Complete Ancient Indian History || Lecture 4 Vedic Civilization: Conclusion UPSC 2025 || Alok Ojha

Hello friends. Hi, this is Alok Ojha from StudyIQ IAS English. Welcome back to Ancient Indian History series. We are studying the topic of Vedic civilization and I have covered Vedic civilization part 1 and part 2. Today's topic is a bit small topic. Here we are going to conclude the entire Vedic civilization. Here we are going to go for a comparative analysis of early Vedic period and later Vedic period on social, political and religious grounds apart from different terminologies which are very important from the exam perspective. Guys, for the students or the aspirants who are new to the platform, let me tell you, we have already covered about the four Vedas that is Rigveda, Samveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda. In Vedic civilization part 2, we have covered different important topics like Aranyakas which are also referred as forest books. We have covered different Upanishads like Chandayog Upanishad, Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Katha Upanishad and many more such Upanishads. Apart from that, we have covered one of the most important topics that is Vedanga. That is a very important topic from the perspective of examination. Today we are going to conclude Vedic civilization and please pay attention carefully. The video is not too lengthy. It's a medium-sized video. It would be almost around 30 to 35-40 minutes maximum in that case. But this is a very important video. Please stick to the video till the end so that all your doubts would be cleared. Okay guys, moving ahead with Vedic civilization part 3 or the conclusion. Now, let's understand the types of marriages which have been sanctioned by the Vedic scriptures. Now, totally there are 8 forms of marriages. These 8 forms of marriages are broadly categorized or classified within two types. Anulom Vivaah and Pratilom Vivaah. I repeat Anulom Vivaah and Pratilom Vivaah. Pay attention carefully. In Anulom Vivaah, the groom probably might be of higher caste and the lady or the bride, she might be of an equal caste or a lower caste. And exactly opposite is Pratilom Vivaah. In Pratilom Vivaah, the lady, the bride might be of higher caste and the boy probably might be of equal caste or a lower caste. I will repeat it. Please understand this concept. Very important. Anulom Vivaah and Pratilom Vivaah. In Anulom Vivaah, the boy, the groom would be of higher caste. The lady, the bride might be of the same caste or a bit lower caste. That is Anulom Vivaah. Pratilom Vivaah, exactly the reverse, exactly the opposite. Here, the lady would be of higher caste, the bride would be of higher caste and the groom or the boy would be of equal caste or lower caste. Now, let us understand eight different forms of marriages which are mentioned in Vedic scriptures. The first marriage, that is Brahma Vivaah. In Brahma Vivaah, this is a sort of marriage wherein a boy gets married to a girl along with dowry. And the dowry is majorly in the form of jewels or it is in the form of jewellery, it is in the form of money, it is in the form of cows because cow occupied a very important place in people's social life during Vedic age. Second, Prajapate Vivaah, marriage of a boy to a girl without dowry. So, in Brahma Vivaah, there is a concept of dowry. And in Prajapate Vivaah, there is no concept of dowry. Now, let me explain you one more important concept. Although this concept gained a lot of prominence during Mauryan period, but it was still existence from the time of Vedas or early Vedic period. And this question has been asked by UPSC prelims examination. And the question is, what is Stri Dhan? Now, whenever a girl, whenever a girl child is born, she gets a lot of gifts in the form of money, in the form of jewellery. Now, whenever she gets married, and when her fathers do a Kanya Dhan or a Garbh Dhan, in that case, she also receives another form of gifts in the form of jewellery, money, cash. So, this entire gift, which is in the form of money, jewellery, whatever it is landed property, it belongs to that girl. Why? This will work like an economic security for that lady in case of unforeseen situations, like widowhood, like divorce, and so on. And this concept, although it was prevalent from the time of Vedic period, it got much more prominence during the Mauryan period. Correct? And this concept is referred as Stri Dhan. Okay? First, Brahma Vivaah with dowry. Second, Prajapate Vivaah without dowry. Then comes Daiva Vivaah. Here, a girl is married to a Brahmin priest. Then comes Arsha Vivaah. The case is reverse of exactly Brahma Vivaah. In Brahma Vivaah, what was there? There was a concept of dowry. And the dowry was being given by the female side to the male