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The Early Vedic (Rig Vedic) period

മലയാളത്തിൽ വിശദീകരണം

The Vedic age · Part 1 / 2 · Fact-checked on 8 November 2026 · how we check

Written with AI from the sources listed at the bottom of this page, then fact-checked by a separate AI.

The Vedas as oral texts and how they were preserved; the structure of the Rig Veda and its key hymns; Vedic Sanskrit, the Avesta and the Boghazkoi inscription; Sapta Sindhu and the Rig Vedic rivers; tribes and the Battle of Ten Kings; the rajan, purohita and senani; the sabha, samiti and vidatha; a cattle-based economy with horses and chariots; family, women and the beginnings of varna; and the gods Indra, Agni, Varuna and Soma.

Each idea is explained first in Malayalam (മലയാളം), ending with the English and Hindi exam terms, followed by the same point in exam English. UPSC Prelims is in English or Hindi, so understand it in Malayalam and revise it in English.

ഹാരപ്പയ്ക്കു ശേഷം വന്ന വലിയ കാലം വേദകാലം — ഏകദേശം ബി.സി. 1500–600. രണ്ടു ഭാഗം: ആദ്യ വേദകാലം (1500–1000, ഋഗ്വേദം വഴി അറിയുന്നു), പിൽക്കാല വേദകാലം (1000–600). ഹാരപ്പയുടെ നേർവിപരീതം: അവിടെ നഗരങ്ങളുണ്ട്, ലിപി വായിക്കാനാവില്ല; ഇവിടെ വായിക്കാവുന്ന പാട്ടുകൾ ധാരാളം, പക്ഷേ കുഴിച്ചു കാണിക്കാവുന്ന ഇടങ്ങൾ കുറവ് — ഫോട്ടോയില്ലാതെ മുത്തച്ഛന്റെ കത്തുകൾ മാത്രം ഉള്ളതുപോലെ. (→ English: Vedic age · Rig Veda · हिन्दी: वैदिक युग · ऋग्वेद)

In exam EnglishAfter the Harappan cities faded, the next great period is the Vedic age, roughly 1500 to 600 BCE, named after the Vedas, the oldest texts of the subcontinent. Historians divide it in two: the Early Vedic or Rig Vedic period, about 1500 to 1000 BCE, known mainly from the Rig Veda, and the Later Vedic period, about 1000 to 600 BCE, known from the later Vedic texts and from archaeology. The evidence is the reverse of the Harappan case. There we have cities but cannot read the script; here we have a huge body of readable verse but very few sites that can be tied to it with certainty. This part covers the Early Vedic world: its texts, language, land, tribes, rulers, assemblies, economy, society and gods. Part 2 follows the Later Vedic changes.

വേദം എന്നാൽ അറിവ്. ഇവയെ 'ശ്രുതി' — കേട്ടത് — എന്നു വിളിക്കുന്നു. നൂറ്റാണ്ടുകളോളം എഴുതാതെ വായ്മൊഴിയായി പഠിപ്പിച്ചു; ഒരേ മന്ത്രം വാക്കു വാക്കായും ജോടിയായും തിരിച്ചും ചൊല്ലി ഒരക്ഷരം പോലും മാറാതെ കാത്തു — കുട്ടികൾ ഗുണനപ്പട്ടിക മുന്നോട്ടും പിന്നോട്ടും ചൊല്ലുന്നതുപോലെ. 2003-ൽ യുനെസ്കോ വേദപാരായണ പാരമ്പര്യത്തെ അംഗീകരിച്ചു. നാലു വേദങ്ങൾ: ഋക്, സാമ, യജുർ, അഥർവ. ഋഗ്വേദം മാത്രമാണ് ആദ്യകാലത്തേത്. (→ English: shruti · oral tradition · Vedic chanting · हिन्दी: श्रुति · मौखिक परंपरा · वैदिक मंत्रोच्चार)

In exam EnglishVeda means knowledge. The Vedic texts are called shruti, 'what was heard', because tradition holds that the seers, or rishis, received them rather than composed them. For many centuries they were not written down at all. Families of priests passed them on by memory, using several ways of reciting the same verse, word by word, in pairs and in reversed patterns, so that not a syllable would change. This is why a text far older than any surviving manuscript has come down in remarkably stable form. UNESCO recognised the tradition of Vedic chanting as part of humanity's intangible heritage in 2003. There are four Vedas: the Rig, Sama, Yajur and Atharva. Only the Rig Veda belongs to the early period; the other three, and the prose texts attached to them, are the main sources for the later period.

