It was generally believed that the Rigvedic people practiced trade and commerce on a large scale. Even B. B. Lai has recently put forward a view that the Rigvedic Aryans obtained tremendous wealth from the sea-commerce. However, R. S. Sharma has shown that there is no reference to ‘tremendous’ wealth acquired form ‘sea-trade’.

On the basis of most of the references to the sea in the Rigveda, R. N. Nandi speaks of ‘peddling of goods’, but, according to R. S. Sharma, sea-trade cannot be inferred from these references.

The term vanijya or commerce came to be used in later times. The terms such as vasna and sulka, which denote ‘price’ or ‘value’ in the Rigveda, are used not in connection with merchandise or goods but human beings and gods who are modelled after human beings.

The exchange of commodities on the principle of barter seems to have been in vogue. However, no merchants or intermediaries had any role to play. Neither do we have evidence of slaves, wage earners or hired labourers engaged in production.

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Sometimes the Panis, who are described in the Rigveda as rich, selfish, “of hostile speech” and greedy, are taken to have been “merchants par excellence”, who practiced usury (A. D. Pusalkar). This view however, does not find favour.