side. True? Here, exactly it is in Arsha Vivaah. A boy is married to a girl. And in that case, a boy has to pay a bride price in the form of what? A couple of cow and a bull. Correct? Gandharva Vivaah. It is a sort of love marriage or it is a sort of swayamvar. Correct? You might have heard about this, like swayamvar of whom? Lord Ram and Devi Sita. Then, Devi Parvati and Lord Shiva. That is nothing but Gandharva Vivaah. Here, the boy and the girl are free to choose their life partners. Coming to next three. Now, Asur Vivaah. It is nothing but a marriage with a purchased girl. Rakshas Vivaah. For example, if a ruler attacks on another ruler and he wins over the kingdom of the other ruler. Now, in that case, if this ruler wants his life to get spared, he will marry his daughter to the victorious ruler. Such a type of marriage alliance is referred as Rakshas Vivaah. And finally comes Pisach Vivaah. Marriage by seducing a girl or marriage specifically by eloping with a girl. Now, the last three forms of marriages, that is Asur Vivaah, Rakshas Vivaah and Pisach Vivaah are not sanctioned by the Vedas. The initial five forms of marriages, that is Brahma Vivaah, Arsha Vivaah, Daiva Vivaah, Gandharva Vivaah and Prajapate Vivaah are sanctioned by the Vedic scriptures. So, these are eight different forms of marriages mentioned in Vedic scriptures. Hope you understood the topic. Let's move ahead. Guys, now let's understand the comparison of early Vedic society and later Vedic society on social, political and religious grounds. Now, before I begin with comparison, let me tell you the entire Vedic period is divided from 1500 to 600 BC, roughly 1500 to 600 BC, out of which 1500 to 1000 BC, it's early Vedic period or Rig Vedic period. And from 1000 to 600 BC, it's later Vedic period. So, now let's understand the comparison of society, social background of early Vedic period and later Vedic period from the perspective of examination. Let's understand. Early Vedic society was quite liberal society. How it was a liberal society? Let's understand this. To an extent, I can say that it was neither patriarchal nor matriarchal. To an extent, it might be a cosmopolitan culture that was developed here. How? Let's understand. First thing, during early Vedic period, there was absence of sati. There was absence of child marriage. Now, what is sati? Let's understand. Sati is forced emulation. In simple words, in very, very simple language, for example, if a lady's husband dies, she is forced to sit on the funeral pyre of her husband. In that case, this is a forceful emulation. And this concept is called a sati. Please do not get confused between the concept of sati in ancient India and Johar system of medieval India. The Johars were basically followed by the Rajput ladies. And what is Johar? Johar is basically voluntary emulation. I will give you one of the finest examples. You might have seen the movie Padmavat, correct? So, there is a book called as Padmavat which was written by Malik Muhammad Jaisi. In that book, it has been mentioned that when Allahuddin Khilji attacked the region of Chittor located in Rajasthan, Rani Padmini along with few women of Chittor committed Johar. So, what is Johar? They voluntarily submitted themselves into the, what we say, specifically the Agni Kund, what we call it as. So, this is nothing. This is a voluntary emulation. And sati is a forceful emulation. Hope so you understood the difference between the two, correct? So, sati system was absent. Child marriage was absent. In fact, women were a part of decision making process. And how do we understand that? There were village assemblies like Sabha, Samiti, Gan and Vidhata. In fact, Vidhata was the earliest folk assembly of Aryans and it finds mentioned for 122 times in Rig Vedic hymns. Now, what is Sabha? Sabha is an assembly of village elders. In Sabha, you will find male as well as female. But it is an assembly of the elders of the village. The male members of Sabha were referred as Sambhav, whereas the female members were referred as Sambhavati. This simply exemplifies what? This simply exemplifies women were a part of decision making process. Correct? Samiti was in general assembly of the village. Everyone participated in it. It was not only the elder members who participated, even the young ones, either male or the female participated in Samiti. So, Sabha was an assembly of village elders. The male members were referred as Sambhav and the female members were referred as Sambhavati. Moving ahead. It is believed that to an extent women might be educated. And how do we come to know about that women might be educated? Because here we find that Apala, Vishvavara, Lopamudra were the famous women poetess of that time. In fact, Lopamudra was wife of Agastya Rishi, one of