Society, the State and the Vedic beginnings

In the last chapter, we had only objects to go on. From at least the second millennium BCE, we also have texts, starting with the Ṛigveda. So from here on, we know much more: not just what people made, but what they thought, believed and how they were ruled.

First, two words that sound alike but are different. Think of your family and neighbourhood: you follow customs (how a wedding is done, how elders are greeted) because everyone does, not because a law says so. That is society (samaj): a web of relationships among people who share a territory, culture and sense of belonging, run mainly by customs.

Now think of a court, the police or a tax. These are run by written rules and laws, with rights and duties for rulers and people, and institutions to enforce order. That is the State (rajya).

The Vedas. They are the earliest known body of Indian literature. For centuries they were passed on by word of mouth before being written down. There are four:

Each Veda has four parts:

• Samhitās: hymns used to invoke deities and make offerings;
• Brāhmaṇas: prose explaining the rituals;
• Āraṇyakas: (araṇya = forest) the thoughts of sages living in forests;
• Upaniṣhads: about the Self (Ātman) and the Ultimate (Brahman).

Watch out for three look-alike words: Brahman is an idea (the Ultimate); the Brāhmaṇas are texts; and brāhmaṇas (Brahmins) are a varṇa, a social group.

"Where and when were the Vedas composed?" The earliest parts of the Ṛigveda were composed in the Sapta-Sindhu, the land of the Indus, its five tributaries and the Sarasvatī, in the north-west, where the Sindhu–Sarasvatī civilisation also flourished. The date is debated by historians: estimates range from the fifth to the second millennium BCE.

How were people organised? Early Vedic society was made of janas: clans, groups of people tied by kinship (being related). The Ṛigveda names about thirty janas. Five of them, the Yadu, Turvaśha, Puru, Anu and Druhyu, were together called the pañchajana, 'the five peoples'. The name 'Bharata' first appears in the Ṛigveda, for the Bharata jana.

The rājā was mainly a clan chief: he led the jana in war and protected its members. But he did not rule alone. The Vedic texts mention three assemblies:

"Does that sound a bit like today?" The book asks you to compare: a modern leader has power, but is checked by a constitution and parliament. Were the sabhā and samiti an early way of making sure people took part in decisions?