The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c6: Chapter II. The Age of the Rigveda (Books I—IX)

The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c6

Language: English

Chapter II. The Age of the Rigveda (Books I—IX)

The Rigveda is the oldest document and the first of the four Vedas of the Hindus. It has well been said that it "is not a book, but a library and a literature."¹ The date and order of its ten Maṇḍalas or books and of the 1,028 hymns which they comprise, cannot be determined with any approach to certitude. Attempts have been made, notably by Arnold,² to fix their order of composition but the conclusions have been challenged by other scholars.³ The general consensus of opinion is represented by Keith when he remarks that the nucleus of the Rigveda is formed by Books II—VII, each of which is attributed to a different priestly family.⁴ To this were prefixed the groups of hymns by other families which constitute the second part (51—191) of Book I. Later, the first part (1—50) of Book I and Book VIII which is attributed to the family of Kaṇva were added. When Soma hymns were taken out and put together there came into being Book IX.⁵ The tenth Maṇḍala is considerably later. Its metre, language and ideas are conclusive on the point. It is impossible to dogmatise on the chronological limits of the various sections. Max Müller placed the earlier and more primitive Vedic hymns between 1200 and 1000 B.C. and the later ones between 1000 and 800 B.C.¹ Attempts have been made to fix higher dates on the basis of astronomical calculations and other grounds.² The recent discovery of the Mitannian Inscriptions of about 1400 B.C. at Boghazkiöi was seized upon as solid evidence for assigning a higher antiquity to the Rigveda, but the discussion which followed left the problem practically where it stood.³ For the present 1200—1000 B.C. is the safest date for the first nine Maṇḍalas of the Rigveda.⁴ The scene of the hymns has been held to lie in the valley of the Indus and its tributaries. Some, indeed, might have been composed before the Āryans came to India from whatever their original home might have been. A few others, again, might have come into being after the Āryans had moved a little further east. But the vast majority of them undoubtedly belong to the Puñjâb.⁵ The language of the hymns is a highly artificial one and, as many scholars think, could not have been the ordinary tongue of the mass of the people. It is probably the idiom, primarily, of the priests and, secondarily, of the rest of the upper class. The whole of Vedic literature, in fact, is primarily and essentially priestly literature. Its concepts and sentiments are to be judged as primarily those of priests and it has to be remembered that practices are reflected through a priestly medium.

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¹ Arnold, Vedic Metre, p. ix.

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² Vedic Metre, p. 49, gives a scheme summarising the results arrived at.

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³ See J.R.A.S., 1906, pp. 484—90, 716—22 ; Ibid., 1912, pp. 726—29.

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⁴ The families are those of Gṛitsamada, Viśvāmitra, Vāmadeva, Atri, Bharadvāja and Vasiṣṭha.

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⁵ Keith, Cambridge History of India, I, p. 77.

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¹ Max Müller, Rigveda Saṁhitâ, Vol. IV, pp. vii et seq.

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² For instance, Jacobi, Ind. Ant., XXIII, pp. 154 et seq. See also Thibaut, Ind. Ant., XXIV, p. 85, also p. 361.

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³ J.R.A.S., 1909, Jacobi, pp. 721 et seq.; Oldenberg, pp. 1095 et seq.; Keith, pp. 1110 et seq.; Ibid., 1910, Jacobi, pp. 456 et. seq.; Keith, pp. 464 et seq.; Oldenberg, pp. 864 et seq.

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⁴ Max Müller, Prefaces to the Rigveda Saṁhitâ; Macdonell, History of Sanskrit Literature, pp. 40—48.

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⁵ On the Geography of the Rigveda, see Macdonell, op. cit., pp. 139—145.

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R i g v e d i c Organisation.

