What are Mahajanapadas?


       The ‘Mahajanapadas’ or great states, were the many new states that existed in the 6th century BC in the northern part of India. They came into being when people started settling in one place, in groups. They usually settled in a fertile area, and wanted to defend their land, crops and houses from other people. So, these states had their own armies, and were ruled by kings, or ruling councils.



       The Mahajanapadas were 16 in number. Anga, Kashi, Kosala, Chedi, Vatsa, Matsya, Surasena, Asmaka, Avanti, Gandhar and Magadha were ruled by kings or monarchs. The kings in these states had supreme authority.



       The Mahajanapadas of Vajji, Malla, Kuru, Panchal and Kamboj were republican states, and so were other smaller states like Lichhavi, Shakya, Koliya, Bhagga, and Moriya. These republican states had a ‘Ganaparishad’ or an assembly of senior and responsible citizens. It had the supreme authority in the state. All the administrative decisions were taken by the assembly. Of all these, Kosala, Vatsa, Avanti and Magadha were the most important ones.



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What is the Ashvamedha yagna?


       There were many strange and elaborate rituals and sacrifices in Ancient India. In the later Vedic period, that is, between 1000 and 600 BC, kings performed the Ashvamedha Yagna, or horse sacrifice. It was one of the most important royal rituals of the Vedic religion. Only a king could conduct the Ashvamedha.



       Its purpose was to acquire power and glory, to establish sovereignty over neighbouring provinces, and to ensure general prosperity for a kingdom. A pure white horse was marked with a victory card and allowed to roam about freely. If anyone stopped the horse, the king had to go and defeat him in battle, and bring back the horse. The horse was then sacrificed along with many other animals.



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What are the two great epics of India?


       There will be hardly anyone who has not heard of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata in India. These two great epics are studied in every nook and corner of the country. They were written in Sanskrit, and were then translated into various languages.



       The Ramayana was written by the Sage Valmiki. The Mahabharata was written by Veda Vyasa. The Mahabharata is much more than an epic; it is a magnificent piece of literature, which, for thousands of years, has been a part of India’s culture. A sweeping tale of the feud between two families, it is the mother of all epics. It spans hundreds of years and deals with a wide range of topics. In fact, its introduction says, “What is found here may be found elsewhere. What is not found here will not be found elsewhere.”



       The Ramayana was originally written in the Sanskrit language. Later on, it was translated into other languages in different versions. The main story of the Ramayana is about Lord Rama. Rama was born in a royal family and was supposed to be the king, but because of his step mother, he was exiled from his kingdom for fourteen years. During this period, his wife Sita was kidnapped by a demon called Ravana, who was the king of Lanka. Rama, with the help of his brother, Lakshman, and an army of monkeys under the leadership of Hanuman, rescued Sita. However, the Ramayana is about not only Lord Rama and his attempt to rescue his wife Sita, but also about devotion, loyalty, family roles and respect to elders. These great epics are the backbone of our great Indian tradition and culture. They have a very great influence on Indian heritage. They convey deep-rooted messages, which have had great impact on Indian society. The essence of these epics is Dharma, righteousness, good conduct, fearlessness, duty and dedication.



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Are the Upanishads parts of the Vedas?


       The Upanishads are sometimes called ‘Vedanta’, which means ‘the end of the Vedas.’ They are part of the Vedas, which primarily discuss meditation and philosophy, and are seen as religious instructions by most schools of Hinduism.



       Studying the Upanishads is like sitting down near a spiritual teacher in order to receive instruction. They are not concerned with gods, worship or sacrifice. Instead, they try to explain the world and the cycle of life and death. The Upanishads were written around 600 BC, and are about 200 in number.



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What are the four Vedas and why are they considered sacred?


       In Sanskrit, the word ‘Veda’ means knowledge. The Vedas are the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism. The four main Vedas are the Rig Veda, the Sama Veda, the Yajur Veda and the Atharva Veda. The Rig Veda is a collection of inspired songs or hymns, and is the main source of information on the civilization of that time.



