Historical Vedic religion


The historical Vedic religion, and subsequent Brahmanism, refers to the religious ideas and practices among some of the Indo-Aryan peoples of northwest India and the western Ganges plain of ancient India during the Vedic period. These ideas and practices are found in the Vedic texts.
The Vedic religion developed during the early Vedic period, but has roots in the Eurasian steppe Sintashta culture and the subsequent Central Asian Andronovo culture, and possibly also the Indus Valley Civilisation. It was a composite of the religion of the Central Asian Indo-Aryans, itself "a syncretic mixture of old Central Asian and new Indo-European elements", which borrowed "distinctive religious beliefs and practices" from the Bactria–Margiana culture; and the remnants of the Harappan culture of the Indus Valley.
During the late Vedic period Brahmanism, also called Brahminism, developed out of the Vedic religion, as an ideology of the Kuru-Pancala realm which expanded into a wider realm after the demish of the Kuru-Pancala realm. Brahmanism was one of the major influences that shaped contemporary Hinduism, when it was synthesized with the non-Vedic Indo-Aryan religious heritage of the eastern Ganges plain, and with local religious traditions.
Specific rituals and sacrifices of the Vedic religion include, among others: the Soma rituals; Fire rituals involving oblations ; and the Ashvamedha The Hindu rites of cremation are seen since the Rigvedic period.
Deities are different from Hinduism, and include Indra, Agni and Varuna. Important ethical concepts are satya and ṛta.

Terminology

Vedism refers to the oldest form of the Vedic religion, when Indo-Aryans entered into the valley of the Indus River in multiple waves during the 2nd millennium BCE. Brahmanism refers to the further developed form which took shape at the Ganges basin around ca. 1000 BCE. According to Heesterman, "It is loosely known as Brahmanism because of the religious and legal importance it places on the brāhmaṇa class of society."

Origins and development

Indo-Aryan Vedic religion

The Vedic religion was the religion of some of the Vedic Indo-Aryan tribes, the aryas, who migrated into the Indus River valley region of the Indian subcontinent. The Vedic religion, and subsequent Brahmanism center on the myths and ritual ideologies of the Vedas, as distinguished from Agamic, Tantric and sectarian forms of Indian religion, which take recourse to the authority of non-Vedic textual sources. The Vedic religion is described in the Vedas and associated voluminous Vedic literature including the early Upanishads, preserved into the modern times by the different priestly schools. It existed in the western Ganges plain in the early Vedic period from c. 1500–1100 BCE, and developed into Brahmanism in the late Vedic period. The eastern Ganges-plain was dominated by another Indo-Aryan complex, which rejected the later Brahmanical ideology, and gave rise to Jainism and Buddhism, and the Mauryan Empire.
The Indo-Aryans were speakers of a branch of the Indo-European language family, which originated in the Sintashta culture and further developed into the Andronovo culture, which in turn developed out of the Kurgan culture of the Central Asian steppes. The commonly proposed period of earlier Vedic age is dated back to 2nd millennium BCE.
The Vedic beliefs and practices of the pre-classical era were closely related to the hypothesised Proto-Indo-European religion, and shows relations with rituals from the Andronovo culture, from which the Indo-Aryan people descended. According to Anthony, the Old Indic religion probably emerged among Indo-European immigrants in the contact zone between the Zeravshan River and Iran. It was "a syncretic mixture of old Central Asian and new Indo-European elements" which borrowed "distinctive religious beliefs and practices" from the Bactria–Margiana Culture. This syncretic influence is supported by at least 383 non-Indo-European words that were borrowed from this culture, including the god Indra and the ritual drink Soma. According to Anthony,
The oldest inscriptions in Old Indic, the language of the Rig Veda, are found not in northwestern India and Pakistan, but in northern Syria, the location of the Mitanni kingdom. The Mitanni kings took Old Indic throne names, and Old Indic technical terms were used for horse-riding and chariot-driving. The Old Indic term r'ta, meaning "cosmic order and truth", the central concept of the Rig Veda, was also employed in the Mitanni kingdom. Old Indic gods, including Indra, were also known in the Mitanni kingdom.
The Vedic religion was the product of "a composite of the Indo-Aryan and Harappan cultures and civilizations". White cites three other scholars who "have emphatically demonstrated" that Vedic religion is partially derived from the Indus Valley Civilization. The Vedic religion texts are cerebral, orderly and intellectual, but it is unclear if the theory in diverse Vedic texts actually reflect the folk practices, iconography and other practical aspects of the Vedic religion.
The Vedic religion changed when Indo-Aryan people migrated into the Ganges Plain after c. 1100 BCE and became settled farmers, further syncretising with the native cultures of northern India. The evidence suggests that the Vedic religion evolved in "two superficially contradictory directions", state Jamison and Witzel, namely an ever more "elaborate, expensive, and specialized system of rituals", which survives in the present-day srauta-ritual, and "abstraction and internalization of the principles underlying ritual and cosmic speculation" within oneself, akin to the Jain and Buddhist tradition.
Aspects of the historical Vedic religion survived into modern times. The Nambudiri Brahmins continue the ancient Śrauta rituals. The complex Vedic rituals of Śrauta continue to be practiced in Kerala and coastal Andhra.The Kalash people residing in northwest Pakistan also continue to practice a form of ancient Hinduism.
According to Heinrich von Stietencron, in the 19th century, in western publications, the Vedic religion was believed to be different from and unrelated to Hinduism. The Hindu religion was thought to be linked to the Hindu epics and the Puranas through sects based on purohita, tantras and Bhakti. In the 20th century, a better understanding of the Vedic religion, its shared heritage and theology with contemporary Hinduism, has led scholars to view the historical Vedic religion as ancestral to "Hinduism". The historical Vedic religion is now generally accepted to be a predecessor of Hinduism, but they are not the same because the textual evidence suggests significant differences between the two, such as the belief in an afterlife instead of the later developed reincarnation and samsāra concepts. The Hindu reform movements and the Neo-Vedanta have emphasized the Vedic heritage and "ancient Hinduism", and this term has been co-opted by some Hindus.