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A long course of development lies behind the social institutions reflected in the hymns of the Ṛigveda. On the whole, Vedic society is patriarchal, but kinship, real or fancied, is no longer the only bond which holds men together. The nomadic stage is over and the bond of territory or neighbourhood is plainly in evidence. A third line of organisation is emerging into view. Scholars have long been divided in their opinion on the presence of caste in the first nine Maṇḍalas of the Ṛigveda,¹ but the weight of cumulative evidence lies on the side of those who hold that the institution is taking shape in the early hymns. In a hymn of the fourth Maṇḍala, the god Agni is referred to as possessing the Kṣatriya quality of strength.² A hymn of the seventh Maṇḍala invokes the gods Mitra and Varuṇa as Kṣatriyas.³ Another hymn in the fourth Maṇḍala⁴ and another in the fifth⁵ refer to the Kṣatriya order. In the hymns which belong to the slightly later groups, the references are clearer. A hymn in the second-half of the first Maṇḍala has the following in the course of a glorification of the Dawn:—

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¹ For instance, Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, pp. 185 - 203 (summarised in Vedic Index, II, pp. 248-49), holds that the Vedic Indians on the Indus were unbrahmanized. He connects “the change from the casteless system of the Ṛigveda to the elaborate system of the Yajurveda with the advance of the Vedic Indians to the east.”

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² Ṛigveda, IV, 12, 3.

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³ Ibid., VII, 64, 2.

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⁴ Ibid., IV, 42, 1.

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⁵ Ibid., V, 69, 1.

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“One to high sway, one to exalted glory, one to pursue his gain, and one his labour :
“All to regard their different avocations, all moving creatures hath the Dawn awakened.”⁶

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⁶ Ibid., I, 113, 6; Vedio Index, II, 250.

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In the first-half of the same Maṇḍala reference is made to Varuṇa’s Kṣatra rule or dominion.⁷ In the eighth Maṇḍala divine blessings are invoked successively on the men of prayers, the warriors and the people.¹ In several hymns one detects priests receiving Dakṣiṇā or priestly fee.² All through the Rigveda the distinction between Āryans and non-Āryans, Dāsas or Dasyus, is clear and fundamental. Thus, even in Books I—VII, and yet more clearly in Books I—VIII as a whole, the elements of caste are present. Caste has not yet acquired the rigidity which characterised it in later times. In the ninth Maṇḍala, for instance, a Ṛiṣi remarks that he is a composer of hymns, his father a physician, and his mother a grinder of corn; they are all engaged in different occupations.³ But whatever its laxity or fluidity, the institution of caste is there, probably in its initial stages.

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⁷ Ṛigveda, I, 25, 10.

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¹ Ibid., VIII, 35, 16—18.

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² Ibid., VI, 27, 8; I, 168, 7; VIII, 24, 29; VIII, 39, 5.

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³ Ibid., IX, 112, 3. See also I, 113, 6.

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It is not easy to account for the rise and growth of caste. Senart argued with great force that the Āryan practices of endogamy and exogamy were primarily responsible for the development.⁴ This, however, can be only part of the explanation. The term Varṇa or colour which denotes caste has rightly been held to supply a further clue. The history of the relations between the whites and the blacks in South Africa and the southern states of the American Union offers an illustration. In ancient India the natural difference of complexion might not have been so great, colour-feeling might not have been so strong and the gulf between the fair and dark races might not have been so wide. But distinctions of colour, emphasised by divergences of civilisation and, for a while by a life-and-death struggle for the possession of land and cattle, would be enough to create an almost permanent line

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⁴ Senart, Les Castes dans l'Inde.

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of division. Ever and anon we meet with references to Kṛṣṇatvac or black skin.¹ Elsewhere, Indra destroys the godless army of Kṛṣṇa or black.² Expressions of contempt, hatred and hostility towards the Dasyus or aborigines and prayers for their destruction are interspersed throughout the Ṛigveda. For instance, Indra is invoked to be cognisant of the hymns of Ṛiṣis, to cast his weapon against the Dasyu and increase the vigour and fame of the Ārya.³ In the fourth Maṇḍala, the wily and impious Dasyu is to be destroyed and his wealth bestowed on Kutsa.⁴ Indra does destroy large numbers of them.⁵ Indra has made the Dasyus devoid of all virtues and an object of hatred to all men.⁶ "O Aśvins! destroy those who are yelling hideously like dogs and coming to destroy us! Slay those who wish to fight with us."⁷

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¹ Rigveda, I, 130, 8; IX, 41, 1.