the most important Rishis. So, women to an extent might be educated. Caste system or Varna system was prevalent, but it was not at all rigidly followed. I repeat, it was prevalent, but it was not rigidly followed. People had a good social life. Dicing, gambling, horse racing, chariot racing were the sources of entertainment for the people. People were known to the crops like barley, which was referred as Yava. This terminology is very important from the exam perspective, guys, because a lot many times questions have been asked in the UPSC problems examination. And UPSC has a tendency to ask questions specifically on the terminologies. So, people were known to crops like barley. The Sanskrit word is Yava. They were known to crops like rice. And the Sanskrit word for rice is Akshat, Tandul or Vrihi. I repeat, Akshat, Tandul or Vrihi. Now, coming to later Vedic society, things got exactly reversed in the later Vedic period, exactly reversed. What did I say in the early Vedic period? Child marriage was not prevalent. Sati system was not prevalent. Here you can observe prevalence of child marriage, prevalence of Sati system. There was decline in the status and dignity of the women. Sabha and Samiti lost its importance. Now, in that case, Sabha and Samiti, the societal mindset now was patriarchal mindset. Now, the first question that will crop up your mind is, why there was such a drastic decline in the status and dignity of the women during later Vedic period? My friends, if there is a change in the social structure in the society, it will impact every ladder of the social life. Correct? First thing, here the Sabha and Samiti, which were most important decision makers of that time for the entire society, wherein initially women were participant. Now, women are just confined to their homely activities. They are not the part of decision making process. So, obviously, their status and dignity will decline. Sati system became prevalent. Child marriage became prevalent. Women were denied educational facilities. Correct? But still, Maitri and Gargi were the famous women poetess of later Vedic period. In that case, initially education was given to everyone. Now, education was through Gurukul system and it was just confined to the upper two ladder of the society, that is Brahmins and Kshatriyas. Women and Shudras were not the part of education system. As I have told you, the year as they were not the part of education system. So, to an extent, caste system became more and more rigid. Previously, I have told you, there was caste system, but it was not at all rigidly followed. But now, caste system was prevalent and it was rigidly followed. How it was rigidly followed? Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. The duty of the Brahmin is to teach. The duty of the Kshatriya is to protect the society or be a participant in the war. The duty of specifically the Vaishya is to carry on trading activity in the society. And Shudra, the duty was to serve the other three sections of the society. So, it became more rigid. Apart from this, here you can observe, people were introduced to one crop, wheat. And the Sanskrit word for wheat was Godhum. I repeat, Godhum. So, this was comparative analysis of early Vedic social life and later Vedic social life. Early Vedic was from 1500 to 1000 BC, whereas later Vedic is from 1000 to 600 BC. The points are clear, I guess, guys. Please pay attention to the terminologies. Time and again, I am repeating one thing, that UPSC does have a tendency to repeat the question in the form of terminologies. So, I have spoken about three major terminologies here, like barley was referred as Yav, rice was referred as Akshat, Tandul or Vrihi, whereas wheat was referred as Godhum. Moving ahead. Early Vedic political life. Now, let us understand or let us go for comparative analysis of early Vedic and later Vedic political life. During early Vedic period, king did not enjoy unlimited powers. Yes, he was a ruler, but he was not the ruler of a particular territory. He was the ruler of the people. Sabha and Samiti, as I have told you previously itself, Sabha and Samiti were the main players who were involved in decision-making process. Sabha and Samiti, they actually guided the king in decision-making. So, king was not the ruler of a particular territory. He was a ruler of the people and was referred as Janasya or Gop since he was a ruler of the people. King did not follow the policy of imperialism. Imperialism basically means continuously expanding the territories. Why? Because land was not the most important form of wealth during early Vedic period. During early Vedic period, the most important form of wealth was cattle. A person having a lot many cattle was considered as the wealthiest person and was referred as