Brahmanism

Brahmanism, also called Brahminism, developed out of the Vedic religion, incorporating non-Vedic religious ideas, and expanding to a region stretching from the northwest Indian subcontinent to the Ganges valley. Brahmanism included the Vedic corpus, but also post-Vedic texts such as the Dharmasutras and Dharmasastras, which gave prominence to the priestly class of the society, Heesterman also mentions the post-Vedic Smtiti, which are also incorporated in the later Smarta tradition. The emphasis on ritual and the dominant position of Brahmans developed as an ideology developed in the Kuru-Pancala realm, and expanded into a wider realm after the demish of the Kuru-Pancala realm. It co-existed with local religions, such as the Yaksha cults.
The word Brahmanism was coined by Gonçalo Fernandes Trancoso in the 16th century. Historically, and still by some modern authors, the word Brahmanism was used in English to refer to the Hindu religion, treating the term Brahmanism as synonymous with Hinduism, and using it interchangeably. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Brahminism was the most common term used in English for Hinduism, and "Hindu" meant "Indian" when applied to people.
Brahmanism gave importance to Absolute Reality speculations in the early Upanishads, as these terms are etymologically linked, which developed from post-Vedic ideas during the late Vedic era. The concept of Brahman is posited as that which existed before the creation of the universe, which constitutes all of existence thereafter, and into which the universe will dissolve into, followed by similar endless creation-maintenance-destruction cycles.
The post-Vedic period of the Second Urbanisation saw a decline of Brahmanism. With the growth of cities, which threatened the income and patronage of the rural Brahmins; the rise of Buddhism; and the Indian campaign of Alexander the Great, the rise of the Mauryan Empire, and the Saka invasions and rule of northwestern India, Brahmanism faced a grave threat to its existence. This was overcome by providing new services and incorporating the non-Vedic Indo-Aryan religious heritage of the eastern Ganges plain and local religious traditions, giving rise to contemporary Hinduism. This "new Brahmanism" appealed to rulers, who were attracted to the supernatural powers and the practical advice Brahmis could provide, and resulted in a resurgence of Brahmanical influence, dominating Indian society since the classical Age of Hinduism in the early centuries CE.
Nowadays, the term Brahmanism, used interchangeably with Brahminism, is used in several ways. It denotes the specific Brahmanical rituals and worldview as preserved in the Śrauta ritual, as distinct from the wide range of popular cultic activity with little connection with them. Brahminism also refers specifically to the Brahminical ideology, which sees Brahmins as naturally privileged people entitled to rule and dominate society. The term may be used by anti-Brahminical opponents, who object against their domination of Indian society and their exclusivist ideology,

