A History of India, Third Edition

EARLY CIVILISATIONS OF THE NORTHWEST

This quote from a Late Vedic text is revealing in several respects. It
shows that the indigenous people subjected by the Aryans possessed great
skills as artisans. Racial discrimination against these dark-skinned people
also led to a discrimination against the trades which they plied. The
original lack of such skills among the Vedic Aryans was probably one of
the most important reasons for the emergence of the caste system, which
was designed to maintain the social and political superiority of the Aryans.
The text quoted above also indicates that the Vedic Aryans did not bring
the potter’s wheel along when they entered India but that they found it
there. The prejudice expressed in this text against the pottery produced on
such a wheel makes it highly unlikely that initially the Aryans themselves
produced the famous ‘Painted Grey Ware’ which was expertly fashioned on
the potter’s wheel. Archaeologists now tend to regard this Painted Grey
Ware as an indicator of settlements of the Late Vedic people. But this type
of ceramic probably originated among the indigenous people and was only
spread by the Aryans in the course of their migration towards the east.
The Late Vedic period witnessed a great increase in trade (vanijya)
which was due to the growing commodity production by artisans and the
extension of cultivation. Even in this early period of Indian history, traders
may have played an important role in finding out about new land and new
routes. Long-distance trade in salt and metals and the quest for new
deposits of ore would be particularly stimulating in this respect. Crucial to
the future development of the social order, trade was not considered to be
an impure activity and therefore upper castes could participate in it and
Brahmana texts of this period explicitly refer to trade as an activity equal
in value with agriculture (krishi), priesthood (brahmacarya) and royal
service (rajanucarya). In fact, the upper castes seem to have monopolised
trade at this early stage and this explains the relatively high position of the
Bania (trader) caste in the Hindu society of a later age.

The role of the king

Political development in the Late Vedic age was of equal importance to the
social and economic development which has been discussed so far. A new
type of kingship emerged in the small territories of the Gangetic plains.
Kings, even hereditary ones, were mentioned already in the Early Vedic
texts, but their power was always limited as they had to consult either a
council composed of all the male members of the tribe (vish or jana) or an
aristocratic tribal council (sabha or samiti). Some tribes were governed by
such councils only and did not have kings at all. Indian historians of a later
age pointed proudly to this ancient ‘democratic tradition’.
But this Early Vedic tradition of aristocratic tribal republics was eclipsed
in the Late Vedic period. A new type of kingship emerged after the
transition from nomadic life to settled agriculture. The new kings were not