ഋഗ്വേദത്തിൽ 1,028 സൂക്തങ്ങൾ, പത്തു മണ്ഡലങ്ങൾ. 2 മുതൽ 7 വരെ 'കുടുംബ മണ്ഡലങ്ങൾ' — വസിഷ്ഠൻ, വിശ്വാമിത്രൻ തുടങ്ങിയ ഋഷികുടുംബങ്ങളുടേത്, ഏറ്റവും പഴയത്; 1, 10 പിന്നീടു ചേർത്തു. 9-ാം മണ്ഡലം സോമനു മാത്രം. 10-ാം മണ്ഡലത്തിൽ പുരുഷസൂക്തം (നാലു വർണങ്ങൾ), നാസദീയസൂക്തം (സൃഷ്ടി എങ്ങനെ തുടങ്ങി?). ഗായത്രീമന്ത്രം 3-ാം മണ്ഡലത്തിൽ, സവിതാവിന്, വിശ്വാമിത്രന്റേത്. പഴയ ആൽബത്തിൽ നടുവിലെ പേജുകൾ പഴയതും ആദ്യ-അവസാന പേജുകൾ പിന്നീടു ചേർത്തതും പോലെ. (→ English: Rig Veda · mandala · Purusha Sukta · Gayatri mantra · हिन्दी: ऋग्वेद · मंडल · पुरुष सूक्त · गायत्री मंत्र)

In exam EnglishThe Rig Veda is a collection of 1,028 hymns arranged in ten books called mandalas. Books 2 to 7 are the 'family books', each linked to one family of seers such as the Vasishthas or the Vishvamitras, and they form the oldest layer. Books 1 and 10 were added later. Book 9 is devoted entirely to Soma, the sacred drink and its god. Two hymns in book 10 matter for the exam. The Purusha Sukta describes the four varnas emerging from the body of a cosmic being, and since it sits in a late book it is taken as evidence that the four-fold order took shape towards the end of the period. The Nasadiya Sukta asks how creation began and ends by doubting that anyone knows. The Gayatri mantra, addressed to the sun god Savitri, is in book 3 and is credited to Vishvamitra.

ഋഗ്വേദഭാഷ ഏറ്റവും പഴയ സംസ്കൃതം — ഇന്തോ-യൂറോപ്യൻ കുടുംബം; ഗ്രീക്ക്, ലാറ്റിൻ, പഴയ ഇറാനിയൻ അതിന്റെ ബന്ധുക്കൾ. ഏറ്റവും അടുത്ത ബന്ധു ഇറാനിയൻ ഗ്രന്ഥമായ അവെസ്തയുടെ ഭാഷ. തുർക്കിയിലെ ബോഗസ്കോയിൽ ബി.സി. 1380-ലെ ഉടമ്പടിയിൽ ഇന്ദ്രൻ, മിത്രൻ, വരുണൻ, നാസത്യർ എന്നിവരുടെ പേരുകൾ — ദൂരെയുള്ള നാട്ടിൽ നമ്മുടെ തറവാട്ടുപേര് കണ്ടതുപോലെ. 'ആര്യൻ' എന്നത് ഭാഷയും ആചാരവും നോക്കിയുള്ള തിരിച്ചറിവാണ്, വംശമല്ല. എങ്ങനെ, എപ്പോൾ വന്നു എന്നത് ഇന്നും തർക്കം. (→ English: Indo-European · Avesta · Boghazkoi inscription · हिन्दी: भारोपीय · अवेस्ता · बोगाज़कोई अभिलेख)

