Short notes on Political Matters of Vedic Society and Archaeological

Early Vedic society was not entirely egalitarian. Although there was no clear cut division, the warriors or rajanyas who fought the battles naturally assumed more importance than the remaining members of the tribe.

With time, there rose the need for more grazing lands, more and more areas for the settlement of the growing number of people. This led to an increase in inter-tribal and intra-tribal conflicts. To win such wars the tribes propitiated the gods by holding yajnas or ceremonies in which sacrifices were made.

The priests or purohitas who performed such yajnas became more and more important as more and more ceremonies were held to win the ever increasing number of wars. The king and the warriors, without any actual division of the society, came to be regarded as of a superior lineage, higher than the lineage to which the rest of the tribe belonged.

It is difficult to say when these political distinctions became manifest, but there is the Purushasukta hymn in the Book X of the Rigveda eulogising valour and the evidence in the later Vedas of the superior rajanyas assuming the higher status of kshatriyas, a separate Varna by itself.

These devel­opments took place after 1000 BC, but meanwhile there were gradual changes leading to the develop­ment of a complex socio-political structure in the later Vedic phase.

Gana, vidatha, Sabha and samiti are the names of various tribal assemblies mentioned in the Rigveda. The Sabha was perhaps the council of select members of the clan, while the samiti could be the assembly of the entire clan.

Between these two councils were vested the functions of the government and admin­istration as also the task of selecting a king. The rising powers of the warriors or the rajanyas were thus kept in check, apparently preventing thereby the emergence of a dominant political class.

But changes were certainly there which manifested itself in the well defined political hierarchy of the vamashram in the Later Vedic Age. The Early Vedic Age was characterised by its tribal ethos.

In the Later Vedic period, the old tribal assem­blies (of the Rigvedic times) were still extant, but their power was waning rapidly, and by the end of this period the king’s autocracy was limited only by the power of the brahmins, tradition and public opinion.

At places, the old tribal organisations adapted themselves to the changed conditions, and ganas, or tribal republics, like those of the Sakyas and the Lichchavis, survived for many centuries in outlying districts. However, political divisions based on kinship were giving place to those based on geography.

If the popular assemblies had lost power, an­other element in the state was raising in influence- the ratnins or ‘jewel bearers’, the relatives, courtiers and palace officials of the king.

These elements became so important that at the king’s consecration, special sacrifices were performed to ensure their loyalty.

The list of ratnins includes the purohitas, senani, chamberlain, royal charioteer, samgrahitri (the trea­surer), bhagadugha (revenue-collector), etc. Royal pretensions were supported by grand royal sacrifices like Rajasuya, Vajapeya, Asvamedha, etc.

The judicial machinery had crystallised. Death penalty was still absent. The king now lived on taxes, not voluntary tributes. A standing army was still absent, and according to one ritual for success in war, the king had to eat along with his people (Vis) from the same plate.

The king was assisted by a few functionaries of which purohita were the most important. The next important functionary seems to have been the senani

(General); who was responsible under the king for minor campaigns and cattle raids against neighboring tribes. There was no regular or standing army; in times of war the king mustered a militia whose military functions were performed by different tribal groups like vrata, gana, grama, sardha.

The Early Vedic society looked on the king primarily as a leader in war, responsible for the defence of the tribe. He was in no sense divine at this early period, and had no religious functions, except to order sacrifices for the good of the tribe and to support the priests who performed them.

The priest-king of some other early cultures had no counterpart here. There was no regular revenue system and the king was maintained by the voluntary tribute (bah) of his subjects and the booty won in battle.

There is no reference to the judicial functions of the king. There were cases of theft and burglary, especially theft of cows. Spies were probably em­ployed to check them.

The officer who enjoyed authority over the pasture ground was called vrajapati. He led the heads of the families (kulapas), or the heads of the fighting hordes (gramanis), to battle.

In the beginning, the gramani was just the head of a small tribal fighting unit, but when the unit settled, the gramani became the head of the village, and later became identified with the vrajapati.