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² Ibid., VIII, 96, 13–15.

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³ Ibid., I, 103, 3.

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⁴ Ibid., IV, 16, 9–10.

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⁵ Ibid., IV, 30, 15.

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⁶ Ibid., IV, 28, 4. See also V, 70, 3; VI, 18, 3; V, 25, 2.

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⁷ Ibid., I, 182, 4.

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These aborigines, however, do not seem to have been savages. Not to speak of their capacity to offer tough, stout resistance to the Āryan advance, there are references to their wealth,⁸ and their forts.⁹ When they had been subjugated and brought under Āryan sway, it was inevitable that, in spite of all the strength of colour-feeling, there should ensue some mixture of blood. The phenomenon would before long arouse anxious thoughts and an attempt would be made to stop the process. Stringent prohibitions against the intermarriage and interdining with the aborigines would be laid down. So the foundation of caste would be laid. Racial mixture, however, would be likely to go on in a legitimate or illegitimate manner and mixed castes would be produced. Meanwhile, the natural process of social specialisation and division of labour would cut the Āryan body itself into sections. It cannot be emphasised too strongly that the whole atmosphere of the Rigveda is charged with militarism. The principal gods of the Rigveda are great warriors. Indra, the greatest of gods, is the greatest of warriors, slaying and destroying hundreds at a blow. Even references to natural phenomena are clothed in militaristic phraseology. From beginning to end one meets with wars between Āryans and non-Āryans and among Āryans themselves. The dāśarājya-yuddha, the battle of Sudās against the ten kings, which fills so many hymns, is perhaps a fair illustration of the prevalent state of things. Society had to organise itself for war. We see the people as such engaged in warfare,¹ but as among the early Germans, there would grow up an order of warriors, a body of men who were constantly ready for the field and who would be the nucleus for the rest of the combatants. The hereditary tendency, so marked in all early society, would convert the order into a class. The Hindu tendency of running an idea to the extreme would convert the class into a caste. The requirements of religion would similarly lead to the development of a priestly caste. While all Āryans should pray and worship the gods, not many could make it the business of their life. Only a few could compose hymns of adoration and devotion and master the technique of sacrifices and ceremonies which were gaining in complexity with the lapse of time. A perusal of the Rigveda leaves no doubt that the Āryans of that age had a keener zest of life than their descendants manifested ever afterwards.

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⁸ E.g., Ibid., IV, 16, 9–10; I, 176, 4; IV, 30, 18; VIII, 40, 6.

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⁹ Ibid., III, 12, 6. "Indra and Agni have cast down the ninety forts which Dāsas held, together with one mighty deed."

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¹ Ibid., I, 69, 3; IV, 24, 4; VI, 26, 1; VII, 79, 2; VIII, 96, 15; I, 126, 5; VI, 26, 1.

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But they have already begun to get anxious about the Unknown Beyond and, on the whole, the religious vein among them is stronger than among the ancient Greeks and Romans. Their spiritual life lent itself readily to priestcraft which gave rise to a sacerdotal order. Once again, under the operation of the hereditary tendency and the logical tendency, the order would crystallise into a caste. The formation of the Brâhmaṇa and Kṣatriya castes—the priests and warriors—would leave viś or people at large as one huge caste. With the Śūdras representing a good deal of the aboriginal or mixed element already marked out, the fourfold division would be complete. It may be added that slavery was known to vedic society both in the period represented by Books II—VII and the slightly later one represented by Book VIII.¹ Beyond the pale of caste, there might still remain large aboriginal tribes or groups.

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¹ Ibid., VII, 86, 7; VIII, 56, 3.

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Divisions and Restrictions. As society grew more complex and economic development led to further sub-division of labour, the four castes, particularly the last two, would split into numerous sub-castes. The effect of permanent settlement in different regions which could not easily communicate with one another would be further to sub-divide castes on the basis of locality. But this process does not seem to have gone to any considerable length in the age of the Rigveda. Nor is inter-marriage among the three higher castes barred or hedged round with such restrictions as appear in the Dharma Sūtras, not to speak of the Dharma Śāstras, of later ages.²

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² On the whole subject of the development of caste, see Vedic Index, II, 247—71, and the authorities cited there.

