# The Vedic Age: Early (Rig Vedic) vs Later Vedic — Polity, Society, Economy & Religion

Source: https://tracknation.in/story/the-vedic-age-early-rig-vedic-vs-later-vedic-polity-society-economy-religion (TrackNation — free UPSC notes with PYQs)

> The Aryans and the two Vedic ages, side by side. This guide covers who the Aryans were and the Rig Veda, the pastoral and largely egalitarian Early Vedic world (the rajan, sabha and samiti, the cattle economy, nature-gods like Indra and Varuna), and the great Later Vedic transformation — iron, settled agriculture, territorial kingdoms, the rajasuya and ashvamedha, the hardening four-varna order, and the Upanishadic reaction against ritualism. With the Rig-vs-Later contrast UPSC loves and the Ved

## Start Here — The Aryans, the Vedas & Two Ages

🎯 **Exam priority: Important.** *In prelims the Vedic age is rarely a standalone
bucket — it is usually asked **comparatively** (Rig Vedic vs Later Vedic, or Vedic vs
Harappan). But its society and religion were a direct **Mains question (2023)**, so know
the essentials and, above all, the contrast.*

After the Harappan cities faded, the historical spotlight shifts to the **Aryans** — a
people who spoke an **Indo-European** language and whose oldest text, the
**Rig Veda**, is our window onto early Vedic India. The Rig Veda has **ten mandalas
(books)**; books II–VII are the oldest core, and books I and X the latest additions (the word
*sudra* appears only in book X). It shares gods and terms with the Iranian **Avesta**,
and Aryan names in the West-Asian **Boghazkoi/Mitanni inscriptions (c. 1400 BCE)** confirm
the wider Indo-Iranian world. The Aryans appear in India around **1500 BCE** in the
**Sapta Sindhu** — the Land of the Seven Rivers.

The Vedic age splits into two very different halves — and the contrast is the whole exam game:

| **Aspect**

 | **Early / Rig Vedic (c. 1500–1000 BCE)**

 | **Later Vedic (c. 1000–600 BCE)**

 |
| Region

 | Sapta Sindhu (land of seven rivers), Punjab

 | Upper Ganga–Yamuna doab, eastward to Kosala & Videha

 |
| Economy

 | Pastoral — cattle = wealth; farming secondary

 | Settled agriculture central; iron; rice (vrihi)

 |
| Polity

 | Tribal — *rajan*, sabha, samiti, vidatha

 | Territorial kingdoms (*rashtra*); rajasuya & ashvamedha

 |
| Society

 | Tribal, largely egalitarian; varna nascent

 | Rigid four *varnas*; upanayana; gotra; women decline

 |
| Religion

 | Nature gods — Indra, Agni, Varuna; simple prayer

 | Yajna/sacrifice supreme; Prajapati; then Upanishadic reaction

 |

## Rig Vedic (Early) Polity & Society

### A tribal, semi-democratic polity

Power centred on the **rajan** (chief), whose post was largely hereditary but
**not absolute** — he was checked by tribal assemblies. The key bodies were the
**sabha** (elders), the **samiti** (the wider tribe), the
**vidatha** and the **gana**; women could attend the sabha and vidatha. The
rajan was helped by the **purohita** (priest — Vasishtha and Vishvamitra are the great
names) and the **senani** (war-leader). There was **no regular taxation** — the
people gave voluntary offerings called **bali** — and **no standing army**.
Tellingly, the word *jana* (tribe/people) occurs ~275 times but *janapada* (territory)
**not once** — loyalty was to the tribe, not yet to a territory.

### Society — tribal, patriarchal, but relatively open

- It was a **patriarchal** joint family, but **women were relatively
free**: they attended assemblies, some (like Lopamudra, Ghosha) **composed hymns**,
there was **no child marriage** (marriage age ~16–17), and **widow remarriage and
levirate** existed.

- **Varna** originally meant "colour"; social division was still soft and based
on occupation, not birth. The fourth varna (**sudra**) is named only in the late tenth
mandala — so the rigid caste order had **not** yet formed. Society was largely
**egalitarian and tribal**.

