Vedic age - pg: 206-207 Flashcards
By _____ BC, another group of people were living in the Indus Valley civilisation.
1500 BC
What were the new group of people who lived Indus Valley called? What did their name mean?
The new group of people who lived in Indus Valley were called Aryans which meant ‘noble one’ in their language.
Why was this period of Indian history known as the Vedic age?
The aryans expressed their beliefs in Hymns and Holy scriptures known as the Vedas which is why the period of Indian history is known as the Vedic age.
What did scholars call the new group of people who lived in Indus Valley?
They called them Indo-Aryans after the language they spoke.
Explain theory 1
Many historians believed the Aryan invasion theory. this theory held that the Aryans were nomadic warriors who crossed the mountains into India. They rode horse drawn chariots and used iron weapons to defeat the locals. they then settles into Indus Valley and spread into other parts of India.
Explain theory -2
Others have argued that the Aryans were not invaders instead they were original inhabitants of India. They say that if the Aryans had come from a region outside of India the Vedas would refer to it. However there is no mention of such a place in the Vedas.
Explain theory -3
Recent scholars propose a third theory. They say that the Aryans are nomadic warriors raising cattle and sheep on the dry grasslands of what is now Afghanistan and East Asia. Over the years they migrated into India with their livestock and mixed with the locals. They adopted the locals beliefs. Locals adopted the mixed Aryan language and religion and started calling themselves Aryans too. Over the time people across a large part of India came to see themselves as Aryans.
Explain the Vedas
After settling in India the Ryans composed the Vedas. Each Veda is a collection of hundreds of scared hymns. Priests memorised and sang or chanted these verses during ceremonies. The Vedas called upon people for offerings. Typical offerings included barley, butter and milk. For a thousand years, Indians passed the Vedas down by word of mouth. They sang or chanted them in an Indo-Aryan language called Sanskrit. Sanskrit is a distance relative of English. Todays, Sanskrit remains a language of sacred literature. Sanskrit is the ancestor of many modern Indian languages. Around 500 BC, Indians relearned the art of writing. They collected the Vedas and put them into writing. The best know of the Vedas is the Rig veda. It includes more than 100 hymns. Most of them praise Aryan gods and goddesses representing natural forces such as the Sky, Sun and Fire
