Arrival of Indo-Aryans
Indo-Iranian means Indo-Aryan and Iranian, which are two regions of Central Asia, India Eco-Iran Accra Purvat, it is already called Andonova culture. This B.C. Spread throughout Central Asia around the second millennium. The second one is called Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC). Whose period is B.C. It was 1900-1500. This cultural region is Bactria or Balk in Afghanistan; It was spread in South Central Asia including Marjiana in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Ceramic objects found in southern Uzbekistan and northern Afghanistan belong to the Gandhara culture where burial was practiced. Andronova culture reflects all the important elements of Aryan life. These include gathering, breeding, widespread use of horses, spoked wheels, funeral rites, underground dwellings built from birch bark and other woods, and drinking soma. Therefore this culture is called Proto-Indo-Iranian. Ultimately both of them spread to Iran and the northern part of the Indian subcontinent.
B.C. BMAC around 1500 Evidence of horse domestication, chariots with spoked wheels, partial cremation and swastikas are found. There is evidence of movement of cattle herders from half a dozen cemeteries. However, BMAC The remains of the proto-urban culture of the pre-Aryan period in the area show that the cattle herders who damaged it passed through here and reached Sauga in the Indian subcontinent. Therefore B.C. The remains of horses and indications of post-cremation burials were found in the Swat Valley in 1400. Some ceramic objects of this period have been found in South Central Asia, they are similar to the objects found in Swat region.
Which is in the form of modern Balk. Although this word is not mentioned in the Rigveda, it is mentioned in later Vedic texts. In one such text, ‘Bahilka’ appears as the name of a king. Ballika is also mentioned in classical Sanskrit texts and inscriptions. A Gupta period inscription of the fourth century indicates the conquest of Bahilka, who reached there after crossing the seven mouths of the Indus. There may not be any actual victory in this, but the existence of Bactria is found in the Gupta period. However, later sources considered Punjab as Bahilka and considered it to be distinct from oriental or eastern India. Bactria spread over significant parts of Afghanistan, which was also mentioned in the Rigveda. Many rivers flowing here are also mentioned in this book. Aryans came to settle in Afghanistan. This is known from the rivers here named after Aryans. A part of this country is known as Araiya or Haraiya, from which Herat is formed.
Initially, the Aryans lived in the geographical area bordering Eastern Afghanistan, North-West Frontier Province, Punjab and Western Uttar Pradesh. The Rigveda also mentions some rivers like the Kubha of Afghanistan and the Indus river with its five branches. The Indus River is directly connected to the Indus and is the most important river for the Aryans, being mentioned repeatedly in the Rigveda. Another river is Saraswati, which is called Naditama or the best river in the Rigveda. It is identified with the Ghaggar-Hakra in Haryana and Rajasthan, but its Rigvedic description suggests that it is the Avestan river Harkhwati in southern Afghanistan or the present-day Helmand river. From where the name Saraswati came to India. The entire area where the Aryans first settled in the Indian subcontinent is called the land of seven rivers.
In India we know Aryans from Rigveda. The word Arya appears thirty-six times in this text and generally denotes a cultural community. Whose language is Indo-Aryan . Rigveda is the oldest text of Indo-European languages. It is written in Sanskrit but it also contains many Munda and Dravidian words. Probably these words reached Rigveda through Harappan languages. It is a collection of prayers offered by various sage/poet families to Agni, Indra, Mitra, Varuna and other deities. It has ten divisions or sections, in which the second to seventh sections are written first. The first and tenth volumes seem to be the latest. Many things in Rigveda are similar to Avesta, the oldest text in Iranian language. In both texts the same word is used for many deities, and even for social classes.
However, the oldest sample of Indo-European language comes from Iraq in B.C. Found in an inscription of 2200. Later such samples B.C. Hittite inscriptions are found in Anatolia (Turkey) from the nineteenth to the seventeenth century. They are in B.C. The Mycenaeans of Greece around 1400 Also found in records. In Iraq B.C. Aryan names are found in the Kassite inscriptions of around 1600 and the Mittani inscriptions of the fourteenth century BC in Syria. However, no such records have been found so far in India.
The arrival of Aryans in India took place in several phases. The first phase mentions the Rigvedic people. Joe B.C. Came to this subcontinent around 1500. They had conflicts with the indigenous inhabitants who were called Das, Dasyu etc. Slaves are also mentioned in ancient Iranian literature, it seems that they too were a branch of the ancient Aryans. The Rigveda mentions Sambar being defeated by Divodas, the chief of the Bharata clan. In this situation the word Das is known to be derived from the name Divodas. Probably in the Rigveda, the Dasyus represented the original inhabitants of India and the Aryan chief who defeated them was called Trasadasyu. The Aryan chiefs were very lenient towards the slaves but their behavior towards the dastards was extremely hostile. The word Dasyuhatya i.e. killing of a bandit occurs again and again in the Rigveda. The Dasyus probably worshiped Linga and the purpose of their animal husbandry was not related to cow products and milk.
tribal conflict
We know very little about the weapons of the opponents of the Indo-Aryan people. However, there are many mentions of Indra defeating the enemies of the Aryans. In Rigveda, Indra is called Puranda. Which means destroyer of residential premises. However, through this we cannot identify the structures built by the people who settled before the Aryans. Some of which may be located in northern Afghanistan. The Indo-Aryans were successful everywhere because they had horse-drawn chariots, which were used for the first time in West Asia and India. Probably the Aryan soldiers had armor (varman) and better weapons.The Indo-Aryan people were caught in two types of conflicts. First, they fought with the people before the Aryans and then fought among themselves. Ultimately, intra-tribal conflicts shocked the Aryan communities for a long time. According to tradition, the Aryans were divided into five tribes which came to be known as Panchajan. But there may be other tribes also. Aryans fought among themselves and sometimes they also took support of non-Aryans for this fight. Bharat and Tritsu belonged to the ruling Aryan dynasty and were supported by Guru Vashishtha. Ultimately this country was named Bharatvarsha after the name of Bharat tribe. Which has been mentioned for the first time in Rigveda. The Bharata ruling dynasty was opposed by ten chiefs, five of whom were heads of Aryan tribes and the remaining five were non-Aryans.
