Hello friends, I am you tour guide today and I am going to be showing you the Vedic age. The Vedic age is a very exciting land and it shows us the Indian history for all.
I am entering the Aryavarta (land of Aryans) with all my friends through gate no.3 and I see rectangular barrel shaped huts with bamboo thatched roofs.
The first thing all of us noticed were the people (Aryans) who were dancing, playing lovely and miraculous instruments (lute, flute, drums and veena).The sound itself made me play it right away.
The Aryans were wearing hair bands, necklaces, bangles, earrings and many other ornaments made of gold, silver and other metals.
I spotted men who were wearing a dhoti and a piece of cloth over his shoulder. The girls looked amazing. They wore a sari and an upper garment made of sheep wool. I even met a young, handsome man whose name was Rajesh.
He showed us the Land of Aryan
Rajesh, told the other Aryans to greet us with delicious foods like rice, wheat, barley, milk, vegetables, fruits, and meat. They even had ghee, in the early Vedic age which they used in their food as well. I have noticed that all their foods and eatables are like the ones which we have now in the 21st century. There are still a lot of different improvements from then and now. There were children and women doing pottery, and weaving. Rajesh said that leather work and metallurgy was an important occupation.
Rajesh and all of us went to buy a pot that costs 5 coins. In the Later Vedic era, they had discovered iron and had made coins out of gold and silver. People were exporting sandalwood and cosmetics. Rajesh said, “I have to go now. Many goods like horses and dates are imported. I need to go and collect them”. We all bid him farewell and walked away to complete the tour. The Aryans were always busy with some job or the other. Cattle rearing and farming was very significant.
The Aryans dragged me to the place where they were writing the four Vedas. Sama Veda. Yajur Veda, Rig Veda, and Atharva Veda. Each Veda contained a special significance. The Sama Veda is basically a collection of verses of Rig Veda set to music. The Yajur Veda contains rules which were followed during rituals, sacrifices and yajnas. They were even writing the Mahabharata and the Ramayana during that time.
We walked and walked, but didn’t know where we were going. Another friend like Rajesh, had come over to help us find our way. His name was Sahib. I asked him to take us to the temples.
I could hear mantras and charms being sung by the Brahmins. Sahib whispered to all of us saying that the Brahmins are the highest off all the other castes. Only Brahmins can conduct the rituals. A traveler asked, “What are the other castes. Which caste do you belong to?” He said that the next one is the Kshatriyas. They are the brave warriors to protect our kingdom. He said that he belongs to the Vaishyas. The Vaishyas are the craftsmen and the people who have a job. At last is the Shudras. They are the servants. There were a group of women being scolded by their husbands because of not doing household work. They were not allowed to attend any assemblies or rituals.
There were a group of people worshiping the gods Brahma- god of creation, Vishnu-god of preserver and Shiva-god of destroyer. They worshiped idols etc. All of us started to take few pictures. In the olden days of Vedic period the Gods were classified into three groups: God of sky, God of Mid-air, God of the Earth. They even worshiped the forces of nature and the elements, fire, water, air, sky, and earth.
Some Aryans were worshiping the gods and goddesses:
Surya, Savitri – Sun god
Agni – god of fire
Usha- Goddess of dawn
Indra- god of rain and war
Varuna-Cosmic order
And…….. Yama- god of death
The Rajan (chieftain), raised up his voice and welcomed us to his army or area. He said that they are having the sacrifice ceremony. The Senani-commander-in-chief and the gramani-village headman all honored us and nice manner. The Raj-purohit- high priest was astonished at this sight. The Sabha and Samiti- tribal assemblies were surprised too. They were sad because they were not needed at all. The work in the administration became complicated. We were taken to the ceremony since it was happening right now. “The Rajasuya was to bestow the supreme power” said Sahib. One our group members loved horses so she cried when the horse sacrifice was going on. This was known as the Ashvamedha. The sangrihitri was also on his way to collect taxes.
Now all of us went forward and saw a person meditating and living a life of a hermit. He was going through the 3rd stage of life, Vanprastha Ashrama. There was another child who was going through the Bhramcharya Ashrama, 1st stage of life. This lasts for 25 years. There was a boy under a tree learning from the guru. This was known as the gurukul. Since that boy was wealthy, he used to give gifts to thank the guru for the education. This was called guru-dakshina.
Now, it was the end of the tour and we all thanked Rajesh and Sahib for this wonderful tour. They said that next time we come; there will be lot more to see!
