Story of Āryas

The Ṛgveda gives us most of the information regarding the Āryas who came to the north of India during the times of the Vedas through the passes on that north-western side of Bhārata. Sirdar K.M. Panikar writing in his preface to the 'Ṛgvedasaṃhitā' by Poet Vallathol summarises the information available in the Ṛgveda about Āryan culture and says: "When the Āryans first entered India they were rich in cattle. They used to breed goats, dogs, donkeys, and horses. The elephant was unknown to them. In the Vedas the vehicle of Ind a is a horse and not an elephant. When hailing Indra they shout 'come, come on your horse-back'. The Veda does not say anything about how Indra got the elephant, Airāvata, as his vehicle. Sing to the glory of Indra against whom in his chariot driven by two horses no enemy would dare to face.

The Ṛgveda gives great importance to agriculture. Areas under cultivation were called Urvara and 'Kṣetra'. Fields were ploughed by attaching six, eight and even twelve bullocks to the plough. Water was taken from hṛadas and Kulyakas (ponds and tanks) for the purpose of irrigation. Agriculture was a very familiar art to them. They used to cultivate all sorts of grains and grams including yava. They conducted trade by the exchange of goods generally. There is a reference in one place of the use of a coin 'Niṣka'

The Āryas were clever in the art of leather work, woodwork and metallurgy. They were well versed in medicine also. In a sūkta of the ninth maṇḍala it is stated that the father of a ṛṣi was a medical practitioner. There are references to many industries also. Weaving was a very important industry at that time. Cotton cloth and woollen blankets were made by them on a large scale. Iron was used by them with great skill. The manufacture of armours and the descriptions about them in Ṛgveda are ample evidence of the proficiency of the Āryas in ironmongery and blacksmithy. Sea voyage was not familiar to them. References to traders cruising in boats in the Sindhu river do not give much importance to the cruising. In food rice and ghee were important. Meat was also relished. Rṣis wore animal skins but others wore dhotis and shawls.

During the Ṛgvedic times their social structure was divided into four stages: Grāma was a colony of families and was the nucleus of the society. A number of gramas formed into a place called Viṣaya. A number of Viṣayas became what was known as 'Janam'. The importance of Janas can be understood by the statements made about Pañcajanas and the existence of special Janas like Yādava Jana and Bhārata Jana.

There is no wonder why the Āryas who had to live among enemies accepted kingship. The Ṛgveda narrates the difficulties people would have to encounter if they were left to fight their enemies without a proper leader and so advocates Kingship and gives it an exalted position in their social structure. Sūkta 22, Anuvāka 12 of Maṇḍala 10 describes the coronation of a King thus: "I do hereby crown you as King. Come to our midst. Rule us with courage and an unwavering mind. Let all your subjects love you. Let thy kingdom remain with you for ever". The next mantra is also of the same idea. A King is above punishment. The veda speaks about many famous kings of which the following are worth mentioning. Divodāsa, Sudās, Ambarīṣa, Nahuṣa and Purūravas.

The chief priest was always the political advisor also. Viśvāmitra and Vasiṣṭha were two great priests of the Bharata dynasty. There were other priests also. Mention is there about a Rājasabhā though nothing is said about their powers or functions. It can be surmised that the Sabhā was constituted of only men of character and learning.

It is interesting to note the type of domestic life in vogue then. A father had the right, to sell his children, To cite an example is the story of Śunaśśepha who was made into a cow and sold to Viśvāmitra who looked after him well. The father had the right to make his children lose all rights over his properties. Viśvāmitra sent out from his family fifty sons who refused to obey him. Dowry was current then. Sūkta 11, Anuvāka 3, Maṇḍalam 10 ordains that the bride should go to the house of her husband after the marriage. Polygamy was not objected to. There is a mantra to harass the co-wife and its purpose is to make the husband more attached to her who hates the co-wife. The originator of this mantra was Indrāṇī, the queen of Indra. Indra had many wives. Marriage was considered as a necessary duty. Widow marriage was allowed.

The Ṛgveda gives the picture of a society of people who were always at war with each other. "We are surrounded by mighty enemies. Help us". This is the slogan that rings out from the Ṛgveda.

The Ṛgveda is a history of the Āryas. The march from Kubhātaṭa (Kubul) to the banks of Yamunā is depicted there. It was at Kubhātaṭa that the mantras were first made. When they reach the banks of the Gaṅgā the period of Ṛgveda ends. The crossing of each of the five rivers of Pañcanada is treated as a big event by the ṛṣis. When they saw the huge and deep river, Sindhu, they were amazed. The wonder is reflected in a lovely mantra. It was after crossing Sindhu that they had to oppose the 'Dasyus'. The Ṛgveda itself records that the Dasyus were more cultured than the Āryas. Śambara, a Dasyu King, was the ruler of a hundred cities. Their fortresses were strong. They have been described in the Ṛgveda as Aśvamayī, Āyasī and Śatabhujī.

The chief opponents of the Āryas were a tribe of people called Paṇis. From the Nirukta of Yāska we are given to understand that the Paṇis were mainly engaged in trade. The Ṛgveda names many Dasyu kings of which the following few were more daring and brave and the Āryas acknowledged their superior strength and courage: Dhuni, Cumuri, Vipru, Varcis and Śambara. Among the several divisions of the Dasyus, the Śimyus, Kīkaṭas, Śigrus and Yakṣus ranked foremost in power. They are described as having black colour and flat noses and speaking a language different from that of the Āryas. We may surmise from these facts that they belonged to the Drāviḍa class of people. They never conducted yāga nor did they worship gods like Indra. They were idol worshippers for they have been abused as 'Śiśnadevas'. Later the Āryas learnt from the Dasyus the worship of Śiva, Devī and Liṅga.

Conquering these daring and cultured enemies the Āryas reached the banks of the Yamunā to find to their pleasant surprise a radical change in themselves. The Bharatas settled themselves in the land between the Yamunā and Gaṅgā and remained friendly with the Dasyus living to the east of Gaṅgā. The Āryas who settled down in Pañcanada were strong and to prevent them from coming and conquering them Bharata tried to keep them remain on the other side of Śutudri (Sutlej). This led to a war called Dāśarājña.

This war is to be considered as one of the most important of wars in the world. Those who opposed Sudās were Āryas though among the supporters of Sudās were also Āryas. It was the people under Sudās who came out victorious in that war and put a stop to further conquests by the Āryas. From thereafter the Āryas joined hands with the aborigines and laid the foundation for the great Hindu civilization. Thereafter the Ṛgveda states about prayers for help to combat 'our enemies of Āryas and Dasyus'. The gods who were recognised later were those who were not found in the vedas of the Āryas. The worship of Mahāyogī and Devī found in Mohenjodaro is an evidence of this change.