In a first of its kind, this book attempts a comprehensive account of the old Vedic society with particular focus on the physical conditions of life during the Bronze Age in north western South Asia. Based primarily on textual evidence, the narrative relates wherever necessary to the known archaeological information from the area.
With territorial kingdoms, walled urban places, specialized production of craft goods, large scale trade by land and sea, a broad spectrum service sector and a high end surplus producing peasant economy supporting all of these situates the Aryan discourse on an entirely different platform. The book shows that the Aryans of the Rigveda with diverse forms of speech, physical features and funerary behaviour were far from the monolithic concept of a single people and a single culture.
Hopefully, the book will help readers to escape the broad misinformation long circulating in history texts for schools, general readers and specialists. Extensive citations are also intended to enable interested readers to access the text on their own and ascertain for themselves what is true and what is false.
Preface
Introduction
1. The Nature of the State The Political Spectrum
Political Terminology
The King and his Palace
The King and his Territory
Horses, Chariots and Territorial Conquests The King and the People
2. The Form of Government
Role of Corporate Bodies: Vidatha, Sabhā, Samiti
The Rituals of Empowerment The Aśvamedha Sacrifice
The Incipient Rājasūya
3. The City and the Citadel
Vedic Gods and Walled Settlements
Harappan Citadels and the `Rgveda
Defensive Architecture
Construction Material
Grid Plan
Multi-pillared
Numerous Gateways
Fort as a Resource Centre
4. Merchants and Moneylenders
Routes and Merchandise of the Bronze Age
Commodity Exchange of the Middle Bronze Age
Business Terminology
Professional Traders: Va`nik and Pa`ni
Private Bankers
5. Cruising the Blue Water
Rivers and the Sea
Cloud Formation and the Water Cycle
Vedic Gods and the High Seas
Tidal Waves, Monsoon Winds and Gulfs
Marine Fires
Resources of the Deep Sea
Seafaring Crafts
Shipwreck and Rescue Operations
Pirates and Loss of Direction
Merchants, Crew Members and Escorts
Nature of the Cargo
River-borne Sea Trade
Sea-borne Wealth and Fame
6. Caravans on Dusty Tracks
Hazards of the Land Route
Trade in Gem Stones
Trade in Livestock
Donkeys and Camels
Trade in Textiles
Gold, Gold-like Objects and Other Merchandise
From Priest to King
7. Crafts and Craft-working
Metals and Metal-working
Functional Objects
Ayas—Copper or Just Metal?
The Smelter (Dhmātā) and the Smith (Kārmār, Karmār)
Wood-working and Carpenters (Tak_sā)
Functional Objects: Pots, Shafts, Carts, Boats
Agricultural Tools
Weavers (Vāsovāya, Vayanti) and Weaving
Leather Workers (Carmamnā) and Leather Working
8. The Story of the Cow-tale
The Chorus of Nomadism
Meaning of Go
Buffalo or Mahişa
Permanent Dwellings
9. Peasants and Plough Lands
Gods and Peasant Activities
Some Crucial Expressions
K_setrapati: The God of Plough Lands
Terms for Plough Lands
The Acquisition of Plough Lands
Fights for Acquisition
Resource Crunch, Famines and Starvation Deaths
Irrigation: Need of the Hour Peasants at Work
Importance of Food Crops
Private Farms and Social Differentiation
10. Crops and Consumption
Cereal Dishes: Meals and Oblations
Puro_lāśa, Dhānā, Apūpa, Saktu
Non-cereal Food
Summer and Winter Crops
Plough Lands: K_setra and Urvarā
11. Drainage and Discord
Rains and Irrigation
River Action: Drainage and Soil Fertility
Overground and Underground Drainage
Lift Irrigation: Pulley and Suction
Drought and Discord
12. Language and Ethnicity
The Harappan Sign System
Variant Physical Types
The Linguistic Scenario
Primary Prākŗts, Vernacular Vedic and the Mantra Dialect
Dravidian and Indo-Āryan
Elamite, Vedic and Old Persian
13. Ethnicity and Afterlife
Funerary Behaviour in the `Rgveda
Shifting Cremation Sites
Post-exposure Disposals
Full-burials
Grave Goods
South as the Domain of Death
The Archaeological Record
Kalibangan
Harappa
Cemetery H
Surkotada
Birds and Animals in the Afterlife
Bibliography
Index
Biography
R.N. Nandi is a former Professor of History at Patna University. His publications include State Formation, Agrarian Growth and Social Change in Feudal South India, ad 600-1200 (2000); Aryans Revisited (2001); Ideology and Environment: Situating the Origin of Vedic Culture (2009).