## Rig Vedic Economy & the Cattle-Centred World

The Rig Vedic Aryans were essentially **pastoralists**: the cow was the chief measure of
wealth, gifts to priests were counted in cows and not land, and the very word for war —
***gavishti*** — literally means "search for cows". Their decisive advantages were
the **horse and the spoked-wheel chariot**. Agriculture existed but was secondary; they used
a wooden ploughshare and the metal *ayas* (copper/bronze). They lived in **no cities**
— the Painted Grey Ware site of **Bhagwanpura** (Haryana) hints at their pre-iron settlements.

Politics was a story of **tribal conflict**. The famous **Battle of Ten Kings
(Dasarajna)**, fought on the **Parushni (Ravi)**, gave victory to
**Sudas** of the **Bharata** clan. The Bharatas later merged with the
**Purus to form the Kurus**, who joined the **Panchalas** — the alliance that
would dominate later Vedic politics. (India's name *Bharatavarsha* comes from the Bharata tribe.)

## Rig Vedic Religion — Worshipping Nature

Religion was the **personification of nature**, with male gods dominant in a patriarchal
society. The leading deities:

- **Indra** — the most important god (≈250 hymns), the war-leader and rain-god,
called *Purandara* ("breaker of forts").

- **Agni** — the fire-god (≈200 hymns), the **intermediary** who
carried offerings to the gods.

- **Varuna** — god of water and the upholder of *rta* (cosmic/moral
order).

- **Soma** (god of plants and the sacred drink) and the **Maruts**
(storm) follow; goddesses like **Aditi** and **Ushas** (dawn) were minor.

Worship was by **prayer and simple sacrifice** — without the elaborate ritual of later
times — and people prayed for **material ends**: *praja* (children), *pashu*
(cattle), wealth and health, not spiritual salvation.

## The Later Vedic Transformation (c. 1000–600 BCE)

The later Vedic age — known from the **Sama, Yajur and Atharva Vedas** and the
**Brahmanas** — brought a revolution in material life. The Aryans expanded east from Punjab
into the **Ganga–Yamuna doab**: the **Kuru-Panchalas** (capital
**Hastinapur**) dominated, and the **Mahabharata war** is traditionally placed
here (~950 BCE). By ~600 BCE they reached **Kosala** and **Videha** (King
Janaka).

- **Iron** (called *krishna/syama ayas*) appears from c. 1000 BCE
and iron weapons become common from ~800 BCE — the metal that powered eastward expansion and
forest-clearing.

- **Agriculture became central**: alongside barley, **rice
(*vrihi*)** and wheat became staples (rice at Hastinapur by the 8th c. BCE).

- The archaeological signature is **Painted Grey Ware (PGW)** — nearly
**500 sites** (Hastinapur, Atranjikhera, Noh) — and the first **proto-towns**
(Hastinapur, Kausambi) appear at the very end of the age.

## Later Vedic Polity, Society & the Rise of Hierarchy

### From tribe to territorial kingdom

Royal power grew at the expense of the people. The **vidatha disappeared**; the sabha and
samiti survived but were now dominated by nobles, and **women were excluded** from the
sabha. Authority became **territorial** — the term ***rashtra*** (kingdom)
appears for the first time — and the king magnified his power through grand sacrifices: the
**rajasuya** (royal consecration), the **ashvamedha** (horse sacrifice
asserting control over all land the horse roamed), and the **vajapeya** (a chariot-race
rite). Regular **taxes/tributes** (*bali, bhaga*) now appear, collected via an
officer (*sangrihitri*).

### The four-varna order hardens

- Society crystallised into four **varnas** — brahmana, rajanya/kshatriya, vaishya,
sudra. The **brahmanas** rose on the back of the sacrifice cult; the **vaishyas**
were the producers and the only **tribute-payers**; the **sudras** were a
serving order, **denied the *upanayana*** (sacred-thread) ceremony.

- The **gotra** (clan-lineage, with exogamy) appears; three of the four
**ashramas** (student, householder, hermit — not yet sannyasa) are mentioned; and the
**position of women clearly declined**. Yet varna was not absolute — a chariot-maker
(*rathakara*) could still take the sacred thread.

