Presentation -02

ARYAN(VEDIC)CIVILIZATION (1500BC-600BC)
Introduction

 Around 1,500 BC, speakers of Indo- European languages gradually infiltrated the Indian
subcontinent. These people referred to themselves as Arya(Aryan).

 They first settled in seven places in the Punjab region which they called Sapta Sindhu.Slowly they
moved towards the Gangetic Valley. It was known as Arya Vartha . The Aryan Civilisation was a
rural civilisation

 Historians rely on the sacred book of hymns composed by these people known as Vedas: hence
it is also known as Vedic Civilization.
 Vedic Civilization: Language and Religion
 The Linguistic Identity of Aryan People.
 The Evolution of Sanskrit Language.
 The Vedas:Rig, Sama, Yajur and Atharva.
 4.The Brahmanas,Upanishads, Aranyakas, Puranas, Mahabharata and Ramayana- Other
Literary sources
 Ancient Religious System.
The Vedic Age

THE VEDIC AGE

The EarlyVedic period The Later Vedicperiod

from B.C. 2000 to B.C. 1000 From B.C. 1000 to B.C. 600

Food and Entertainment

•Barley cakes, milk, ghee, fruits, vegetables and meat. .

•Chariot racing, hunting, horse racing,dicing, music and
dance,boxing,playing veena
Early Vedic

•Rice, wheat, barley, milk and milkproducts, vegetables and fruits,fish.

•Indoor and outdoor games,Gambling, dicing, chariot racing and horse
racing
Later Vedic
Religion

•Nature Worship - Fire, sun, wind, sky and trees

•No Statues and Temples
•Yagyas and Yajnas
Early Vedic

•Gods like Prajapathi, Pasupathi,Vishnu and Krishna.

•Prayers and sacrifices(Animals) for worshipping god.
•Theory of Karma and incarnation.
•Concept of Moksha.
Later Vedic

Position of Women

•Respectable Position,Freedom to choose Husband

•Equally Treated,Woman Scholars
Early Vedic

•Decline in statussubordinated
•Not allowed to participate in public affairs,couldn’t own property,Child
marriage system,Widdow remarriage not permitted
Later Vedic

Social Life
 •Family was the basis,patriarchal in nature.
•Father was the head of the family.He was called Grahapathi

Early Vedic

•Family was the basis,Father was head,Joint Family

•Caste system-Brahmins(priests and teachers), Kshatriyas(rulers and
soldiers), Vaishyas(traders,artisans and farmers) and
Sudras(uneducated workers)
•Life- Brahmacharya or student life,Graihasta or life of a father and
husband,Vanaprasta
•orlife as a hermit,finally
Later Vedic
•Sanyasa
•or total renunciation of the world.

Political Life

• Kingdom Tribal In character

• Basic Unit(Family)-Village(Group of Family)-Clan(Group of Villages)-Group of
Clan(Tribe- Jana)
Early Vedic

• Gangetic Valley center of activity

• Kingship became hereditary.King was powerful,built vast empires,tried to extend
territories,wars took place
• Rituals and sacrifices – performed by kings.
Later Vedic • Kings assumed titles – Samrat
• Village councils looked by Villages administration.,Taxes collected from people
Economic Life

•Hunting – Cattle,Sheep,Horses,goats,asses,dogs
•After Settlement – Agriculture,the arts of weaving, training, carpentry and
metal work
•Trade developed through the exchange of goods or the barter system.
•Coins were used for trade
Early Vedic
•Export and Import system

•Farming as occupation,Great use of iron-Iron Ploughs.

•Manurieng of filed –Improved yield-Barley,wheat,rice,dal.
•Cattle rearing,Wealth calculated in terms of cows.
•Gold coins,Coppersmith produce war weapons and ornaments,agricultural
tools,
Later Vedic •Painted grey mud vessels.
•internal and foreign trade

Vedic Civilization Principles

 The Doctrine of orientation

 Site Planning : Vaastu Purush Mandala
 3.The Proportionate Measurements:
Mana
 4.The Six Rules of Vedic Architecture
 5.Aesthetics of the building
 The Six Rules of Vedic Architecture

 There are six main component part of the building : Aadhistaana (Base), Stambha (Column),
Prastara (Entablature), Karna (Wings), Shikhara (Roof), and Stuupi (dome).

Architecture style

 Vaastushastra provided guidelines for planning villages and building abodes which meant to be
free of destructive element and radiation,structures.

 They harmonized with ‘panchsmshsbutas’,

 The five basic element

 prithvi,(earth),aakash(space),vaayu
 (Air),jal(water),and agni(fire).

 Only residential and occupation structures were built during vedic period.

 Temples and religious structures were not erected as aryans did not believe in idol worship and
the practice was not in vogue then.
  Sacrificial yagyas,mediation,yoga and worship of element of nature and nav-grahas were
performed in an open environment and therefore required no covered enclosures.

Villages

Sarvatobhadra

Dandaka

 unicellular residential unit.

  arranged in a row housing like manner or at times were clustered around a tree in a common
open space.

 Such the society called shoodras residential units

 meant for the lower strata for,who were in service of upper classes of society.

Vardhman

 Such residential units were planned around courtyard with inner Allinda giving protection to the
doors and fenestration opening onto courtyard.

 Similar to Sarvatobhadra but relatively of smaller dimensions this unit was also planned as a
detatched block.
Chaturmukha

 This L shaped residential unit planned embracing a semi covered yagyashala to it’s north east
was meant for brahmins to perform yagyas.
 The rear outer walls of this unit used to have small window openings at higher level and a plinth
protection at the ground level.

Construction techniques and materials

 The Aryans of the Rigveda period in India were not nomads.

 They lead a settled life and constructed their dwellings with the locally and easily available
materials like mud, wood and thatch.

 Columns were erected on hard ground with supporting beams placed reclining against them and
connected by rafters on which long bamboo were laid resulting in a high roof.

 The whole of the structure was covered with some other material.
  The straw and reed reinforced mud walls were plastered and finished with cow dung periodically
giving sufficient protection against weathering agents.

 Rammed earth floors too was given periodic cow dung treatment.

 The Aryans used to decorate their entrances by making colorful geometrical and floor patters on
the wall.

 Some special geometrical patters called Yantras were also employed for such decoration

 They believe in fortune and provides protection against the evil forces.

 Creative efforts at that time were mainly directed to poetry and religious thoughts.

Swastika City
  Ancient Aryan Civilisation 4000 years ago.

 area of the ancient Russian town of Arkaim

 supposed to be flooded in 1987: local authorities were going to create a water reservoir there to
irrigate droughty fields

 Scientists found

 Referred to Aryan culture.

 Town,Temple and astronomic observatory.

 Town and outskirts enclosed in circles.

 Concentric Circles were supposed to be used as runways

 Each house had modern facilities-well, an oven and dome-like food storage

 Central Circle - A site for rituals

 ARKAIM has a form of two inscribed circle walls - 170 and 85 meters in diameter, with 60 houses:
35 between the circles and 25 in inner circle.

References

 http://hinduismbeliefs.blogspot.in/2008/11/aryan-civilization.html
 http://www.culturalindia.net/indian-history/ancient-india/vedic-civilization.html

 http://mailerindia.com/vaastu/html/index.php?vaas7

 http://www.scribd.com/doc/58620766/Social-Science-History-Civics-and-Geography