India: Pre-history And Indus Period â€“ Geography And People

The Vedic period habitation geography in India is reconstructed from the early Indian literature of á¹šgveda and the archaeological data extracted from various parts of India. Current historical reconstruction suggests a nomadic group inhabiting in the saptasindhu area of upper Punjab (north west India) possibly around 1700BC, Figure 1. The analysis of the language used and the mythology of the stories and metaphors suggest a sustained development for centuries before. The language of the Vedas called Vedic Sanskrit is a living language that connects it to many European languages through its word use. The research on Vedic Sanskrit and the story of migrations in the subcontinent is a topic of active research (Reference 1).

Figure 1: The Lands of the Rig Veda Map showing extent of the Vedic geography in the Early Rig Vedic phase.

While the identity of the Vedic tribes is speculative, their way of living was marked to be distinct from a host of non-Vedic agricultural tribes that populated the Gangetic plains and the eastern parts of India during this period. The difference of Vedic and non-Vedic is ascribed by the observation of the religious rituals as ordained by the Vedas (see Track 3 Language and Literature).

Figure 2 Expansion of the Vedic culture and recorded habitation centers in late Vedic Period 1100BC to 500BC. (from Wikipedia, History of India)

The non-Vedic people were prosperous and there are reports of conflicts between the groups as the Vedic tribes migrated eastward. As we find from the á¹šgveda (Reference 2), eventual settlements resulted through negotiations and social integration. Habitations developed at various river sites scattered in the country. The sites acted as trading centers with river traffic. A reconstructed habitation map of India by the Vedic tribes is given Figure 2.

The prescribed rituals, as referenced above, were an offshoot of a principle that has been termed Rta, the â€œcosmic principleâ€. Simply stated this meant that both sky and earth operated as one geographical unit and all earthly events were connected to the movement of the objects in the sky. These objects, called Deva, were animated and had human-like instincts. They were assumed to be appeased through the rituals and could offer blessings. Rituals had to be done with astronomical precision at carefully selected geographical sites and using properly constructed geometric altars. The detailed organization and precise structural needs helped create a social structure with various skill groups like carpenters, blacksmiths, weavers, masons, milkmen, astrologers, hymnal reciters, priests and many more. Figure 3.

Each of these groups had their own defined work and the execution of the work was termed Dharma, which literally meant â€œthe property to hold the society together.â€ The word gradually took a broader view to suggest the dutifulness in service of any component of the universe including the sun, moon, air and water. Eventually these empirical practices were compiled into massive literary books called Dharmashastra â€œThe Book of Rulesâ€ by about 900BC. The modern Hinduism uses this book as a guide in its social practice.

This structure in the Vedic society built itself with family as the nucleus and the father as the head of the family. Male members in the family assumed dominance. A wife and a mother had a major role in the rituals but did not possess any property of her own. The eldest son inherited the fatherâ€™s property. In the absence of a son, adoptions were invoked. The daughters were gifted away in marriage. These practices were distinctly different in the non-Vedic tribes, many of which had the tradition of matriarchy.

Among the non-Vedic tribes, the Mundas of the central and east India appear to have the most influence on the Vedic language. Linguistically, the Munda language is connected to south-east Asian Australoid population who likely moved to India through the coastal routes. (Reference 3)

The prosperity of the agricultural economy is attributed to the non-Vedic tribes. Figure 4 gives a sample reconstruction of a Munda couple around 2000BCE.

With the gradual integration of cultures, a strong foundation of a universal cosmology developed. This late development called the Upanisad period in India around 700 BC declared the equality of all objects claiming a unitary universe that endowed divinity to the entire creation. Composed in brilliant pieces of prose and poetry, these documents have been cherished by all learned people in all cultures (Reference 4.)

Vedic culture gradually spread to South India, but major clashes are reported in literature. It appears that the period helped mature the Vedic belief system and tried to establish it throughout the country using integration and warfare. A Vedic school in modern India is featured in Figure 5.

1. Edwin Bryant, The Quest for the Origins on the Vedic Culture: The Indo-Aryan Migration Debate, 2004.

4. Will Durrant, Our Oriental Heritage: The Story of Civilization, Volume 1, 1935.

Dr. Bijoy Misra leads the Science and Technology track in India Discovery Center's project on "Evolution of Indian Culture: Pre-history to 1947AD"