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Tribes. The political organisation reflected in Books II—VII is the same as in Books I, VIII and IX. All the nine Maṇḍalas can, therefore, be utilised together. The Âryans of the Rigveda are divided into a number of tribes. The ‘Five Tribes,’ frequently spoken of, seem to be the Purus, Turvaśas, Yadus, Anus, and Druhyus.¹ Besides them there are others such as the Bharatas, Gandhâris, Uśinaras. Some scholars have worked out a gradation of Vedic society. The Grâma or village, perhaps originally the horde, consisted principally of the branches of a family living together. A number of Grâmas formed a viś or canton; lastly, a number of cantons made up a Jana or people. But as Keith has pointed out, these terms are used with distressing vagueness in the Rigveda, that, for instance, the Bharatas can be called at one time a Jana and at another time a Grâma, and that the evidence for the subordination of the Grâma to the Viś is totally wanting.² The term viś often means merely a settlement.³ In the plural it seems to denote subjects.⁴ Nowhere has Viśpati the technical sense of "lord of a canton," viś could not be a normal unit of government.⁵ So we are left with the Jana and Grâma as possible political organisations. Grâma means a collection, a horde, and it is possible that the term originally referred to the wandering tribe or clan. The derivative grâmaṇi, leader of a grâma, might at first have referred to the leader of the moving group. When the horde settled down, grâma would naturally mean the settled horde. It might be applied to a whole tribe. But in course of time the term seems to have been restricted to the smaller settlement, the unit of society, viz., the village. This seems to be the most likely explanation of the ambiguity of the grâma. In any case, references to the grâma as a unit of habitation are numerous. For instance, in a hymn of the second section of the first Maṇḍala Rudra is propitiated in order that all in the grâma may be well-nourished and exempt from disease.¹ In a hymn of the first section of the same Maṇḍala, Agni is invoked as the protector of the people of grâmas.² Even if the significance of grâma be doubtful in the Ṛigveda, it is more than probable that an agricultural people would be divided into villages.

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¹ On their geographical distribution, Macdonell, op. cit., pp. 154–56.

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² Keith, Cambridge History of India, I, p. 91.

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³ Rigveda, IV, 37, 1; V, 3, 5; VI, 48, 8; VII, 61, 3; VII, 70, 3.

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⁴ Ibid., VI, 8, 4.

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⁵ Keith, op. cit., p. 91.

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¹ Ṛigveda, I, 114, 1.

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² Ibid., I, 44, 10.

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The Jana once settled on a more or less definite piece of territory, probably including a number of villages, formed a small kingdom. It was headed by a Râjan, a king or a chief, normally hereditary.³ It is just the arrangement which the prevalence of warfare and the totality of social circumstances would, *a priori*, lead one to expect. In a later work of Vedic literature, the Aitareya Brâhmaṇa, one of the true causes of the rise of the kingship seems to have been grasped. "The Devas and the Asuras were fighting...........The Asuras defeated the Devas. ....... ...The Devas said, 'It is on account of our having no chief (arâjatayâ) that the Asuras defeat us. Let us create a Râjan (râjânam karavâmahe).' All agreed."⁴ Similarly, the Taittiriya Brâhmaṇa records that "the Devas and Asuras joined in battle. Then Prajâpati concealed his eldest son Indra, lest he should be killed by the mighty Asuras. Prahlâda, the son of Kayadhu, likewise concealed his son Virocana, lest he should be killed by the Devas. The Devas went to Prajâpati and said, 'there can possibly be no battle for a state having no king.' Then they courted Indra to be their king with sacrifices."'⁵ It is hardly necessary to remark that what the gods or demons are supposed to do is only a reflection of what men actually do or are believed to have done. It is possible that the Aitareya passage or rather its original, whatever it might have been, enshrines a tradition that the Āryans had at first no regular military chiefs, that their enemies had such leaders, and that the example of the latter was followed by the former as a matter of expediency and necessity. Such a tradition might have been based partly on facts but there is no means of being perfectly sure of it.¹ All that can be reasonably inferred is that warfare which demands leadership and some concentration of authority, tended somehow to originate or strengthen the chiefship.