In exam EnglishThe language of the Rig Veda is the oldest form of Sanskrit, and it belongs to the Indo-European family of languages, whose other members include Old Iranian, Greek, Latin and most languages of Europe. Its closest relative is the language of the Avesta, the sacred text of ancient Iran, and the two share many words and ideas. A striking piece of outside evidence comes from Boghazkoi in Turkey, where a treaty of about 1380 BCE between the Hittites and the Mitanni calls on the gods Indra, Mitra, Varuna and the Nasatyas as witnesses. In the hymns, 'Arya' marks a people by speech, ritual and way of life; it is not a racial term. How and when Indo-Aryan speech reached the subcontinent is still debated. Many linguists hold that its speakers came from the north-west over a long period, while others argue for an origin within India.

ആദ്യ വേദജനത 'സപ്തസിന്ധു' — ഏഴു നദികളുടെ നാട് — യിൽ ജീവിച്ചു: ഇന്നത്തെ പഞ്ചാബ്, ഹരിയാന, അഫ്ഗാനിസ്താന്റെ ഭാഗങ്ങൾ. പഴയ പേര്, പുതിയ പേര്: വിതസ്ത = ഝലം, അസിക്നി = ചിനാബ്, പരുഷ്ണി = രാവി, വിപാശ = ബിയാസ്, ശുതുദ്രി = സത്‌ലജ്; കുഭ = കാബൂൾ. സിന്ധു കൂടുതൽ തവണ, സരസ്വതി ഏറ്റവും ആദരണീയ. ഗംഗ ഒരിക്കൽ മാത്രം — ഒരു ഗ്രാമത്തിലെ പാട്ടുകളിൽ ദൂരെയുള്ള പട്ടണത്തിന്റെ പേര് അപൂർവമായി വരുന്നതുപോലെ. (→ English: Sapta Sindhu · Parushni (Ravi) · Sarasvati · हिन्दी: सप्त सिंधु · परुष्णी (रावी) · सरस्वती)

In exam EnglishThe Early Vedic people lived in the land the hymns call Sapta Sindhu, the land of seven rivers, which covers today's Punjab on both sides of the border, Haryana and parts of Afghanistan. The rivers' old names and their modern equivalents are: the Sindhu is the Indus, the Vitasta the Jhelum, the Asikni the Chenab, the Parushni the Ravi, the Vipas the Beas and the Shutudri the Sutlej. Further west, the Kubha, Krumu and Gomati are the Kabul, Kurram and Gomal. The Sindhu is the river mentioned most often, but the Sarasvati is the most honoured, praised as the best of rivers and of mothers. By contrast the Ganga appears only once and the Yamuna rarely, which shows that the Ganga plain lay at the edge of the Early Vedic world.

Rig Vedic rivers and their modern names
Rig Vedic name	Modern name
Sindhu	Indus
Vitasta	Jhelum
Asikni	Chenab
Parushni	Ravi
Vipas	Beas
Shutudri	Sutlej
Kubha	Kabul
Krumu	Kurram
Gomati	Gomal

ആദ്യ വേദസമൂഹം ഗോത്രങ്ങളായി — ഓരോന്നും 'ജനം'. ഭരതർ, പുരുക്കൾ, യദുക്കൾ, തുർവശർ, അനുക്കൾ, ദ്രുഹ്യുക്കൾ; ഭരതരുടെ പേരിൽ നിന്നാണ് 'ഭാരത്'. യുദ്ധങ്ങൾ കൂടുതലും കന്നുകാലികൾക്കായി — 'ഗവിഷ്ടി' എന്നാൽ പശുക്കളെ തേടൽ, ഗ്രാമങ്ങൾ തമ്മിലുള്ള കാലിത്തർക്കം പോലെ. പത്തു രാജാക്കന്മാരുടെ യുദ്ധം (7-ാം മണ്ഡലം): വസിഷ്ഠന്റെ ഉപദേശത്തോടെ ഭരതരാജാവ് സുദാസ് പരുഷ്ണി (രാവി) തീരത്ത് പത്തു ഗോത്രസഖ്യത്തെ തോൽപ്പിച്ചു; വിശ്വാമിത്രൻ എതിർപക്ഷത്ത്. (→ English: jana · Battle of Ten Kings · gavishti · हिन्दी: जन · दाशराज्ञ युद्ध · गविष्टि)