Textual history

Texts dating to the Vedic period, composed in Vedic Sanskrit, are mainly the four Vedic Samhitas, but the Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and some of the older Upanishads are also placed in this period. The Vedas record the liturgy connected with the rituals and sacrifices. These texts are also considered as a part of the scripture of contemporary Hinduism.


Who really knows?
Who will here proclaim it?
Whence was it produced? Whence is this creation?
The gods came afterwards, with the creation of this universe.
Who then knows whence it has arisen?
— Nasadiya Sukta, Rig Veda, 10:129-6

Characteristics

The idea of reincarnation, saṃsāra, is not mentioned in the early layers of the historic Vedic religion texts such as the Rigveda. The later layers of the Rigveda do mention ideas that suggest an approach towards the idea of rebirth, according to Ranade.
The early layers of the Vedas do not mention the doctrine of Karma and rebirth but mention the belief in an afterlife. According to Sayers, these earliest layers of the Vedic literature show ancestor worship and rites such as sraddha. The later Vedic texts such as the Aranyakas and the Upanisads show a different soteriology based on reincarnation, they show little concern with ancestor rites, and they begin to philosophically interpret the earlier rituals. The idea of reincarnation and karma have roots in the Upanishads of the late Vedic period, predating the Buddha and the Mahavira. Similarly, the later layers of the Vedic literature such as the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad – such as in section 4.4 – discuss the earliest versions of the Karma doctrine as well as causality.
Ancient Vedic religion lacked the belief in reincarnation and concepts such as Saṃsāra or Nirvana. Ancient Vedic religion was an complex animistic religion with polytheistic and pantheistic aspects. Ancestor worship was an important, maybe the central component, of the ancient Vedic religion. Elements of the ancestors cult are still common in modern Hinduism, see Śrāddha.
According to Olivelle, some scholars state that the renouncer tradition was an "organic and logical development of ideas found in the vedic religious culture", while others state that these emerged from the "indigenous non-Aryan population". This scholarly debate is a longstanding one, and is ongoing.

Rituals

Specific rituals and sacrifices of the Vedic religion include, among others:
The Hindu rites of cremation are seen since the Rigvedic period; while they are attested from early times in the Cemetery H culture, there is a late Rigvedic reference invoking forefathers "both cremated and uncremated ".

Pantheon

Though a large number of names for devas occur in the Rigveda, only 33 devas are counted, eleven each of earth, space, and heaven. The Vedic pantheon knows two classes, Devas and Asuras. The Devas are deities of cosmic and social order, from the universe and kingdoms down to the individual. The Rigveda is a collection of hymns to various deities, most notably heroic Indra, Agni the sacrificial fire and messenger of the gods, and Soma, the deified sacred drink of the Indo-Iranians. Also prominent is Varuna and the group of "All-gods", the Vishvadevas.

Sages

In the Hindu tradition, the revered sages of this era were Yajnavalkya, Atharvan, Atri, Bharadvaja, Gautama Maharishi, Jamadagni, Kashyapa, Vasistha, Bhrigu, Kutsa, Pulastya, Kratu, Pulaha, Vishwamitra Narayana, Kanva, Rishabha, Vamadeva, and Angiras.