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³ Keith, Cambridge History of India, I, p. 94.

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⁴ Aitareya Brâhmaṇa. I, 14.

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⁵ Taittiriya Brâhmaṇa, I, 5, 9.

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¹ On the basis of a passage in the Ṛigveda, Zimmer held that in some states there was no king in times of peace but his interpretation has been questioned (Vedic Index, II, p. 216).

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The Rājan is well-established in the Ṛigveda and his character can be inferred from a number of hymns. He is the ‘guardian of the people,’ their ‘ruler.’² The gods Mitra and Varuṇa are invoked to keep the splendour of dominion, guarding the dominion that lasts for ever.³ Again, they are kings, guards of mighty, everlasting order.⁴ The authority of the king is binding. A hymn in the first Maṇḍala refers to Agni as claiming obedience like a king.⁵ “I am the royal ruler,” says Varuṇa, “mine is empire, as mine who sway all life are all the immortals. Varuṇa’s will the gods obey and follow. I am the king over folk of sphere sublimest.”⁶ There, again, Trasadasyu, chief of the Purus, claims divinity for himself. “……The Gods associate me with the acts of Varuṇa:… …I am the king Varuṇa; on me (the gods) bestow those principal energies (that are) destructive of the Asuras;……I am Indra, I am Varuṇa, I am those two in greatness……”⁷ Obedience seems sometimes to be forced.¹ On the other hand, a hymn in the fourth Maṇḍala refers to a Râjan who dwells in peace and comfort in his own house, to whom holy food flows richly and to whom the people freely pay homage.² The rule of a king is expected to be beneficent to the people. A king is seen bestowing favours on those worthy of them.³ When the resplendent Agni is invoked as the protector of the people in grâmas, one detects an analogy with the function laid upon a king.⁴ Elsewhere, however, the king is spoken of as the master of the riches of his own subjects and of hostile people. The king was expected to lead in war. A hymn addressed to Soma Pavamâna refers to him as sitting like a king above the hosts.⁵ The king is sometimes described as purâm bhettâ, the sacker of forts or such earthworks as were thrown up at the time.⁶ The god Indra, doubtless after the earthly ideal, goes intrepidly from fight to fight, destroying castle after castle, with his strength.⁷ Agni is to win all the forts and treasures.⁸

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² Rigveda, III, 43.

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³ Ibid., V, 69, 1.

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⁴ Ibid., VII, 64, 2; VIII, 56, 1.

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⁵ Ibid., I, 67, 1.

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⁶ Ibid., IV, 42, 1.

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⁷ Ibid., IV, 42.

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¹ Ibid., VII, 6, 5; IX, 7, 5. ² Ibid., IV, 50, 8. ³ Ibid., I, 67, 1. ⁴ Ibid., I, 44, 10. ⁵ Ibid., IX, 7, 4. ⁶ Vedic Index, II, p. 212. ⁷ Ṛigveda, I, 53, 7. See also VII, 18. ⁸ Ibid., III, 15, 4. See also IV, 27, 1. ⁹ Ibid., II, 41, 5. ¹⁰ Ibid., VII, 88, 5.

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Even in the earliest hymns of the Ṛigveda, the king is surrounded by pomp and majesty. A hymn in the second Maṇḍala refers to Mitra and Varuṇa as kings and pictures them seated in their supremest home, the thousand-pillared, firmly based.⁹ Again, in the seventh Maṇḍala, “O Varuṇa, thou glorious lord, I entered thy lofty home, thine house with thousand portals.”¹⁰ It appears that the king lived in a mansion as splendid as the arts of the times could rear. In the slightly later collections of hymns, Râjans are spoken

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The king’s pomp and majesty.

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of as like gold to look upon.¹ They are too terrible to behold.² Presumably, they wore shining apparel.

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¹ Ibid., VIII, 6, 38.