In exam EnglishEarly Vedic society was organised in tribes, each called a jana. The hymns name many of them, among them the Bharatas, Purus, Yadus, Turvashas, Anus and Druhyus; the Bharatas gave their name to the land, which the Constitution today calls Bharat. Tribes fought one another, and with peoples the hymns call Dasas and Dasyus, mostly over cattle and pasture; one word for war, gavishti, literally means a search for cows. The best-known conflict is the Battle of Ten Kings, told in book 7. Sudas, king of the Bharatas, guided by the seer Vasishtha, defeated a confederacy of ten tribes, among them the Purus, on the banks of the Parushni, the Ravi; the seer Vishvamitra is linked with the opposing side. The story shows a world of small, mobile tribes.

ഓരോ ഗോത്രത്തിനും നേതാവ് 'രാജൻ' — പ്രധാനമായും യുദ്ധനേതാവും കാലിസംരക്ഷകനും; 'ഗോപ ജനസ്യ' എന്നാൽ ജനങ്ങളുടെ സംരക്ഷകൻ. നാട്ടുപ്രമാണിയെപ്പോലെ, ചക്രവർത്തിയല്ല: തലസ്ഥാനം, കൊട്ടാരം, അതിർത്തി ഒന്നുമില്ല. സഹായികൾ: പുരോഹിതൻ (വസിഷ്ഠൻ, വിശ്വാമിത്രൻ), സേനാനി, ഗ്രാമണി. നികുതിയില്ല — 'ബലി' എന്നാൽ സ്വമേധയാ നൽകുന്ന കാഴ്ച, ഉത്സവത്തിന് പ്രമാണിക്ക് വിളവിന്റെ പങ്കു കൊടുക്കുന്നതുപോലെ. സ്ഥിരം സൈന്യമില്ല. (→ English: rajan · purohita · senani · bali · हिन्दी: राजन · पुरोहित · सेनानी · बलि)

In exam EnglishAt the head of each tribe stood the rajan. He was above all a war leader and the protector of the tribe and its herds; one of his titles, gopa janasya, means protector of the people, and the cattle imagery is telling. His office was often passed within a family, but he was not an absolute ruler and there is no sign of a capital, palace or territory with fixed borders. He was helped by the purohita, the priest who performed rituals and advised him, as Vasishtha and Vishvamitra did; by the senani, the commander in battle; and at village level by the gramani. There was no regular tax. Members of the tribe gave the rajan bali, a voluntary offering of a share of produce or booty, and there was no standing army; the men of the tribe fought when called.

രാജന്റെ അധികാരത്തെ സഭകൾ നിയന്ത്രിച്ചു. സഭ — മുതിർന്നവരുടെ ചെറിയ സമിതി, തർക്കങ്ങൾ തീർത്തു; ഈ കാലത്ത് സ്ത്രീകൾക്കും പോകാമായിരുന്നു. സമിതി — മുഴുവൻ ഗോത്രത്തിന്റെ വലിയ കൂട്ടം, രാജൻ വരണം. വിദഥ — ഏറ്റവും പഴയ കൂട്ടം: ആരാധന, വസ്തുവിതരണം, യുദ്ധസജ്ജത; സ്ത്രീകളും പങ്കെടുത്തു. ഗണം — ഒരു സംഘം. നാട്ടിലെ കാരണവന്മാരുടെ സഭയും ഗ്രാമസഭയും വേറെവേറെ ഉള്ളതുപോലെ. (→ English: sabha · samiti · vidatha · हिन्दी: सभा · समिति · विदथ)

In exam EnglishThe rajan's power was checked by tribal assemblies, a feature that gives Early Vedic polity a strongly collective character. The sabha was a smaller body, usually understood as a council of elders and leading men, which also dealt with disputes; the hymns suggest that women could attend it in this early period. The samiti was the larger assembly of the people or the tribe as a whole, and the rajan was expected to attend it; the hymns speak of the need for harmony in it. The vidatha, the oldest of the assemblies in the Rig Veda, combined ritual, the sharing out of goods and preparation for war, and women took part in it too. The gana was a group or troop, also used for bands of gods. The hymns do not spell out the exact powers of each body.

