WBBSE Class 6 History Chapter 4 Ancient History Of The Indian Subcontinent
Introduction
What Is Vedic Literature Class 6 – Vedic civilisation:
Indo-Aryan migrants entered the Indian subcontinent through the northwest frontiers. Vedic literature is our source of information about the life and settlements of these Indo-Aryans.
The Indo- Aryan culture associated with the Vedas is known as Vedic civilisation.
Read And Learn More WBBSE Class 6 History Notes
The Vedas:
The oldest literature of the Aryans is the Vedas. The Hindus believe that the Vedas are not created by man, they are words of God. The Rigveda is the oldest Veda.
WBBSE Class 6 Vedic Civilisation Notes
Saptasindhu:
The meaning of Sapta- Sindhu is the land of seven rivers, which corresponds to the region between Kabul and Punjab watered by seven tributaries of the river Sindhu.
Chaturashrama:
In the Later Vedic Age, the personal life of the Aryans was divided into four stages which were together called Chaturashrama.
These stages were
- Brahmacharya
- Garhasthya
- Vanaprastha and
- Sanyas.
Sabha and Samity:
The representative bodies of the Rigvedic Age were called
- Sabha and
- Samiti.
Sabha was the association of the elders while Samiti was the association of all members of the community. Both these bodies acted as the counselor of the king and also restricted his executive power.
Chaturvarnapratha:
The Aryan society was divided into four varnas or castes- Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Sudras. These varnas determined the occupation of an individual. The Sudras did menial work and served the upper three classes.
Vedic education:
The head of the education system in the Vedic Age was Guru. The doctrines of the Rigveda were recited by the Guru. Students used to listen and memorize these doctrines and then recite these from memory.
Megalith:
Megalith is a tomb or memorial of big stone. Sometimes big stones were used by many local communities for tombs of their respected family members. Different articles of daily use have been recovered from these tombs.
Vedic Education and Shruti:
Vedic literature was essential to be memorized. Therefore another name of the Vedas is Shruti. There is a section called bhikshuni in Rigveda. There it is said that when one frog lets out a croak, rest of the frogs begin to imitate it.
In the same way, the tenets of the Rigveda were memorized and recited by the teacher (Guru) or one student. The others would listen to it, memorize it and then recite it flawlessly from memory.
Therefore one needed to earn the ability to recite the Vedic hymns flawlessly. Thus the study of Chhanda or Rhyme and Vyakaran or Grammar was integral to Vedic education.
Vedic Education and the cultivation of Science:
Mathematics was an integral part of the Vedic education system. Knowledge of geometry was necessary to build sacrificial altars. The altars were made with burnt bricks. Brick masons were responsible for making suitable bricks and burning them properly.
Sacrificial altars were made by masons and architects. To an extent, their requirement fuelled the interest in Vedic mathematics. Carpenters, workers, and mathematicians were needed to build the sacrificial altar.
But in Rigveda, there is no mention of bricks. The first reference to bricks is in the Yajurveda. Different kinds of tools were used to prepare the sacrificial altar.
Proper knowledge of celestial bodies and days and seasons was required to perform sacrifices. From such engagements had begun the knowledge about astronomy. A section of the Atharvaveda deals with medical science.