       The Rig Veda is considered the most precious gift that the Aryans have passed on to us. The Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, and Atharva Veda were compiled after the age of the Rig Veda, and are ascribed to the Vedic period. The Sama Veda is purely a collection of melodies. The hymns in the Sama Veda, used as musical notes, were almost completely drawn from the Rig Veda. Musical notes indicated how the verses should be chanted. In effect, it is a shortened and musical version of the Rig Veda.



       The Yajur Veda practically served as a guidebook for the priests. It contains hymns and rituals to be performed while chanting the verses. The Atharva Veda contains magic spells and chants to cure diseases, and ward off danger. If you have fever, or have been bitten by a snake, the Atharva Veda has a chant to cure it! According to Hinduism, the Vedas are of divine origin, and it is believed that all human knowledge is available in the Vedas in symbolic form.



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How was the Aryan society structured?


       Do you know that the caste system in India originated in the Aryan society? The Aryan society was divided into four varnas or castes, which were decided by the occupation one followed. The four varnas were the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and the Shudras. The word ‘varna’ means colour, and in those days, the four castes were supposed to wear different colours.



       The Brahmins wore white, the Kshatriyas wore yellow, the Vaishyas wore red, and the Shudras wore black. The Brahmins were teachers, priests and intellectuals. The Kshatriyas were warriors and administrators. The Vaishyas were farmers, merchants and business people, and the Shudras were artisans and workers. In the early days, a person was not born into a caste. However, with the passing of time, the caste system became more rigid. A person’s caste was decided by birth, and the Brahmins and Kshatriyas began to consider themselves superior to the other two castes. The system of untouchability was one of the evils that originated as a result of the caste system.



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Which is the oldest literary document of India?


       Vedas are not only religious texts but also socio-cultural and literary documents of ancient India. The Rig Veda, the oldest literary document of India, is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns dedicated to the gods.



       The Rig Veda tells the story of Prajapati, the first god who created the world. His mouth, arms, thighs and feet turned into different groups of people. These groups became the different castes. The Rig Veda mentions many different gods, and it is the first written evidence of Hinduism. It refers to some rituals such as marriage and funeral rites, which differ little from those practised today.



       The Rig Veda is also considered the source of much Indian thought. It is believed among the world’s oldest religious texts in continued use.



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Who were the Aryans?


       You may have heard of the Aryans who invaded India thousands of years ago. The Aryans were a tribal and nomadic people who lived far away in Euro-Asia. They were unquestionably a tough people, and were fierce warriors.



       The Aryan culture was oriented around warfare, and they were very good at it. They were superb horsemen and rushed into battle in chariots. The Aryans were ruled over by a war chief, or Rajan.



       Somewhere in the early centuries of the second millennium BC, the Aryans began to migrate southwards in waves of steady conquest across the face of Persia, and the lands of India. There, they would take on the name ‘superior’ or ‘noble’ to distinguish themselves from the people they conquered. Their name is derived from the Indo-European root word, ‘ar’, meaning ‘noble’.



       The Aryans first settled along the Indus River, in the same place where the Harappan people had lived. They settled down, and mixed with the local Indian people. They lived there from about 1500 to 800 BC. It seems to be around this time that the caste system began in India.



       About 800 BC, the Aryans learned how to use iron for weapons and tools. Once the Aryans learned how to use iron, they used their new weapons to conquer more of India, and moved to the south and east into the Ganges river valley. The Aryans are also called Vedic people since they composed some important books that describe the life and religion of those days, known as the Vedas.



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Why are fossils of fish and other marine animals found in the Himalayas?


       Can you imagine that the tall mountains of the Himalayas were once under the ocean? Yes, this amazing fact is true! Millions of years ago, all the continents were joined together to form a giant continent called Pangaea. Gradually, Pangaea split up into two continents, Laurasia and Gondwanaland.