Early Vedic assemblies
Body	Broad character	Women
Sabha	Smaller council of elders; disputes	Could attend in this period
Samiti	Larger assembly of the tribe; rajan attends	Not clearly stated
Vidatha	Oldest; ritual, sharing of goods, war	Took part

ആദ്യ വേദ സമ്പദ്‌വ്യവസ്ഥ കന്നുകാലികളിൽ — പണക്കാരൻ 'ഗോമത്', പശുക്കളുള്ളവൻ; ഇന്ന് 'എത്ര ഏക്കർ?' എന്നു ചോദിക്കുന്നതുപോലെ അന്ന് 'എത്ര പശു?'. കൃഷിയുണ്ട് (യവ — ബാർലി, കലപ്പ, അരിവാൾ), പക്ഷേ രണ്ടാം സ്ഥാനം. കുതിര പ്രധാനം — ആരക്കാലുള്ള ചക്രങ്ങളുള്ള ഭാരം കുറഞ്ഞ രഥങ്ങൾ. 'അയസ്' ചെമ്പോ വെങ്കലമോ ആകാം; ഇരുമ്പ് പിൽക്കാലം. ആശാരി, രഥമുണ്ടാക്കുന്നവൻ, നെയ്ത്തുകാരൻ. നഗരവും നാണയവുമില്ല — ബാർട്ടർ, 'നിഷ്ക' സ്വർണാഭരണം. (→ English: pastoralism · ayas · nishka · हिन्दी: पशुचारण · अयस · निष्क)

In exam EnglishThe Early Vedic economy rested on herds. Wealth was counted in cattle: a rich man was gomat, one who has cows. Farming was known and grew in importance, mostly of yava, a word that usually means barley, and the hymns mention ploughing, furrows and sickles, but it was secondary to herding in this period. The horse was central, as it was not for the Harappans. It drew light, fast chariots with spoked wheels, which gave the Vedic warrior his speed in battle. Metal was called ayas, which here probably means copper or bronze; iron belongs to the Later Vedic period. Carpenters, chariot-makers, smiths, weavers and potters are mentioned. There were no cities and no coins. Exchange was by barter, with cattle as a measure of value, and the nishka, a gold ornament, appears as a store of wealth.

സമൂഹം കുടുംബത്തിൽ നിന്ന് മുകളിലേക്ക്: കുലം (കാരണവരുടെ കീഴിലെ കുടുംബം) → ഗ്രാമം → വിശ് → ജനം. സ്ത്രീകൾക്ക് ആദരം: ഘോഷ, അപാല, ലോപാമുദ്ര, വിശ്വവാര സൂക്തങ്ങൾ രചിച്ചു; ബാലവിവാഹത്തിന്റെ സൂചന കുറവ്. പ്രധാന വിഭജനം ആര്യരും ദാസർ/ദസ്യുക്കളും തമ്മിൽ. വർണം എന്നാൽ ആദ്യം നിറം; നാലു വർണങ്ങൾ 10-ാം മണ്ഡലത്തിൽ മാത്രം. തൊഴിൽ ജനനത്താലല്ല — 'ഞാൻ കവി, അച്ഛൻ വൈദ്യൻ, അമ്മ മാവ് പൊടിക്കുന്നവൾ' — ഒരേ വീട്ടിൽ പല ജോലികൾ. (→ English: kula · varna · Dasa · हिन्दी: कुल · वर्ण · दास)