## Later Vedic Religion → the Upanishadic Reaction

Religion changed as profoundly as society. The old gods **Indra and Agni faded**;
**Prajapati** (the creator) rose to supremacy, while **Rudra** (animals) and
**Vishnu** (the preserver of a now-settled people) gained ground, and idolatry began.

- **Sacrifice (yajna) became supreme** — public and private — performed by the
*yajamana*, with priests rewarded by lavish ***dakshina*** (the Satapatha
Brahmana speaks of 240,000 cows in a rajasuya) and large-scale animal slaughter. Success now depended on
the **magical precision of ritual words**.

- **The reaction:** around **600 BCE**, in Panchala and Videha, the
**Upanishads** revolted against this costly ritualism. They stressed
**knowledge over sacrifice** and the relation of ***atman* (self) with
*brahman*** (the universal soul) — a turn often patronised by kshatriya princes. This sets
the stage for the heterodox ferment (Jainism, Buddhism) of the next century.

## Why this matters for UPSC

- Prelims tests the **Rig-vs-Later contrast** and the **Vedic-vs-Harappan**
comparison (the 2017 question on horses, metals and armour) — so hold the comparison table firmly.

- Mains (2023) asked the **features of Vedic society and religion and their continuity**
— varna, gotra, sacrifice, the position of women — into modern India.

## Further Reading

- Standard NCERT-level texts and reference books on ancient, medieval and cultural Indian history (any UPSC reading list).

## Test Yourself: Practice Questions & PYQs

Vedic questions reward the Early-vs-Later contrast and the Vedic-vs-Harappan comparison. Commit to an answer before revealing each one.

## Practice Questions

**Q1.** The Rig Veda consists of how many mandalas (books)?

- (a) Eighteen

- (b) Four

- (c) Seven

- (d) Ten

**Answer: (d)** — The Rig Veda has ten mandalas; books II–VII are the oldest, while books I and X are the latest additions.

**Q2.** In which mandala of the Rig Veda is the term 'sudra' first mentioned, indicating the late origin of the fourth varna?

- (a) The tenth mandala

- (b) The first mandala

- (c) The seventh mandala

- (d) The second mandala

**Answer: (a)** — Sudra appears only in the tenth (latest) mandala — evidence that the four-fold varna order had not formed in early Rig Vedic society.

**Q3.** The Battle of Ten Kings (Dasarajna), which established Bharata supremacy under Sudas, was fought on the river:

- (a) Sarasvati

- (b) Yamuna

- (c) Sindhu

- (d) Parushni (Ravi)

**Answer: (d)** — The Dasarajna was fought on the Parushni (modern Ravi); Sudas of the Bharata clan won.

**Q4.** Which assembly DISAPPEARED in the later Vedic period as royal power grew?

- (a) Vidatha

- (b) Sabha

- (c) Samiti

- (d) Rashtra

**Answer: (a)** — The vidatha disappeared; the sabha and samiti survived but came to be dominated by nobles, and women were excluded from the sabha.

**Q5.** The 'ashvamedha' (horse sacrifice) of the later Vedic period was meant to:

- (a) Mark a widow's remarriage

- (b) Ensure good rainfall

- (c) Assert royal control over all the territory the horse roamed

- (d) Initiate a boy into studenthood

**Answer: (c)** — By letting the royal horse roam unchallenged, the ashvamedha asserted the king's unquestioned control over that territory — part of the rise of territorial kingship (rashtra).

**Q6.** Which is the correct change in the chief deity from Rig Vedic to later Vedic times?

- (a) Indra rose to supremacy

- (b) Prajapati (the creator) rose to the supreme position

- (c) Varuna became the war-god

- (d) Agni replaced all other gods

**Answer: (b)** — In the later Vedic pantheon Indra and Agni faded and Prajapati, the creator, became supreme; Rudra and Vishnu also gained importance.

**Q7.** In the Rig Vedic economy, the term 'gavishti' (literally 'search for cows') meant:

- (a) A tax

- (b) War

- (c) A marriage gift

- (d) A harvest festival

**Answer: (b)** — Cattle were the chief wealth, so the word for war itself — gavishti — meant 'search for cows', underlining the pastoral economy.