       These two continents were separated by a sea called the Tethys Sea. India, which was on Gondwanaland, later broke away and became an island. The Indian and the Eurasian plates collided with each other 20 to 30 million years ago, and as a result of this collision, the Himalayas started rising up. Since this area was once covered by the Tethys Sea, fossils of fish and other marine animals have been found on the icy cliffs of the Himalayas.



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Why is the Chalcolithic Age known by that name?


       The Chalcolithic Age refers to the period after the New Stone Age. During this time, copper became an important material, along with stone. The Chalcolithic period is also known as the Copper Age. ‘Chalcos’ in Greek means copper.



       Chalcolithic Man relied less on hunting than the Neolithic Man. He focussed more on sheep and goat breeding, and the cultivation of wheat, barley, dates, olives and lentils. Houses during this period were built of sundried mud bricks with roofs made of wood, reeds and mud. Some houses were based on stone foundations, and many were planned around large courtyards.



       The walls of the houses were also used for artistic or ceremonial purposes. In many parts of the country, Chalcolithic cultures existed between 2000 and 1000 BC. Chalcolithic sites have been discovered in Rajasthan, south Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Bengal, central and south India.



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What was the major occupation of the people of Harappa?


      The Harappans were great traders and had a complex system of trade networks that made them very rich. They traded in shell, dried fish, fish grain, and pearls from the coast, as well as copper, tin, turquoise, ivory, precious and semiprecious stones from the hilly areas.



        Of course, grains, animals and wood were produced and traded from the rural areas. The Harappans had networks that extended into Central Asia, Mesopotamia and the Arabian Peninsula. Through trade, the Harappan Civilization expanded its culture, and came into regular contact with faraway lands.



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What led to the decline of the Harappan Civilization?


       Like any civilizations in the world, the Harappan Civilization too had to face decline. Its glory finally diminished between 2000 and 1800 BC. We cannot really pinpoint one single reason.



       Climate changes may have played a role, since the Earth was becoming warmer during this time. The land became drier, and water for the cities ran short. It is also thought that earthquakes or fires may have destroyed many cities. The city of Mohenjo-Daro shows evidence of having been destroyed by fire. Other scholars feel that the population was wiped out by an epidemic or disease.



       It is also likely that the area became too large to be effectively controlled, encouraging attacks by outsiders. In any case, the nomadic Aryans invaded India around 1500 BC, destroying the Indus Valley Civilization, bringing to an end the most brilliant civilization of the ancient world.



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What is the significance of the citadel in the cities of the Indus Valley Civilization?


       Of the many parts of a Harappan city,  the citadel at the centre had a vital role to play. The citadel was the main part of the city, built on a raised platform. It was built of bricks and surrounded by a huge brick wall. The citadel consisted of public buildings, a bath, and granaries and quarters for providing shelter to the persons who taught religion. The remaining parts of the city were spread around the citadel. People went to the citadel for protection when the city was under attack.



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Why is the Indus Valley Civilization said to be the largest ancient civilization?


       Do you know how large the largest civilization of the ancient world was? The Indus Valley Civilization covered an area the size of Western Europe! It spread across over 1.3 million square kilometres of land! It was spread out over what is today Pakistan, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, western Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.



       It has been discovered that the Indus Valley Civilization stretched from Jammu and Kashmir in the north, to the Narmada in the south, and from the Makran coast of Baluchisthan in the west to the River Yamuna in the east.



       Over 1000 sites have been discovered, belonging to the Indus Valley Civilization. Is it any wonder that it was considered the largest of the four ancient civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, India and China?



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What kinds of ornaments did the people of the civilization wear?



Do you like to wear ornaments? It is believed that the people of the Indus Valley Civilization were also fond of dressing up and wearing ornaments. Archaeological discoveries from this period suggest that both men and women wore jewellery. Necklaces, beads and amulets were made from gold, silver and semi-precious stones, including carnelian, turquoise and lapis lazuli.



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