Political life of Aryans in later Vedic period

Historians believe the period from approximately 1000 BCE to 600 BCE was the Later Vedic Period. Significant changes took place in the political life of the Aryans in the later Vedic period. At the beginning of civilization, the Aryans lived in the region adjacent to the Sapta Sindhu River. They advanced from northwestern India and expanded their kingdom into the Ganges-Yamuna Doab region, including Punjab, in the Later Vedic Period.

The emergence of large territorial kingdoms:

• In place of the small tribal kingdoms of the Rigvedic age, relatively large kingdoms emerged in the later Vedic age.
• For example, the Kuru kingdom emerged from the merger of the Bharata and Puru tribes.
• The Panchala kingdom from the merger of the Turvas and Kirviras.
• Finally the large Kuru-Panchala kingdom from the merger of the Kuru and Panchala kingdoms.
• Apart from this, the kings of that era adopted royal titles such as Ekrata, Virat, Samrat, Bhoja, and the ceremonies of sacrifices such as Asvamedha, Rajasuya, etc., which proved the establishment of large kingdoms.

Info: In the later Vedic period women were not allowed in Sabha and Samiti. Brahmans had domination in these two institutions.

Different names of the ruler based on power

• The scope of royal power began to expand.
• Samrata, Swarata, Ekrata, Virata, etc. were identified as more powerful in society than the king.
• In Aitareya Brahmana, it is mentioned that in Eastern India the kings were called ‘Samrata‘, in Southern India they were ‘Bhoja‘, in Northern India they were ‘Virata‘, in Western India they were ‘Swarata‘.
• The kings of Madhya Pradesh were called only ‘Rajan‘.
• Among all these kings, the one who was able to conquer the territory of others was entitled to titles like ‘Ekrata’, ‘Sovereign’, ‘Vishwajanin’ etc.
• There was a village judge called ‘Gramyavadin’.

Info: In the Aitareya Brahmana, different names of the ruler are found according to the difference in power.

King and Administration

• In the later Vedic period, kings possessed much more power and prestige compared to the Rigvedic period.
• As the power of the king increased, the theory of his divine right was strongly propagated.
• The importance of the ruler increased in the later Vedic period.
• Compared to the Rigvedic period, the genealogy of the ruler started.
• According to the Brahmanical literature, the hereditary kingship increased further.
• In both the Shatapatha Brahmins and the Aitareya Brahmins, the word ‘dashapurusham rajyam‘, or the dynasty of ten men is mentioned several times.
• According to the fifth chapter of the Shatapatha Brahmins, the king is mentioned as the representative of Prajapati or Saksat Brahma.
• The king was usually chosen from Kshatriya.
• The king performed various yajna such as ‘Rajsuya Yajna’. ‘Ashwamedha Yajna’.

Info: In the Shatapatha Brahmana, the king is called ‘the possessor of divine power‘.

Creation of the post of assistant to the king

1. In the later Vedic period, the number of officials or organizations assisting the ruler increased compared to the Rigvedic period.
2. Although the two political institutions ‘Sabha‘ and ‘Samiti‘ existed, their power was reduced.
3. On the other hand, various officials were directly associated with the work of the king. These officials were called Ratnina or ‘jewel-like‘ during this period.

Info: The officials called Ratninas helped the ruler in protecting his ‘land’.

Political Environment

1. Although the power of the king increased, the concept of monarchy is not mentioned in the later Vedic period either.
2. A notable change is that in North India, some communities or groups gained greater political recognition based on the activities of the clan or group leader.
3. The Shatapatha Brahmana mentions two kings named Bharata Dushyanta and Satanika Satrajit and their kingdom extended up to the Ganges and Yamuna rivers.
4. The taxation system was developed during this period. Three taxes ‘Bali’, ‘Sulka’ the ‘Bhaga’ were seen in the later period.

Info: Larger Kingdoms or Mahajanapadas emerged during the later Vedic period.

Different members of the Royal Court & related departments

In the later Vedic period, due to the increasing complexity of governance, the need arose to appoint several new types of officials. In addition to the officials of the Vedic period, such as the Gramni, Purohit, Senani, etc., the other officials appointed in this period were the Sangrahitris, Bhagadukhs, Sutas, Akshavapas, Govikarthanas and Palagalas. In addition, the Sthapati was in charge of the border areas and the Satapati was in charge of one hundred villages.