Vedic civilization

The reconstruction of the history of India of the Vedic period is based on a comparison of textual and archaeological evidence. Linguistically Vedic texts can be classified according to five chronological periods:

1. Rigveda language. The Rigveda , the oldest Vedic book, contains the most common Indo-Iranian elements, both in language and content, which are not present in later Indian Vedas. The creation of these texts could take several centuries, and with the exception of later books (1 and 10), they could be created by 1500 BC. e. . Archaeologically, this period can be correlated with the cave culture of Gandhara and the subsequent civilization of the Indus River , the culture of burial H , the Punjab culture and the Culture of ocher painted ceramics (ORC) further to the east.
2. Language of Mantras . The culture of black and red ceramics .
3. The language of prose texts of Samhita . Culture of gray painted pottery .
4. The language of the prosaic texts of Brahman .
5. Sutra language.

Wherever the ancestral home of the Indo-Europeans is located - in Asia (Pictet, Gene, I. Schmidt and others), or in Eastern Europe (Benfey, Schrader, Says Geert, etc.), most likely the ancient Indo-Iranians were separated from the Indo-European community before all other separate peoples (with the exception of the Hittites , Tochars and, possibly, Greeks , Phrygians and Armenians ). Whether the Indo-Iranians remained in the place of their common residence in Asia, after the Europeans left (according to the “ theory of exodus from India ”), or, on the contrary, migrated from Europe (according to the “invasion” hypotheses), the question is still not completely clarified and secondary to the Indian history itself, the more so since the selection dates back to the era when the Indo-Aryans were inextricably linked with the ancient Iranians, forming with them one solid Indo-Iranian, or "Aryan" people. (The term "Aryan" is used here in its narrow sense - Indo-Iranian. In the previous scientific literature on the history of India, it was also used in the meaning of "Indo-European".)

Separated from the Indo-Europeans — the Aryans in general — the Indo-Iranians, or “ Arias ” (historical Arians), undoubtedly, lived together for a long time in Iran . Here they created a common Indo-Iranian culture. The proof of the particularly close relationship of the Indo-Aryans with the Iranians is not only the greater similarity of Sanskrit to Zend and ancient Persian speech than to other individual Indo-European languages, but also a large number of common religious and cultural ideas in general. The Rigveda and Avesta represent a number of similar coincidences.

One of the highest deities of the Rig Veda - Varuna - the god of water, surrounded by six bright Adityas , corresponds to the Avestan Ahuramazda (Ormazd), also surrounded by six bright Amshaspandas. The Vedic god Mithra corresponds to the Avestan Mithra (Mithra). The Vedic first man, Yama , the son of Vivaswan , appears in the Avesta in the form of Ima, the son of Vivanhvao, etc. In the Rigveda and in the Avesta, the same cult of the sacred drink ( catfish , haoma ), as well as the cult of fire and the veneration of cows. The similarity between the Vedas and the Avesta extends even in part per meter, the number of syllables in separate verses in the Vedic hymns and the Ghats of the Avesta. It is obvious that in the era of Indo-Iranian unity the religious cult was so elaborated that there was a special religious poetry, some formal features of which were created even then and were retained by the Indo-Aryans and Iranians after their separation.

The first historical indications of the existence of an Indo-Aryan community can be found in the materials of the kingdom of Mitanni (XVII-XIII centuries BC), whose religion of the ruling classes was very close to the Vedic. Based on these data, it was possible to partially reconstruct the Mitannian Aryan language , which is very close to the Vedic, and perhaps even more archaic ^[1] .

The time of the appearance of the Indo-Europeans on the Hindustan cannot be precisely determined. In any case, the oldest Indo-literary literary monument - the Rig Veda - is usually attributed to 2000-1500 BC. e. At that time, the Indo-Aryans still lived in northwestern India - in the Punjab - as can be seen from the fact that only the names of the Punjab rivers are found in the Rigveda, and the Ganges is mentioned in only one hymn (in the X book, the latest). The Vindhya Mountains and the Narmada River are not mentioned at all in the Rig Veda. Descriptions of flora and fauna, climatic conditions, etc. contained in the Rigveda also coincide with those in the Punjab. In this era, the Indo-Aryans called themselves "Aryans" ( Sanskrit. Arya , Zend. Airya "noble") as opposed to Anarya (base) or Dasyu (robber, enemy, demon) - the autochthonous non-Aryan inhabitants of India, found by them on Hindustan. These latter ones also receive the epithets of “blacks”, “blacks”, “beznosy” (a hint at the flat noses of the natives), “wicked”, “infidels”, etc. Indo-Aryans wage a fierce struggle with them, defeating them with the help of Indra . The struggle between the two ethnic groups continued for a long time, and the whole subsequent history of India, almost until the era of Buddhism, is the history of the gradual conquest of the Hindustan Peninsula by alien Arians and the crowding out of non-Aryan natives.

