(History) Chapter 5: What books and burials tell us?

Oldest book in the world- Rigveda

We all are well accustomed with the Vedas. There are four vedas- Rigveda, yajurveda, samaveda ,atharvaveda. Rigveda is the oldest of all. It was composed around 3500 years ago with hymns called sukta meaning well said. These hymns were in praise of Gods and Goddess.

Three gods were equally praised, Agni or the God of fire, Indra or the warrior God, soma or the plant from which special drink was prepared.

These hymns were composed by the sages or the rishis. The priests taught students to pronounce, recite and learn any word, sentence with great care. Men were mostly responsible for composing or learning any hymns. However some were composed by women as well.

The Rigveda was composed in old or vedic Sanskrit which was very different from that children learn today.

The books that we use today we’re written and printed, while Rigveda was cited and heard, rather than been read.

Some of the hymns in Rigveda were in the form of dialogues.

Cattle, Horses, Chariots

There were prayers in Rigveda for the cattle, children ( sons),horses. Horses were yoked to the chariots that were used in the battles. Battles were fought to capture land, which was important for pastures, cattle, people , water and many more things.

The wealth obtained were kept by the leaders, some were given to the priests, while the remaining were distributed among the people. Wealth were also used in performing yagnas or the sacrifices of the animals. These yagnas were performed to please gods and goddesses. Offerings in the yagnas were made in the form of ghee, grain and animals.

Men used to take part in the wars. However there were no military or army,but there assemblies where people met to discuss about wars and how to maintain peace. People used to chose leaders who were brave and were warriors.

Megaliths and social differences and finding about Inamgaon.

Megaliths were big stones arranged to mark the burials. Such Megaliths are found in the deccans, south India, Kashmir. Some Megaliths were found on the surface while some in the underground.

The deads were buried with pots like black and red wares, ornaments made of stone and gold, skeleton of horses, horse equipment,etc. It was believed that what ever things were found in the burials belonged to the deads.

However more than one dead body were buried in one Megaliths. It was believed that they must have belonged to the same family. Some burials were found with made expensive items like potteries, gold and silver ornaments, animals, while some had only pots. This indicated that there social status differences among people. Some were rich, while some were poor, some were the leaders while some were the followers. These Megaliths had portholes which served as the entrance. It also had signboards so that people could identify theirs.

Inamgaon is the site situated on the river Ghod , a tributary of Bhima. The adults were generally buried here with straight body and head turned to the north side. Some burials were found in the houses. Pots filled with water and food were buried along with the burials.

Seeds of wheat, barley, millets have been excavated by the archaeologists along with the bones of animals like cattle, pigs, deers, antelopes ,mongoose and many other. The mark on their bodies indicated that they were used as food. Evidence of fruits such as ber, jamun Amla were also found.