**Q8.** The Upanishads, composed around 600 BCE, are best described as texts that:

- (a) Stressed knowledge and the atman–brahman relation over ritual

- (b) Recorded royal genealogies

- (c) Were charms against disease

- (d) Elaborated the rules of sacrifice

**Answer: (a)** — The Upanishads reacted against ritualism, emphasising knowledge and the relation of atman (self) with brahman (universal soul).

### UPSC Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

*Two genuine UPSC Prelims questions on the Vedic age. Explanations in our own words.*

**Q9.** With reference to the difference between the culture of Rigvedic Aryans and Indus Valley people, consider: (1) Rigvedic Aryans used coats of mail and helmets in warfare whereas Indus Valley people left no evidence of using them. (2) Rigvedic Aryans knew gold, silver and copper whereas Indus Valley people knew only copper and iron. (3) Rigvedic Aryans had domesticated the horse whereas there is no evidence of Indus Valley people being aware of it. Which are correct? (UPSC Prelims 2017)

- (a) 1 and 3 only

- (b) 1, 2 and 3

- (c) 2 and 3 only

- (d) 1 and 2 only

**Answer: (a)** — Statements 1 and 3 are correct. Statement 2 is wrong: the Indus people knew gold and silver too, and did NOT know iron — so 'only copper and iron' is false.

**Q10.** The religion of the early Vedic Aryans was primarily of: (UPSC Prelims 2012)

- (a) Worship of nature and bhakti

- (b) Worship of nature and yajnas

- (c) Image worship and yajnas

- (d) Bhakti

**Answer: (b)** — Early Vedic religion was the worship of personified nature (Indra, Agni, Varuna) together with simple yajnas (sacrifices); image worship and bhakti developed much later.

**Q13.** With reference to the difference between the culture of Rigvedic Aryans and Indus Valley people, consider the following statements: 1. Rigvedic Aryans used the coat of mail and helmet in warfare whereas the Indus Valley people did not leave any evidence of using them. 2. Rigvedic Aryans knew gold, silver and copper whereas Indus Valley people knew only copper and iron. 3. Rigvedic Aryans had domesticated the horse whereas there is no evidence of Indus Valley people having been aware of this animal. Which are correct? (UPSC Prelims 2017)

- (a) 2 and 3 only

- (b) 1 only

- (c) 1 and 3 only

- (d) 1, 2 and 3

**Answer: (c)** — Statement 2 fails on a single word — IRON. The Harappans were a Bronze Age people who knew gold, silver and copper but not iron; iron appears in India only in the LATER Vedic period. This Vedic-versus-Harappan contrast is the one form in which the Vedic age is actually asked in Prelims, so drill the differences rather than the Vedic age in isolation.

**Q14.** The horse, so central to Rigvedic life, is significant in Harappan archaeology because: (UPSC PYQ)

- (a) The Harappans used horses to draw ploughs

- (b) Harappan seals frequently depict the horse

- (c) There is no clear evidence of the Harappans knowing the domesticated horse

- (d) Horse bones are the commonest animal remains at Harappan sites

**Answer: (c)** — No Harappan seal depicts a horse and there is no accepted evidence of horse domestication in the mature Indus phase — one of the sharpest contrasts with Rigvedic society, where the horse-drawn chariot is central. The humped bull, the unicorn and the elephant appear on seals instead.

### Mains Practice Questions

Use these to frame full-length answers. You don't have to answer one exactly — they show the angles UPSC tests, so let them guide which points you cover.

- Trace the transformation from the pastoral, tribal Rig Vedic society to the agrarian, varna-stratified later Vedic society.

- How did the nature of kingship and of the popular assemblies change from the early to the later Vedic period?

- Account for the rise of the Upanishadic reaction against ritualism at the end of the Vedic age.

### Mains PYQs — Last 10 Years (UPSC GS-I)

*The exact questions UPSC has actually asked on this topic over the last decade. Practise writing full-length answers to these.*

- What are the main features of Vedic society and religion? Do you think some of the features are still prevailing in Indian society? **(UPSC GS-I, 2023)**