Glimpses of Ancient India

Vedic culture came into existence with nomadic tribes who domesticated large herds of cows. They were moving along the river courses constantly in search of fodder for their animals. Thistle fences were raised around their herds to protect them in the nights from predators. Such cow-pens were known as Gotras. The animals of a family were branded with marks of identification. The tribes were eventually referred with the name of this mark. The mark of the Gotra.

Thus, the Bharadwajas branded their cows with a small bird called Bhardwaj. Those with a ‘dog’ mark were the Shounaks, Shunaka being the dog. Kasyaps likewise selected the tortoise known as Kachhap. The Vedic period had a span of more than fifty to sixty generations. The later tribes had chosen their earliest known progenitor’s name as their Gotra conforming with the established tradition.

The Vedic nomads when they encountered the farming settlers, evolved a composite culture in the northern regions. The interaction changed their living conditions altogether possibly into fourth millenium B.C. if not earlier. The caste division was the foremost by-product, which helped to preserve their initial identities. It was acceptable to both sections for their own reasons. The drudgery of monotonously memorising the Vedas was of little benefit to the farmers and traders, and the Vedic tribes did not like to be traders or cultivators. Caste distinctions were not imposed by orders and regulations from the ruling classes. Codes only record the existing customs already in practice for general guidance.

Extraordinary levels of skill were achieved in a number of crafts and professions, creating a vested interest for people in their own castes. In course of time it became fashionable to adopt this caste division by many other people in different regions, and those who opted to be out of it remained tribals even today, segregating themselves from the main stream of the social structure. Now, in spite of the feeling that caste division is a hindrance, it survives because precept is far removed from practice in India. All Indians seem to know what others should do. Colonial servitude for too long claims its toll. Tradition, as a rule has to die hard indeed!

The Vedic tribes were accustomed to perform sacrifices in fire with the excess products of their animal husbandry. The traders and farmers used to perform ‘Puja’ which is worship of small images of terracotta or wood in their houses. This practice had a tantric origin unrelated to the fire sacrifices known as ‘Yegnas’. In all probability community worship was not a practice of pre Buddhist India. There were no temples of lofty dimensions in the pre Buddhist periods.

Jainism and Buddhism introduced new codes of conduct among their followers. They never claimed separate identity from Hinduism in their long history before the advent of British rule in India. Jains were the foremost vegetarians so far known to history. Vegetarianism was almost impossible during prehistoric times. Again, in all probability, it was Jain merchants who introduced the Brahmi script to India because of their trade contacts with western Asia in the first million B.C. when the historic period began.

The Vedic texts were propagated through arduous memorising, a process without a parallel instance from an other country in the entire world. It is futile to argue that the mention of the word ‘akshara’ in Vedic literature implies the existence of a script. It was a word used to distinguish different sounds toensure correct pronunciation while memorising.

Buddhists used to worship the Stupa, a cylindrical structure which enshrined a corporeal relic of Buddha. Emperor Ashoka collected a substantial portion of the sacred relies of the Lord from seven of the eight stupas, raised immediately after his death and caused the construction of a large number, distributed all over his vast empire. A little later, construction of shrines around the images of Buddha in Buddhist monasteries followed Congregation of a good number for worship began at such shrines. This custom was adopted by other civilians in due course, before the architecture of elaborate dimensions of the temples was perfected. The very early temples of Hindu Gods resemble the Chaitya Grishas of Buddhist Monasteries.

Buddha never claimed a divine origin for his teachings, and was unwilling to talk about divinities. He inducted reason and rationalism into his discourses. The Tarka-Sastra of Hindu philosophy was a post-development of Buddhist teachings; that too with the help of Buddhist teachers in the initial stages.

Community worship is a unifying custom which brings people together. The threat of a war, merciless slaughter with the sword, a common language and religion, unite people for short periods. But, a temple is a place, where people have a chance of forgetting their petty differences and prejudices, particularly when destructive politicians try to generate strife and hatred to ensure their leadership.