Later Vedic Period in Indian History:
- The period assigned to Later Vedic Phase is 1000 BC to 600 BC.
- Later Vedic people used particular type of pottery called Painted Grey Ware (PGW)
- The Later Vedic Aryans were familiar with two seas, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean.
- Rice became the staple diet of Indian people during the Later Vedic Period.
- The term ‘Rashtra’ which indicates territory first appeared in the later vedic period.
- Mention of the word ‘Sudras’ – Rigveda (10th Mandala)
- Mention of the ‘Gotra’ is found in the Atharvaveda.
- Origin of Kingship is found in Aitareya Brahmana.
- Soma’ was an intoxicating drink mentioned in the 9th Mandala of the Rig Veda.
- Mention of the word Varna is found in Rigveda
- The fourfold division of the society is found in the 10th Mandala of the Rigveda.
- Mention about the Varnashranadhrama is found in the Jabla Upanishad.
- The Doctrine of Trimurti is found in the Maitrayani Upanishad.
- Mention about the origin of Universe is found in the Rig Veda (10th Mandala).
- Purohita Senani and Vrajapati were the important functionaries who assisted the king in dayto- day administration.
- The officer who enjoyed authority over the pasture land was called Vrajapati.
- The king’s power increased during the Later Vedic Period.
- First law giver of ancient India was Manu. He wrote ‘Manusmrithi’.
- Manusmrithi was translated into English by William Jones.
- Shyma Shastri translated Arthasastra into English
- Bali was a tax, which the king used to collect from the people of the Vedic period.
- Aryans used iron for the first time India.
- Horse, Iron, Sugarcane, Pulses etc reached India by the coming of Aryans.
- The God who occupied supreme position in the Later Vedic Period was Prajapati.
- Rudra was regarded as preserver and protector of the people.
- The most important functionary who assisted the Vedic king was Purohita.
- Manarchy was the normal form of Government in the vedic period.
- Each Tribal republic was headed by Ganapati or Jyeshtha.
- The Vedic Education system revealed through ‘Frog Hymn’ in the Rigveda and ‘Wedding Hymn’ describe the oldest marriage rituals.
- Max Mullar was the first person to speak of ‘Aryans’ as a race.
Epics:
- Hinduism has two epics Ramayana and Mahabharata.
- Mahabharata was written by ‘Vyasa’.Mahabharata is also known as Jayasamhita, Satasahasri Samhita and the fifth veda.
- Mahabharata has 1,17,000 hymns in it.
- Mahabharata is divided into 18 Purvas, an appendix Harivamsa is considered as 19th Purva.
- 12th Purva is the largest and 7th is the smallest.
- It describes the 18 days battle of Kurukshetra.
- Stories of Sakuntalam, Pralayam, Ramcharitam, Rishysringan, Satyavan Savitri,Nala and Damayanthi etc are included in the Mahabharata.
- Valmiki is the author of Ramayana.
- Ramayana has 24000 hymns and is divided into Seven Skandas (Kandas)
- Bhagavatgita is included in the Bhishma Purva of Mahabharata. It is divided into 18 chapters and has about 700 hymns.
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