts of the world, people buried their dead in different ways, and these burials provide valuable information about the beliefs, social status and daily life of ancient people.
One of the most important burial practices found in the subcontinent is the use of megaliths. The word "megalith" is made up of two Greek words: mega, meaning big, and lith, meaning stone. Megaliths were huge stones arranged in particular ways to mark burial sites. These are found in different parts of South India, especially in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.
When people died, their bodies were buried along with objects that they might have used in their lifetime. These objects included pots of black and red ware, tools and weapons made of iron, and ornaments of gold and other materials.
The buried objects tell us about the people's beliefs. It seems that people believed in life after death and placed things needed in the next life in the grave. The objects also tell us about the social status of the person – a person buried with many precious objects may have been important. Sometimes, the skeletons show that people were buried in pairs, and the jewellery found with them suggests that one may have been a man and the other a woman.
Inamgaon, in present-day Maharashtra, is a site where archaeologists have found evidence of houses, pits and burials. It was occupied for hundreds of years, around 3900 to 2700 years ago.
At Inamgaon, houses were built of mud and stone, and people lived in them along with their animals. Burials have been found inside the houses, showing that people buried their dead in their homes. Pots of different shapes and sizes were buried along with the dead. In one burial, a person was found buried with a dog! Such burials give us fascinating insights into the customs and beliefs of the people.
The study of burials helps us understand whether there were differences in society. At some burial sites, certain graves contain many more objects than others. This suggests that some people were richer or more important than others, and that society was not entirely equal.
At Inamgaon, archaeologists found a burial with a man who had a single pot, while another burial had pots, beads, bangles and even the skeleton of a dog. Differences like these suggest that some form of social or economic difference existed even in those early times.
When we combine the information from the Vedas and the burials, we get a more complete picture of the past. The Vedas tell us about the religious beliefs and social organisation of the people of the north, while the megaliths of the south tell us about the beliefs in life after death and the social differences of the people of the south.
Both sources show that people valued animals, especially cattle, and that iron tools came into use in some areas around 3000 years ago. The burials show the importance of pottery, ornaments and weapons in the lives of the people. Together, these sources help historians understand that ancient Indian society was diverse, with different regions following different customs while sharing common features.
| Veda | Meaning/Feature |
|---|---|
| Rigveda | The oldest Veda; contains over 1000 hymns (suktas) |
| Samaveda | Contains melodies and chants |
| Yajurveda | Contains rituals and sacrificial formulae |
| Atharvaveda | Contains spells, charms and philosophical ideas |
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Veda | Knowledge or wisdom |
| Sukta | A hymn, meaning "well-said" |
| Aryas | The people who composed the hymns of the Rigveda |
| Dasas | Opponents of the Aryas in the Rigveda |
| Grama | Village |
| Gramani | Leader of the village |
| Kula | Head of the family |
| Jana | Group of families that considered themselves related |
| Rajana | King/leader of the jana |
| Megalith | Huge stone used to mark a burial site |
Books and burials are two very different kinds of sources, but both tell us a great deal about the past. The Vedas, especially the Rigveda, tell us about the language, gods, society and way of life of the early people of the subcontinent. The hymns of the Rigveda reveal the importance of cattle, the organisation of families into gramas and janas, and the leadership of the rajana.
The megalithic burials of South India and sites like Inamgaon show us the beliefs of people in life after death, the objects they valued, and the social differences that existed among them. Together, these sources show that the ancient people of the subcontinent lived in diverse societies with rich cultural practices. The study of such evidence teaches us that even a pot, a stone or a hymn can be a window into a world that existed thousands of years ago.