In exam EnglishSociety was built from the family upwards. The kula, a patriarchal household under its eldest male, belonged to a grama, a group of related families; several grama formed a vis, a clan, and the vis made up the jana. Women had a respected place by later standards. Some composed hymns, among them Ghosha, Apala, Lopamudra and Vishvavara; girls could be educated, and there is little sign of child marriage. The basic social divide in the hymns is between the Aryas and the Dasas or Dasyus, who are described as having different rites and speech. varna at first meant colour, and the four varnas named in the Purusha Sukta appear only in the late tenth book. Occupations were not yet fixed by birth: one well-known hymn has the speaker say that he is a poet, his father a physician and his mother a grinder of grain.

ആദ്യ വേദമതത്തിൽ പ്രകൃതിശക്തികളാണ് ദേവന്മാർ. ഇന്ദ്രൻ — ഇടി, മഴ, വൃത്രനെ കൊന്ന് വെള്ളം മോചിപ്പിച്ച യോദ്ധാവ്, ഏറ്റവും കൂടുതൽ സൂക്തങ്ങൾ. അഗ്നി രണ്ടാമൻ — ഹവിസ്സ് ദേവന്മാരിലെത്തിക്കുന്നവൻ, പോസ്റ്റുമാനെപ്പോലെ. വരുണൻ ഋതം — പ്രപഞ്ച, ധാർമിക ക്രമം — കാക്കുന്നു. സോമൻ പാനീയവും ദേവനും. ആരാധന സൂക്തങ്ങളും യജ്ഞവും വഴി; ചോദിച്ചത് കന്നുകാലി, പുത്രന്മാർ, ദീർഘായുസ്സ്, വിജയം. ക്ഷേത്രമോ വിഗ്രഹമോ ഇല്ല — തുറസ്സിൽ അഗ്നിക്കു ചുറ്റും. (→ English: Indra · Agni · Varuna · rita · yajna · हिन्दी: इंद्र · अग्नि · वरुण · ऋत · यज्ञ)

In exam EnglishEarly Vedic religion worshipped the powers of nature as gods. Indra, god of thunder and rain and the warrior who breaks forts and frees the waters by slaying the demon Vritra, has the largest number of hymns. Agni, fire, comes next; as the fire that carries offerings to the gods, he is the link between people and heaven. Varuna upholds rita, the cosmic and moral order that keeps the seasons turning and punishes wrongdoing. Soma is both a plant drink and a god, with a whole book of hymns. Other deities include Surya and Savitri, the sun, Ushas, the dawn, Aditi, the Maruts, the storm gods, and Rudra, a minor figure here. Worship was through hymns and the yajna, the sacrifice offered into fire, and people prayed mainly for worldly goods: cattle, sons, long life and victory. There were no temples and no images; rituals took place in the open around the fire.

ആകെ നോക്കിയാൽ ആദ്യ വേദലോകം ചെറുതെങ്കിലും ചിന്തയിൽ സമ്പന്നം: ഏഴു നദികളുടെ നാട്ടിൽ ഇടയഗോത്രങ്ങൾ, സഭയും സമിതിയും നിയന്ത്രിച്ച രാജൻ, കന്നുകാലിയാണ് സമ്പത്ത്, കുതിരരഥങ്ങൾ. വർണം അവസാനത്തിൽ മാത്രം. ഹാരപ്പയുമായി താരതമ്യം ചെയ്താൽ: നഗരം, ലിപി, തൂക്കം ഇല്ല; പക്ഷേ കുതിരകൾ, ആരക്കാൽ ചക്രങ്ങൾ, വലിയ വായ്മൊഴി സാഹിത്യം. രണ്ടാം ഭാഗത്തിൽ ഇതേ സംസ്കാരം ഗംഗാസമതലത്തിലെത്തി ഇരുമ്പ്, കൃഷി, വലിയ രാജ്യങ്ങൾ, ഉപനിഷത്തുകൾ വരെ — നാട്ടിൻപുറത്തെ പയ്യൻ പട്ടണത്തിൽ പോയി മാറിയതുപോലെ. (→ English: sabha · samiti · varna · हिन्दी: सभा · समिति · वर्ण)