Ethics – satya and rta

Ethics in the Vedas are based on concepts like satya and ṛta.
In the Vedas and later sutras, the meaning of the word satya evolves into an ethical concept about truthfulness and is considered an important virtue. It means being true and consistent with reality in one's thought, speech and action.
Vedic and its Avestan equivalent asha are both thought by some to derive from Proto-Indo-Iranian "truth", which in turn may continue from a possible Proto-Indo-European * "properly joined, right, true", from a presumed root *. The derivative noun ṛta is defined as "fixed or settled order, rule, divine law or truth". As Mahony notes, however, the term can be translated as "that which has moved in a fitting manner" – although this meaning is not actually cited by authoritative Sanskrit dictionaries it is a regular derivation from the verbal root -, and abstractly as "universal law" or "cosmic order", or simply as "truth". The latter meaning dominates in the Avestan cognate to Ṛta, aša.
Due to the nature of Vedic Sanskrit, the term Ṛta can be used to indicate numerous things, either directly or indirectly, and both Indian and European scholars have experienced difficulty in arriving at fitting interpretations for Ṛta in all of its various usages in the Vedas, though the underlying sense of "ordered action" remains universally evident.
The term is also found in the Proto-Indo-Iranian religion, the religion of the Indo-Iranian peoples. The term dharma was already used in the later Brahmanical thoughts, where it was conceived as an aspect of ṛta.

Post-Vedic religions

The Vedic period is held to have ended around 500 BCE. The period between 800 BCE and 200 BCE is the formative period for later Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. According to Michaels, the period between 500 BCE and 200 BCE is a time of "ascetic reformism", while the period between 200 BCE and 1100 CE is the time of "classical Hinduism", since there is "a turning point between the Vedic religion and Hindu religions". Muesse discerns a longer period of change, namely between 800 BCE and 200 BCE, which he calls the "Classical Period", when "traditional religious practices and beliefs were reassessed. The Brahmins and the rituals they performed no longer enjoyed the same prestige they had in the Vedic period".
The transition from ancient Brahmanism into schools of Hinduism was a form of evolution in interaction with non-Vedic traditions, one that preserved many of the central ideas and theosophy in the Vedas, and synergistically integrated non-Vedic ideas. While part of Hinduism, Vedanta, Samkhya and Yoga schools of Hinduism share their concern with escape from the suffering of existence with Buddhism.

Vedanta

Vedic religion was followed by Upanishads which gradually evolved into Vedanta, which is regarded by some as the primary institution of Hinduism. Vedanta considers itself "the purpose or goal of the Vedas."

Śrauta

According to David Knipe, some communities in India have preserved and continue to practice portions of the historical Vedic religion, such as in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh state of India and elsewhere. Of the continuation of the Vedic tradition in a newer sense, Fowler writes the following:

Bhakti

According to German Professor Axel Michaels, the Vedic gods declined but did not disappear, and local cults were assimilated into the Vedic-brahmanic pantheon, which changed into the Hindu pantheon. Deities such as Shiva and Vishnu became more prominent and gave rise to Shaivism and Vaishnavism.

Interpretations of Vedic mantras in Hinduism

The various Hindu schools and traditions give various interpretations of the Vedic hymns.
Mīmāṃsā philosophers argue that there was no need to postulate a maker for the world, just as there was no need for an author to compose the Vedas or a god to validate the rituals. Mīmāṃsā argues that the gods named in the Vedas have no existence apart from the mantras that speak their names. To that regard, the power of the mantras is what is seen as the power of gods.
Adi Shankara, an 8th-century CE philosopher who unified and established the main currents of thought in Hinduism, interpreted Vedas as being nondualist or monist. However, the Arya Samaj New religious movement holds the view that the Vedic mantras tend to monotheism. Even the earlier Mandalas of Rig Veda contains hymns which are thought to resemble monotheism. Often quoted isolated pada 1.164.46 of the Rig Veda states :
Moreover, the verses of 10.129 and 10.130, deal with the one being. The verse 10.129.7 further confirms this :

Sramana tradition

The non-Vedic śramaṇa traditions existed alongside Brahmanism.

Kalash people

According to the historian and Sanskrit linguist Michael Witzel, some of the rituals of the Kalash people have elements of the historical Vedic religion, but there are also some differences such as the presence of fire next to the altar instead of "in the altar" as in the Vedic religion.