Gomath. I repeat, the wealthiest person at that time was referred as Gomath, a person having a lot many cattle. So, at that time, land was not the most important form of wealth. In fact, cattle or cows was the most important form of wealth. Cow was referred as Aghanya. Aghanya basically means which cannot be killed. Now, rulers were being guided by whom? Sabha and Samiti in decision-making process. The basic unit of life at the grassroots level, what is the most basic unit of life? Family and the family was referred as Kul. I repeat, Kul and it was being headed by the male member of the family, adult male member of the family and was referred as Kulpati. When there are too many families living in a particular area, this will become what? A village. Village was referred as Gram and was headed by Gramini. I repeat, village was referred as Gram and was headed by Gramini. Correct? So, the first thing that we need to understand here is, in early Vedic political life, king did not enjoy unlimited powers. In that case, apart from unlimited powers, king did not follow the policy of imperialism, that is, continuously expanding his territories. Moving ahead, with later Vedic political life, let us understand the changes that took place in later Vedic political life. During later Vedic age, king had unlimited powers. Now, not the cattle, but the land was most important form of wealth and king followed the policy of imperialism, ruthless imperialism and the entire northern part of India became the battleground for 16 great kingdoms, also referred as Mahajanpad. If you try to break this etymology, Mahajanpad, Maha means great, Jan means people, Pad means feet. Wherever the feet of great tribes arrived, this led to the establishment of great empires in the northern part of India. 16 great kingdoms referred as Mahajanpad. Among the most powerful ones were Magadh, Kosala, Kashi, Vats, Ang and many more. So, king enjoyed unlimited powers. King started following the policy of imperialism, continuously expanding his territories. Here, king started maintaining a regular standing army, infantry and cavalry, both. The members of infantry were referred, the infantry was referred as Padati, since they were fighting on foot, foot soldiers and the horsemen or the cavalrymen, they were referred as what? Ratheen. I repeat, Ratheen. King started maintaining regular standing army. Sabha and Samiti lost its importance and since the king had to maintain regular standing army for protecting his kingdom, first thing, for expanding his kingdom, he required money. So, he started imposing taxes on the people. So, Bali, Bhaga, Shulk were the taxes that were being imposed on the people. So, this was early Vedic political life and later Vedic political life. Hope you are understanding the comparative analysis of social and political life of early and later Vedic period. Hope the points are clear. Okay guys, moving ahead. Let us talk about early Vedic religion and later Vedic religion. During early Vedic period, majority of the gods were nature gods. As we have seen in Rig Veda, we have seen in Rig Veda that gods like Indra, Agni, Vayu, Surya, Som, all these are related to nature. So, they believed in something called as animism. And what is animism? Love and respect for nature. Correct? So, here you will find atmospheric gods or nature gods. Let me give you a few examples. Indra. Indra was referred as warlord. He was referred as god of, what we say, rain. And 250 hymns out of 1028 hymns are dedicated to Indra in Rig Vedic, what we say, scriptures. The second most important deity was Agni. Agni, the fire god. 200 hymns are dedicated to Agni in Rig Vedic, what we say, hymns out of 1028 hymns. Correct? As I have told you previously itself, Agni is acting as an intermediary between the Yajman. Yajman basically means a person who is practicing that sacrifice or that ritual and the deity. So, Agni is acting as an intermediary between the Yajman and the deity. Second most important deity during the Rig Vedic period. Third most, Som. Mandal 9 is dedicated to Som. And 120 hymns out of 1028 hymns in Rig Ved are dedicated to Som, referred as god of plants or intoxicants. Now, other important gods were Vayu, wind god, Varun, water god. And practically, there is rarely a human being who can or there is rarely a living being that can survive without air and water. So, ethically, Vayu and Varun are the highest god. Varun is water god. Vayu is, what we say, wind god. Okay? Surya, sun god. Aditi, she was mother of all the goddess. Then, Ila was goddess of offering. Nriti is goddess of death and decay. So, here, what Aranyani, goddess of forest. And as I have told you previously, when I was explaining you the Aranyakas part, Aranya, it is a Sanskrit word for forest. So, Aranyani