In exam EnglishTaken together, the Early Vedic world was small in scale but rich in ideas. Mobile tribes of herders in the land of seven rivers, led by a rajan who was checked by the sabha and samiti, counted their wealth in cattle, fought over pasture and rode to battle in horse-drawn chariots. Their society was still fluid, with the four-fold varna order only appearing at the very end. Set beside the Harappans, the contrasts are sharp: no cities, no script, no standard weights, but horses, spoked wheels and a vast oral literature. Part 2 shows how, after about 1000 BCE, the same culture moved east into the Ganga plain, took up iron and settled farming, built larger kingdoms with grand royal sacrifices, hardened the varna order and produced the questioning thought of the Upanishads.

Exam traps

Count check: 10 mandalas, 1,028 hymns. The oldest layer is the family books (2 to 7); mandalas 1 and 10 were added later.
Both the Purusha Sukta (origin of the four varnas) and the Nasadiya Sukta (hymn on creation) sit in mandala 10, a late addition, and not in any family book.
Mandala 3 holds the Gayatri mantra; it is a prayer to Savitri and its seer is Vishvamitra. Do not credit it to Vasishtha.
Match the old and new names: Ravi (Parushni), Beas (Vipas), Sutlej (Shutudri), Chenab (Asikni), Jhelum (Vitasta). Hymns praise the Sarasvati above all other rivers, while the Ganga gets a single mention.
Dasharajna: the winner was Sudas, king of the Bharatas, by the Parushni (Ravi), and his priest was Vasishtha; Vishvamitra is tied to the losing alliance.
By number of hymns Indra comes first and Agni second; rita is Varuna's charge; the whole of mandala 9 praises Soma. Worship needed no temples and no idols.
Read ayas in the Rig Veda as copper or bronze, most likely; iron arrives only in the Later Vedic age. Bali was given willingly, so there was neither a fixed tax nor a permanent army.
Boghazkoi lies in Turkey, and the treaty found there dates to about 1380 BCE. In the hymns 'Arya' marks language and culture, not race.

Recap

Vedic age c. 1500–600 BCE: Early (Rig Vedic) c. 1500–1000, Later c. 1000–600 BCE.
Vedas: shruti, preserved orally; four Vedas; UNESCO recognised Vedic chanting in 2003.
Rig Veda: 10 mandalas, 1,028 hymns; family books 2–7 oldest; book 9 Soma; Gayatri in book 3; Purusha and Nasadiya Suktas in book 10.
Language: Indo-European, close to the Avesta; Boghazkoi (c. 1380 BCE) names Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Nasatyas.
Land: Sapta Sindhu; Parushni = Ravi, Vipas = Beas, Shutudri = Sutlej; Sarasvati most praised; Ganga named once.
Tribes (jana): Bharatas, Purus and others; Battle of Ten Kings on the Parushni won by Sudas with Vasishtha.
Rajan as protector, with purohita, senani, gramani; bali voluntary; sabha, samiti, vidatha (oldest) and gana.
Economy: cattle as wealth, barley, horses and spoked-wheel chariots, ayas, barter. Society: kula to jana; women poets; varna only late.
Gods: Indra (most hymns), Agni, Varuna and rita, Soma; hymns and yajna for worldly goods; no temples or images.

Practice questions

Q1. Consider the following pairs:
Rig Vedic river : Modern name
1. Vitasta : Jhelum
2. Asikni : Chenab
3. Parushni : Ravi
4. Shutudri : Beas
How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

Only one
Only two
Only three
All four

Show answer

Answer: C. Only three

Pairs 1, 2 and 3 are correct. The Shutudri is the Sutlej; the Beas is the Vipas, so pair 4 is wrong and 'all four' (d) fails. With three pairs right, 'only one' (a) and 'only two' (b) are also wrong.

Q2. The Battle of Ten Kings described in the Rig Veda was fought on the banks of which river?