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² Ibid., I, 85, 8.

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The administration was expected to conform to law or custom. "Varuṇa true to holy law, sits down among his people; he, most wise, sits there to govern all."³ Elsewhere in the course of a hymn to Mitra and Varuṇa, the laws of kings are spoken of as standing firm.⁴ The idea of order as dwelling among men has emerged.⁵ "Strong is the thought of Ṛita (law or truth), the behest of Ṛita."⁶ In the task of administration, the king seems to have been assisted by a number of men. The gods Mitra and Varuṇa are spoken of as having set their warders "who visit every spot and watch unceasing." They keep guard over fields and plants; they find out those bent on evil.⁷ Spies are often mentioned in the hymns. They seem to have been more than detectives; they partook of the character of agents general. Varuṇa's spies are pictured as seated round about.⁸ Elsewhere they are "ever true and never bewildered."⁹ Sent on their errand, they "survey the two world-halves well-formed and fashioned. Wise are they, holy, skilled in sacrifices, the furtherers of the praise-songs of the prudent."¹⁰ Agni is implored to send forward his spies.¹¹ It is possible to distinguish only two officers specifically in the entourage of the king. The Senānī, 'leader of an army,' seems to have been a military commander appointed by the king.¹²

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³ Ibid., I, 25, 10.

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⁴ Ibid., VIII, 24, 8.

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⁵ Ibid., IV, 40; V, 8.

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⁶ Ibid., I, 68. Cf. I, 152, 1; V, 44, 2; VII, 60, 13.

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⁷ Ibid., VII, 61, 3.

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⁸ Ibid., I, 25, 3.

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⁹ Ibid., VI, 67, 5.

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¹⁰ Ibid., VII, 67, 3.

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¹¹ Ibid., IV, 4, 3.

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¹² Ibid., VII, 20, 5; IX, 96, 1. Macdonell and Keith hold that the senānī "was appointed by the king, not by the people, to command in war when the king became too important to lead every little fray in person." Vedic Index, II, p. 472.

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The grāmaṇi, leader of a grāma, seems to have been a village officer, presumably exercising both civil and military functions.¹ In the scheme of government, the Purohita or the priest occupied a position second to none in weight and dignity. “The Vedic Purohita,” as Keith puts it, “was the forerunner of the Brāhmaṇa statesmen.....there is no reason to doubt that a Viśvāmitra or a Vasiṣṭha was a most important element of the government of the early Vedic realm.”² In the first line of the first hymn of the Ṛgveda, Agni appears as the high priest.³ In a later hymn he is the great priest in sacrifices, as he is “our help in battle-strife.”⁴ Brahmanaspati is also called great high priest.⁵ Priestly sacrifices are reckoned helpful to victory.⁶ Besides, throughout the Ṛgveda the priests are the rain-makers and therefore command reverence and devotion. Brāhmaṇas as a class must be well-favoured. “The Gods uphold that king with their protection who helps the Brāhmaṇa when he seeks his protection.”⁷ It was partly as an informal representative of this mighty order that the purohita took his place beside the king. It seems that a king had only one purohita at a time. Purohitas sometimes accompanied kings to battlefields and even took a share in the fighting.⁸ On the whole, a purohita may be regarded as an influential advisor who sometimes became the companion of the king.

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¹ Vedic Index, I, p. 247. The Grāmaṇi seems to be identical with the Vrajapati mentioned elsewhere.

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² Cambridge History of India, Vol. I, p. 95.

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³ Ṛgveda, I, 1, 1.

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⁴ Ibid., I, 44, 10. See also III, 2, 8.

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⁵ Ibid., II, 24, 9.

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⁶ Ibid., VII, 18, 13.

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⁷ Ibid., IV, 50, 8-9.

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⁸ Vedic Index, II, 5-8, 263. For Viśvāmitra, Ṛgveda, III, 33, 58; for Vasiṣṭha, VII, 18, 83. For other references, V, II, 2; VI, 70, 4.