means forest goddess. Correct? The most important aspect that you have observed here is, majority of the gods are atmospheric gods. Majority of the gods here are nature gods. People here did not believe in idol worship. People here did not believe in temple worship. They did not believe in the concept of life after death. Okay? But things got changed in later Vedic period. As I have told you guys, whenever there is a change in the social and political structure in the society, it also impacts the practices and the rituals of that society. Things got changed here in later Vedic period. Indra Agni lost their importance. People started believing in various sacrifices, yagic sacrifices. And there were gods like Brahma, also referred as creator. Rudra, that is destroyer. Vishnu, that is preserver and sustainer of the universe. People started performing various yagic practices. And whenever they used to perform yagic practices, they used to invite various guests. And the guests were served with the products of cattle. And that is why it was referred as Goghagna. Goghagna basically means what? Guests who are fed with the products of cattle. Like what? Cheese, butter, ghee, milk and so on. Correct? So, the guests were referred as Goghagna. Why? Because they were fed on the products of cattle. Whereas, the person who was performing that ritual, that sacrifice was referred as Yajmana. Okay? They believed in the concept of life after death. So guys, in this short video, hope you understood basically comparative analysis of early Vedic period and later Vedic period on social, political and religious grounds. Hope so the points are clear. Guys, these are the key terminologies that I have listed it down. There are more than 30 to 40 terminologies. All the terminologies are very very important from the exam perspective. It is a compilation from the NCRT, Tamil Nadu State Board book and various reference book. You guys need to memorize this chart. It is very important. For example, as we have discussed previously itself, I will give you 4 to 5 examples. Now, what is the Sanskrit word for barley? Yava. Rice, Akshat, Tandul or Vrihi. Wheat, Godhum. Then, what is iron called in Vedic period? Iron was called as specifically Shyamayas or Krishnayas. And copper was called as Ayas. Sugarcane was called as Ikshu. And there are various terminologies as well. Like for example, what is Godhli? Godhli is nothing but the time before the sunset. Correct? And what does that signify? End of the day. So, what is Godhli? Measurement of time. Correct? So, these are the important terminologies which are very important from the exam perspective. Apart from that, in fact, rivers are also asked. Like river Sati was a very venerated river during the Vedic period and was referred as here. The river Sindhu, in this river was referred as Sindhu. Then, Vitasth was Jhelum. River Parushini was Ravi. Vipas was Byas and many other such rivers. Correct? Like, as I have told you in between itself, cow was like, when I talked about the early Vedic social life, I have told you previously itself, a person having lot many cattle was referred as the wealthiest person and was called as Gomath. And cow was the most important form of wealth. So, cow was Aganya, which cannot be killed. Correct? Then, Grit means butter, Shrini means sickle, Parshu means axe, Duhitri means daughter. Because usually in the villages, daughter used to go for milking the cows. And in that case, Duhitri was a terminology used for daughter. So guys, these are the important concepts and terminology of Vedic civilization. Here, I have concluded the entire Vedic civilization. Guys who are new to the platform, please do follow StudyIQ IS English and please do follow initial video so that you can easily understand the concept till depth. Okay? I will repeat the points again within few seconds. Guys, here in the entire Vedic part, we have discussed topics like Rig Veda, Saam Veda, Yajur Veda, Atharva Veda, Brahmans associated with this Veda. Apart from this, we have seen the concepts of Aranyakas and Upanishad, wherein we have discussed very beautiful and amazing stories. We have discussed the concept of Vedang. In Vedang, as a part of Kalp, we have also discussed one of the most important concept called as Solah Sanskar, which are the part of Griha Sutras. And today, we have discussed different forms of marriages and comparative analysis of early and later Vedic period. Hope so, the entire Vedic session was quite interesting and amazing. Guys, I will be coming up with the videos of Indus Valley civilization and Mahajanapada. Beautiful and amazing stories are on their way. So, please do follow the channel StudyIQ IS English. Hi, this is Alok Koja. I will take your leave. Thank you and have a wonderful day.