Later Vedic Period: Political Organisation Study Notes PDF

Later Vedic Age - Political Organisation of Ancient Indian History Notes For All Competitive Exams #Blog-15

Dec 03, 2021 By Careericons

This article will mention the relevant facts about the various "Political Organisations of Later Vedic Period" and it is very useful for Civil services, SSC, IBPS & Railway exam preparation.

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THE LATER VEDIC AGE (1000 – 600 BCE)

What was the political organization of Later Vedic Period?

In the later Vedic period, the tribes had consolidated into small kingdoms, which had capital and a rudimentary administrative system. To aid in governing these new states, the kings and their Brahmin priests arranged Vedic hymns into collections and developed a new set of rituals (the now orthodox Srauta rituals) to strengthen the emerging social hierarchy.

1) Rise of Big States

The small tribal states of the Rig Vedic period were replaced by powerful states. rinces or chiefs ruled tribes, but the dominant tribe gave their names to the territories, which might be inhabited by tribes other than their own.

Many famous tribes of the Rig Vedic period like Bharatas, Parus, Tritsus and Turvasas passed into oblivion and new tribes like the Kurus and Panchalas rose into prominence. At first, Panchala was the name of the people and then, it became the name of a region.

There was the transformation of the Rigvedic Jana (meaning, people or tribe) into the janapada (meaning the area where the tribe settled). The rajanyas of the Rigvedic age now became the Kshatriyas of their territories.

2) Growth of Royal Power

In the later Vedic period, Rigvedic popular assemblies lost their importance and royal power have increased. The Vidhata completely disappeared. The Sabha and Sarnia continued to hold the ground, but their character changed.

The sabha became more powerful than the Samiti and was now dominated by the Nobles and the Brahmans Now women were not allowed to attend the Sabha which was now dominated by the nobles and the Brahmana's.

3) Origin of Kingship

The Political system of the later Vedic period was shifted towards a type of Monarchy. Now, the King ruled over an area of land called Janapada. The King also started maintaining an army and the Bureaucracy also got developed. The Kingship was being given the status of the divine character and also this period witnesses the emergence of the concept of King of Kings.

There were two theories regarding the origin of kingship. The Aitareya Brahmana explained the rational theory of election by common consent of origin of kingship and the Taittiriya Brahmana explained the divine origin of kingship.

4) Five Types of State System

At the time early Vedic period, the fundamental unit of power lied within the realm of the patriarchal family which was called Kula. In the later Vedic age, the concept of state emerged and the idea of Kingship evolved gradually from clan chieftainship.

Over the time, the legitimisation of the King's power increases by rituals of sacrifice (Yajna) by the priests and meanwhile defined the officials who subordinate the King and state affairs.

There are five types of State System during the Vedic period which is given:

1. Rajya (Central kingdom) → Ruled by the Raja
2. Bhojya (Southern kingdom) → Ruled by the Bhoja
3. Swarajya (Western kingdom) → Ruled by the Svarat
4. Vairajya (Northern kingdom) → Ruled by the Virat
5. Samrajya (Eastern kingdom) → Ruled by the Samrat

5) Administrative Machinery

In the work of administration, the king was assisted by a group of officers who were known as Ratnins (Jewels). The king realized taxes like “bali”, “sulka” and “bhaga”.

They included the Bhagadugha (collector of taxes), the Suta (charioteer), the Akshavapa (superintendent of gambling), the kshattri (chamberlain), the Govikartana (king's companion in the chase), the Palogala (courtier) the Takshan (Carpenter), the Rathakara (Chariot marker) in addition to the ecclesiastical and military officials like the purohita (chaplain) the senani (general), and the Gramani (leader of the host or of the village).

6) Transformation of political characters

The term "Rashtra", which means territory, first appeared in later Vedic period. The Rajanyas of the Rig Vedic age later became the Kshatriyas, who held power over the territories. The very reason of the wars (earlier, cattle) also underwent a change, with the acquisition of land now becoming an important element.

A rudimentary taxation system began with Sangrihitri, as treasurer of taxes and Bhagadugha as the tax collector. Bali and Bhaga now became regular tributes and taxes.

Consecratory rituals assumed special significance in later Vedic period for the ruling elite, which now became crucial to assert their authority. Sacrifices were especially significant and were perceived to lend religious legitimacy to the power of the rulers in the later Vedic period.

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