Religious and Philosophical Ideas in the Vedic Period

Read this article to learn about the religious and philosophical ideas in the Vedic Period!

Rig-Veda Period:

The Aryans were deeply impressed by the great phenomena of nature which they conceived as alive and usually represented in anthropomorphic form.

They believed in a complex and varied host of gods who were 33 in number.

According to much later tradition they were classified under terrestrial (prithvisthana), atmospheric (antarikshasthana or madhyamasthana) and celestial (dyusthana). Prithvi, Agni, Soma, Brihaspati and the rivers belong to the first order. Indra, Rudra, Vayu, Vata, Parajanya and Matarisvan belong to the second order and Dyaus, Surya, Pushan, Vishnu, Mitra the Adityas, Ushas and Asvins to the third order.

This division is overlapping and not clear-cut as Prithvi and Agni are assigned to all the three spheres; Ushas to the terrestrial as well as the aerial spheres and Varuna, Yama and Savitri to the aerial as well as the celestial spheres.

Later on abstract deities like Dhatr (establisher), Vidhatr (Ordainer), Prajapati (Lord of Creatures), Sraddha (Faith) and Manyu (Wrath) made their appearance. The Vedic Aryans, thus, worshipped a host of gods; but each in turn was worshipped as the highest god (Henotheism orKathenostheism).

Important Rig-vedic Gods:

Indra:

The most important divinity in the Rig-Veda, he is called Purandara (breaker of forts), Vritraham (slayer of demon Vritra) and Maghavan (bounteous). 250 Rig Vedic hymns are devoted to him. He plays the role of the warlord and is also considered to be the rain god.

Agni:

The second position is held by Agni (fire god) to whom 200 hymns are devoted. Fire played a significant part in the life of primitive people. In Vedic times, Agni acted as a kind of intermediary between the gods on the one hand, and the people on the other. The oblations offered to Agni were supposed to be carried in the form of smoke to the sky and thus transmitted to the gods.

Varuna:

The third important position is occupied by Varuna who personified water and was sup­posed to uphold the Rta or natural order. As the administrator of the cosmic law (Rta), he regulates all activities in this world.

It is he who has spread out the earth and set the sun in motion, and who pours out the rain but sees to it that one ocean is not overflowed by many rivers. This upholder of cosmic order is also regarded as the lord of human morality. Varuna is an ancient god, probably Indo-lranian. The Ahura Mazdah (Wise Spirit) of the Avesta agrees with Varuna in character.

Soma:

Soma was considered to be the god of plants, and an intoxicating drink is named after him. The Rig-veda has a large number of hymns, which explain the methods for preparation of this drink.

The Soma sacrifice is the main feature of the ritual of the Rigveda, and this is reflected by the fact that all but 6 out of the 120 hymns to Soma have been collected in one book (mandala IX). The Soma juice has been called Amrita (divine drink) and Shuddha (pure).

Sun God:

Several deities were associated with the Sun. Surya (the common word for Sun) drive across the sky in a flaming chariot, like the Greek god Helios. Savitri, the Stimulator or God of light, was another solar god. The famous Gayatri mantra is addressed to him. Pushan, who was the guard­ian of roads, herdsman and straying cattle was also a solar deity.

Other minor deities:

The amoral diety Rudra, whose arrows brought disease, evolved from a Harappan cult; so did Tvastri (the Vedic Vulcan), Aryamart (guardian of compacts), Vishnu (personification of the activities of the Sun), Dyaus (god of heaven and father of Surya), Prithvi (synonym for earth), Maruts (personification of storm) are some of the minor deities.

There were also demi-gods of various kinds such as Visvedevas who were intermediaries, Ribhus – gnomes working in metal. Gandharvas (divine musicians), etc.

Female Divinities:

The Vedic religion has predominantly male gods, the female divinities were very few. The most important female divinity were Ushas (the goddess of dawn) and Aditi (the great mother of gods). Other female deities were Prithvi (a personification of the earth), Ratri (the spirit of the night), Aranyani (the forest goddess), lla (the goddess of offerings), etc.

Mode of Worship:

The dominant mode of worshipping the gods was through the recitation of prayers and offering of sacrifices. Both collective and individual prayers were made. Offerings of vegetables, barley, etc. were made to gods. But in Rig Vedic times the process was not accompanied by any ritual or sacrificial formulae.

At this stage the magical power of the word was not considered as important as it came to be in later Vedic times. The Rig Vedic people did not worship gods for their spiritual uplift or for ending the miseries of existence. They asked mainly for Praja (children), Pashu (cattle), food, wealth, health, etc.

The Rig-Veda Aryans believed in the life after death. The dead were either buried or cremated, and according to some passages, dwelt in the realm of Yama, the king of the dead.

Later Vedic Period:

In this period, the upper doab developed to be the cradle of Aryan culture under brahmanical influence. The two outstanding Rig Vedic gods, Indra and Agni, lost their former importance and Prajapati, the creator, came to occupy the supreme position.

Rudra, the god of animals and Vishnu (came to be conceived as the preserver) rose to eminence. In addition, some objects began to be worshipped as symbols of divinity; signs of idolatry appear in later Vedic times.

Social orders came to have their own deities such as Pushan, who was supposed to look after cattle came to be regarded as the god of the Sudras. The mode of worship changed considerably and sacrifices became more important than prayers.

The sacrificial cult was elaborate and an extremely specialised activity assur­ing both public and domestic character. The earlier element of communal participation was gradually lost. Sacrifices involved the killing of animals on a large scale (Pasubandhu). The guest was known as goghna or one who was fed on cattle.

Sacrifices were accompanied by formulae which had to be carefully pronounced by the sacrificer known as the Yajamana (performer of Yajna). These fomulae and sacrifices were invented, adopted and elaborated by the priests called the brahmanas who claimed a monopoly of priestly knowledge and expertise.

In addition to cows, which were usually given as sacri­ficial gifts, gold, cloth and horses were also given. Sometimes the priests claimed portions of territory as dakshina, but the grant of land as sacrificed fee is not well established in the later Vedic period.

Towards the end of the Vedic period began a strong reaction against priestly domination, against cults and rituals, especially in the land of the Panchalas and Videha where, around 600 B.C.; the Upanishads were compiled. The philosophical speculations is most clearly evident in the Chandogya and Brihadaranyaka Upanishads.