Lecture 2: The Vedas and Vedic Religion Flashcards
What led to the decline/disappearance of the indus valley civilization?
- Civilization declined.
- No concrete answers but possibilities include:
- Climate change – changing rainfall patterns and droughts.
- Flooding
- -Change in river courses.
- -Epidemics
- -Changing crop patterns
- -“Invasion” of Indo-Aryan tribes (no longer popular theory).
- Vedic culture a product of the interaction between diverse peoples.
What are the potential similarities/continuities in modern Hinduism from IVC religion?
IVC religion:
- Bathing tank in Mohenjodaro
- Potential early worship of male and female generative principles, the liṅga and yoni.
- Figures/scenes on seals accompanied by animals.
- Female figures and plants.
- Proto- Śiva figure on seal.
Modern Hinduism
- Bathing tanks found at many Hindu temple sites.
- Widespread in Hinduism today, Lord Śiva worshipped aniconically as liṅga.
- Hindu deities often accompanied by animals.
- Association between women, goddesses, fertility, and vegetation.
- Worship of Śiva widespread
Who were the Aryans (i.e., the noble ones)?
- Appeared on Indian subcontinent from about 1500 BCE.
- Self designation.
- Pastoral, cattle-herding people.
What is the indo-European (Aryan) migration hypothesis?
- Dominant thesis for a period.
- Light-skinned, Indo-European people, migrated into Indian subcontinent in waves
- Oral scriptures known as the Vedas.
- They were warrior-nomads with horse-drawn chariots.
Speakers of Indo-European language (Sanskrit) - Vedas tell of Āryans conquering darker-skinned groups of people - referred to as Dāsas (“enemy,” or “servant”) or Dasyuas
– Conquest of Indus Valley people?
– No archeological evidence, IVC already declined before Āryans arrived. - Encountered and mingled with Dravidian (Southern) culture.
What is the support for the Indo-European migration hypothesis?
- Languages
- Vedas describe a civilization/culture that is pastoral and not urban (like the IVC was)
What is the cultural diffusion hypothesis?
- Āryan civilization/culture developed close to Harappan Civilization – no migrations or invasions.
- Vedic/Āryan civilization diffused into neighboring lands.
What do proponents of the cultural diffusion hypothesis use as proof?
Proponents of this use Vedas as proof
- Contain references to the ocean – doubtful that they were composed in landlocked central Asia
- Reference to astrological phenomena suggests Vedas are earlier than Indo-European Migration Thesis suggests.
- Vedas show an advanced and sophisticated culture that would have developed over a long period of time.
- Little archeological evidence to support the Migration Thesis.
What was the social structure used by the Aryans (early vedic age)?
- Had class (varṇa) system (social division of labour)
- Brahmins – priests (played an important role in maintaining order)
- Kṣatriyas – rulers/warriors
- Vaiśyas – pastoralists/agriculturalists
- Śūdras – commoners
- Somewhat fluid, functional groups.
What was the late vedic period like?
- Late Vedic period 8th century BCE
- Became rigid and more Hierarchical (Brahmins at the top of the pyrmaid, then ksatriyas then Vaisyas, then Sudras who were not considered Aryans)
What are the two ways in which Aryan and Non-Aryan cultures mingled and influenced each other?
- “Universalization”
- Dominant classes (“Great Tradition”) adopt practices of subordinate classes (“Little Tradition”)
- Incorporate them into cultural forms of the upper classes
- “Sanskritization”
- Lower classes adopt values and practices of upper dominant classes
- Enhance social status.
What are the 3 main components that formed modern Hinduism?
Product of three main components:
1) Āryan religion/Vedic religion/ orthodox tradition
- High regard for Vedas
- Hierarchy of varṇa system
2) “Dravidian” religion
- May include IVC religious traditions
3) Religious beliefs and practices of aboriginal tribal groups
- Associated with animistic beliefs
What are the Vedas?
- Main source of our knowledge about the early Hindu tradition.
- Earliest sacred texts.
- Traditionally regarded as śruti (”that which was heard”).
- As opposed to smṛti (that which has been remembered)
- Divinely perceived by/revealed to the ṛṣis (seers).
- Generally thought to have been composed approximately 1800-300 BCE.
What does Veda mean in Sanskrit?
from Sanskrit word for “knowledge”
What 4 collections do the Vedas consist of?
1) Ṛg Veda
2) Sāma Veda
3) Yajur Veda
4) Atharva Veda
- each collection is comprised of 4 subcollections: Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, Upanisads
What are the Vedas concerned with and how was it passed down?
- Concerned with spiritual and material goals.
- For many years no written form existed. Passed down orally from generation to generation.
What are the Samhitas?
- “Put together, joined”, a “collection”
- the most ancient part/collection of the Vedas, consisting of hymns to praise god
- Composed in Vedic Sanskrit
- The earliest part of each Veda.
What makes up the early orthodox Aryan scriptures and what do they include?
- Ṛg, Sāma, and Yajur Veda Saṃhitās make up the early orthodox Āryan scriptures.
- Increased ritual specialization (for priests) in Sāma, and Yajur Veda Saṃhitās.
- Atharva Veda Saṃhitā viewed as a later addition and is different from the others in that it concerns more practical matters (medicinal practice, warfare, and ritual as well as astrological knowledge and philosophical speculation).
What are the Brahmanas?
- 1000 BCE
- Composed in Vedic Sanskrit prose
- ritual and prayers to guide the priests in their duties
- The how to – directions for performance of sacred rituals (priestly class).
- Deals with the power within recitation of sacred verses (mantra).
- Extol the virtues of sacrifice (yajña).
- Commentaries on the hymns of the Saṃhitās.
- Interpretations of aspects of rituals and explanations for their origins.
- Also contains early versions of many myths.