Sarasvati
Vipas
Parushni
Sindhu

Show answer

Answer: C. Parushni

Answer (c). The hymns place the clash by the Parushni, today's Ravi, where Sudas, king of the Bharatas, beat an alliance of ten tribes. The Sarasvati (a) is the river praised most, yet the fight was not there; the Vipas (b) is today's Beas and the Sindhu (d) is the Indus.

Q3. Consider the following statements about the Rig Veda:
1. Mandalas 2 to 7, the family books, form its oldest layer.
2. The Purusha Sukta, which names the four varnas, is in mandala 3.
3. Mandala 9 is devoted entirely to Soma.
Which of the statements given above are correct?

1 and 2 only
1 and 3 only
2 and 3 only
1, 2 and 3

Show answer

Answer: B. 1 and 3 only

Statements 1 and 3 are correct. Statement 2 is wrong: the Purusha Sukta is in mandala 10, a late book; mandala 3 holds the Gayatri mantra. Options (a), (c) and (d) include statement 2, so they are wrong.

Q4. The Boghazkoi inscription is important for the study of the Vedic age because it

is the oldest written copy of the Rig Veda
names Vedic gods such as Indra, Mitra and Varuna in a treaty of about 1380 BCE
is a bilingual text that helped read the Harappan script
records the Battle of Ten Kings

Show answer

Answer: B. names Vedic gods such as Indra, Mitra and Varuna in a treaty of about 1380 BCE

Answer (b). In this pact between Hittite and Mitanni rulers, Indra, Mitra, Varuna and the Nasatyas are invoked as witnesses. It is not a written Rig Veda (a), since the hymns were passed on by mouth; the Harappan script (c) has still not been read; and what we know of the Battle of Ten Kings (d) comes from the Rig Veda.

Q5. Which Early Vedic assembly, regarded as the oldest in the Rig Veda, combined ritual, the sharing out of goods and preparation for war?

Sabha
Samiti
Vidatha
Gana

Show answer

Answer: C. Vidatha

Answer (c). Of the Rig Vedic gatherings, the vidatha is the earliest, and it served ritual, distribution and war all at once. The sabha (a) was a narrower body of elders, the samiti (b) a wider meeting of the whole tribe, and gana (d) means a band or group.

Q6. Consider the following statements about the Early Vedic economy:
1. Wealth was counted mainly in cattle.
2. Iron ploughs were in wide use.
3. Coins called nishka circulated as the regular currency.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1 only
1 and 2 only
2 and 3 only
1, 2 and 3

Show answer

Answer: A. 1 only

Answer (a). Statement 1 holds. Statement 2 fails because iron enters only in the Later Vedic age. Statement 3 fails because there was no coinage: the nishka was a gold neck ornament in which wealth was kept. Options (b), (c) and (d) each contain at least one of these false statements.

Q7. Which deity has the largest number of hymns addressed to him in the Rig Veda?

Agni
Varuna
Indra
Rudra

Show answer

Answer: C. Indra

Indra, the god of thunder, rain and war, has the most hymns. Agni (a) comes second; Varuna (b) is the guardian of rita but has fewer hymns; Rudra (d) is a minor figure in the Rig Veda.

Q8. Which one of the following is NOT known as a woman composer of Rig Vedic hymns?

Ghosha
Apala
Lopamudra
Gargi

Show answer

Answer: D. Gargi

Answer (d). Gargi is a figure of the Later Vedic age: an Upanishad shows her questioning a sage in a debate, and no Rig Vedic hymn is credited to her. Hymns of the Rig Veda are credited to Ghosha (a), Apala (b) and Lopamudra (c).

All parts Next: Part 2 →

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Sources

Ministry of Culture, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts: Vedic Heritage Portal (texts, structure and recitation of the Rig Veda and the other Samhitas) — https://vedicheritage.gov.in
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage: Tradition of Vedic Chanting (proclaimed 2003, inscribed on the Representative List 2008) — https://ich.unesco.org