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The expenses of the administration seem to have been met by some sort of contribution from the people, particularly the rich folk. In the second section of the first Maṇḍala, Agni is once referred to as eating the woods like a king eating the rich.¹ One finds no trace of revenue officers in the Ṛigveda, perhaps from the nature of the document. It is probable that the king held a considerable area of land as crown-land but nothing can be definitely proved.

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¹ Ṛigveda, I, 65, 4.

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The subject of justice is equally obscure. Nowhere does the king appear as definitely exercising civil or criminal jurisdiction. The expression Śatadâya² seems to mean one whose wergild was a hundred cows. It is probable that the system of wergild which is imbedded in the later Dharma Sûtras prevailed in Vedic society. For the rest justice might have been an affair of the family, the clan, and, lastly, the tribal assembly.

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² Ibid., II, 32, 4.

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That there was an assembly, Sabhâ or Samiti, is beyond doubt. But nothing can be gleaned about its composition. It might have been supposed to consist of all the free Âryas or of the higher classes alone. Nor are its functions any clearer. The king certainly attended it. But Zimmer’s view that he was elected by the assembly is untenable; at any rate, it finds no proof in the Ṛigveda. It is likely that, as Geldner argued, the king was merely accepted by the assembled tribesmen. For the rest, it is “ reasonable to assume that the business of the assembly was general deliberation on policy of all kinds, legislation so far as the Vedic Indian cared to legislate and judicial work.”³ Vidatha is another perplexing term which occurs several times in the Ṛigveda. It has been variously interpreted as an ‘order,’ a secular or religious assembly, a gathering for war, or even abstract ideas like knowledge, wisdom, priestly lore, sacrifice or spiritual authority. Bloomfield holds that it means primarily the ‘house’ and, secondarily, the sacrifice connected with the house. From the context in which the term occurs, it is not possible to glean anything about institutions.¹

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³ On the Sabhâ and Samiti, Vedic Index, II, 426-27, 430-31. Ludwig holds that the Samiti included all the people, while the Sabhâ was the special assembly of Maghavans and Brâhmaṇas. Zimmer

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¹ Vedic Index, II, 296-97. See the authorities and references cited there.

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Leaving the doubtful Vidatha out of account, the fact remains that there was a popular element in the polity of the Ṛigveda. There are, however, also some indications of a tendency which can only be called feudal. There are passages in which the term Râjan which usually denotes a king is employed in the sense of a noble. Thus we read, “He amplifies his lordly might, with Râjans he slays, even mid alarms he dwells secure. In greater or less fight none checks him, none subdues,—the wielder of the thunderbolt ”² In the Ṛigveda the term Râjanya denotes both the royal and noble families. It will appear that a king was often surrounded by a number of nobles perhaps drawn from the same class, perhaps only claiming a similar social status. At the same time there occurs the expression Samrâj several times in the Ṛigveda.³ It means great or supreme king and implies some difference from the ordinary

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² Ṛigveda, I, 40, 8. See also I, 108, 7.

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³ For the references, Vedic Index, II, 433.

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A feudal tendency.

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believes that the Sabhâ was the village assembly. The authors of the Vedic Index agree with Hillebrandt in thinking that “Samiti and Sabhâ are much the same, the one being the assembly, the other primarily the place of assembly.” The Atharvaveda, VII, 12, 1, calls the Sabhâ and Samiti “the two daughters of Prajâpati,” and thus distinguishes between them. But apart from the fact that the passage is later than the bulk of the Ṛigveda, it carries us no further.

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king. It may signify either an increase in power or a status of suzerainty. The latter hypothesis is not barred by the absence of large kingdoms. As the sequel will show, the Hindu political system permitted the establishment of the relationships of suzerainty and vassalage even within a comparatively small area. Beyond this it is impossible to go for the age of the Rigveda. Sometimes the tribes contracted alliances among themselves. For instance, several of them fought against Sudās but such alliances were not federations.

Linked texts (4)

Ṛgvedasaṃhitā — Sanskrit
Taittirīyabrāhmaṇa — Sanskrit
Aitareyabrāhmaṇa — Mahidāsa Aitareya, Sanskrit
Atharvavedasaṃhitā — Atharvan & Aṅgiras, Sanskrit