Animal Husbandry and Agriculture
We can form some ideas about the material life of the Rig Vedic Aryans. They attributed their success to horses, chariots and probably some better weapons made of bronze. For which we have very little archaeological evidence. Probably he B.C. The spoked wheel was first introduced in the Caucasus region in 2300. When they settled in the western part of the subcontinent, copper extracted from the Khetri mines in Rajasthan was used. The Rig Vedic people had better knowledge of agriculture. Ploughshare is mentioned early in the Rigveda, although some call it interpolation and it was probably made of wood. They were familiar with sowing, harvesting and pruning and knew about the different seasons. The pre-Aryan people who lived in the area associated with the Vedic people also had knowledge of agriculture. But they probably used it for fodder production. However, there are so many references to cows and bulls in the Rig Veda that the Rig Vedic people can be considered primarily agricultural. Most of their wars were for cows. Rig Veda has words like Gavisthi or search for cows for war and cow is the most important form of wealth. Whenever we hear of gifts given to the priests, they were usually cows and female slaves; There was never any land. It is possible that the Rigvedic people may have occupied the land for grazing, farming and habitation, but land may not have been recognized as organized private property.
tribal chief
In the Rig Vedic period, the administrative machinery of the Aryans worked according to the Kavila chief for successful leadership in war. He was alled Rajan. It seems that in the Rig Vedic period the post of king had become hereditary. However, the king was a kind of chief and did not exercise unlimited power. He gave recognition to tribal organizations. There were indications of the election of the king by a tribal assembly called Samiti.
The king was said to be the protector of his tribe. He protected their cattle, fought for them and prayed to the gods on their behalf. Rigveda mentions many tribal or kinship based groups like Sabha, Samiti, Vidatha and Gana. They used to hold discussions and organize strategic and religious events. Women also participated in the Sabha and Vidatha of Rig Vedic times. In the early Vedic period the sabha and samiti did much to ensure that the chiefs and kings
Started expressing his desire to get their support. A few employees assisted the king in daily administrative work. The most important work among these was done by the priest. The two priests who played a major role in the Rig Vedic period were Vashishtha and Vishwamitra. Vashishtha was conservative and Vishwamitra was liberal. Vishwamitra composed Gayatri Mantra for the prosperity of Aryans. Those who chanted Gayatri Mantra were included among the Aryans. Eventually, this mantra came to be monopolized by the three upper castes.
clan and family
The basis of social structure was family, a man was identified with his clan, this can be seen in the names of many Rig Vedic kings. People’s basic loyalty was towards the tribe, which was called Jana. In an early stanza, the combined strength of the warriors of the two tribes is stated to be twenty-one. This shows that the total number of members of any tribe was not more than 100. In Rigveda, the word Jan appears at about 275 places, the word Janapada or Kshetra is not used even once.
social discrimination
B.C. The consciousness of the people of North-West India around 1500-1000 is mentioned in the Rigveda. The word varna has been used for color and it seems that the Indo-Aryan speakers were of white complexion and the natives were of dark complexion. caste social The system had become an identity, but the writers’ perception of racial discrimination exaggerated its importance. The conquests of the Indo-Aryans over the natives were most responsible for social divisions. After the Aryans conquered the Das and Dasyus, they behaved like slaves and Shudras. There is mention of Arya Varna and Das Varna in Rigveda. Tribal chiefs and priests acquired a larger share of the plunder and naturally became wealthier than their relatives, leading to social inequalities in the tribe. Gradually, the tribal society was divided into three occupational groups – warriors, priests and common people, like in Iran. The fourth division called Shudra came into existence at the end of the Rig Vedic period. In the recent version, the word Shudra is mentioned for the first time in the tenth chapter of the Rigveda.
Rigvedic deity
Every person searches for his religion in his own environment. It was difficult for the Aryans to understand the coming of rain, the presence of the Sun and the Moon and the existence of things like rivers, mountains, etc. Therefore, they idealized these natural forces and saw them as beings in whom they resembled human or animal qualities. The Rigveda is full of such deities, with verses composed by poets from various respected families. The most important god in the Rig Veda is Indra, who is also known as Purandar or It is said to be a destroyer of dwelling units. Indra played the role of a great commander by leading the Aryan soldiers to victory over the demons, there are 250 verses dedicated to him. He is considered Vrishti-dev, that is, responsible for rain. The second place is of Agni (Agni Dev), to whom 200 verses are dedicated. Fire played an important role in the life of primitive people, as they used it for tasks like burning forests, cooking food etc. The discovery of fire took center stage not only in India, but also in Iran. In the Vedic period, Agni acted as a mediator between the gods on the one hand and the people on the other. It was believed that the things burnt in the fire reached the sky in the form of smoke, that is, to the gods. The third important place was of Varuna, who was the god of water. Varuna was responsible for maintaining the natural balance; And whatever happened in the world was considered a reflection of his wishes. Soma was considered the god of plants, an alcoholic beverage was named after him. Many verses of the Rigveda explain the method of preparing this drink from plants, which has not yet been worked out satisfactorily. Marut is the god of wind. There are many verses dedicated to the river Saraswati, who was considered an important goddess. Thus there are many gods, who represent various forces of nature in one form or another, but they are not dependent on human activities.
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