However, at present there is another point of view. So some modern Western scholars believe that the Indo-Aryans along with the Dravids were the indigenous inhabitants of Hindustan, and the alleged armed conquest of the pre-Aryan population by the Aryans was not confirmed by anything: neither archaeological evidence, nor evidence in the Vedas . So, professor of anthropology Gregor Possel argues: “Nowadays there is no reason to believe that once there was a certain Aryan race” ^[2] . The British archaeologist, Professor Colin Renfrew , refuting the outdated ideas in his opinion, writes: “If we check in the Rig Veda a dozen references to seven rivers, then we will not see a hint of an invasion in any of them ... Nothing says that the Aryans were not there indigenous people ” ^[3] .

In the valley of the Indus River in the years 3300–1300, the Harappan culture of the Bronze Age ^[4] flourished, possibly referred to by the Sumerians as Meluha ^[5] . It is assumed that the creators of this culture were ethnic Dravids ^[6] .

The descendants of the pre-Aryan autochthons still inhabit the southern part of India and part of Ceylon . These are the Dravids, speaking the languages ​​of a completely independent family, and the Munda tribes living in small islands in Central India, south and southeast of the Vindhya mountains, native speakers of Austro - Asian languages.

In addition, in the north of India - on the slopes of the Himalayas - (now) there are numerous Himalayan tribes whose languages ​​belong to the Tibetan-Burmese language family .

Some of these non-Aryan tribes assimilated with those around them. Thus, the Bhil and Bhar tribes adopted the New Indian Hindi . The tribe of heaps in Terai (of Tibeto-Burmese origin) adopted Bengalis , etc. The process of such linguistic assimilation, of course, should have occurred earlier, erasing little by little the primary features of the original (more precisely, in this case, more ancient) inhabitants of Hindustan. The degree of their culture, apparently, was different. Traces of writing, even the coarsest, were left of them. The only monuments of their architecture are circles of rough stones and sheer stones and slabs, under which, like the first inhabitants of Europe, they buried their dead. In the graves were found round pots of graceful form of thin and hard clay, metal weapons, copper and gold jewelry.

More ancient archaeological finds indicate a lower degree of culture: unfamiliarity with metals, polished flint axes and other stone artifacts. Finally, traces of an even rougher culture were found in the Nerbudda Valley: agate knives and rough flint tools. In the Vedas, the “black” natives appear to have barely passed the stage of nomadic or shepherd life. They - "blacks" - have rich herds of cattle, and there are fortified places in which they defend themselves from the Indo-Aryans. The modern non-Aryan tribes of India are at different levels of culture - generally primitive: some (like Juangs or Patois (from Munda) in Orissa or Marya (Dravidians) in the Central Provinces) are at a very low stage of development, others ( Santals (Munda) in Lower Bengal and Kondas (Dravids) in Orissa) - on the higher.

Of the metals, the Indo-Aryans of the Vedic era knew: gold, bronze (silver is doubtful, but - possibly due to trade with neighbors), copper.

The Indo-Aryans were already an agricultural people, cultivating the land with a plow drawn by oxen. The furrow ( Sita ) was even deified. Barley ( yava ) was probably cultivated. Rice was still unknown (its homeland is southeast India).

Cattle breeding played an even greater role. The cow is a subject of worship. There are constant prayers in the hymns for the granting of cow herds. Gods and heroes are compared with bulls, dawn and rain clouds - with cows. (Rain clouds in particular were compared to cash cows.) Of the other domestic animals, sheep, goats, horses, donkeys, dogs are mentioned.

Of the crafts known: carpentry, cart, blacksmithing, pottery, tannin, weaving, sewing and knitting. They lived in villages ( grams ), which were sometimes fortified ( pur ). there were no cities in the real sense of the word.

At the head of the people was the king or leader ( Skt. Râjan , lat. Rêx ). His title was often hereditary, and sometimes elective. The king’s power was limited to a popular assembly. The people brought him a voluntary tribute, in the war the king was the military commander. He was accompanied by a squad ( ibkh ), which consisted not only of subordinates, but also of members of his family. At the head of the tribe stood the foreman ( vishpati ), and at the head of the clan or community - the headman ( gramani ). Next to the imperial power are already high priests ( purohita ), whose dignity also becomes hereditary over time. Indo-Aryan law was just being developed. There are legal concepts of a judge, law, crime, redemption (the redemption itself, and a fine in favor of the community or the victim).

Priests ( brahman ) and warriors ( ksatriya ) already existed, but not as self-enclosed estates. Subsequently, the classical Indian higher Varna descended from the Aryan conquerors, the subjugated natives gave a human resource for the lower Varna . A characteristic feature of the Vedic Indo-Aryans is militancy. I had to fight not only with the black dasyu, but sometimes with each other.

The battle went on chariots ( ratha ), there were no horsemen at all, like the Greeks in the era of the Iliad. On the chariot were: the fighter himself ( asthatar ) and his charioteer ( sarathi ), who ruled the reins and the scourge. Foot-to-hand combat was also practiced. The armament consisted of a carapace ( warman ) that covered the shoulders and upper body, helmet, bow ( dhanus ) (on the arm the archers wore a special belt ( hastaghna ), which protected it from the blow of a lowered bowstring). The arrows had poisonous bone and, also, bronze tips. Spears, darts, knives, battle axes, etc. also appear.

The Rigveda describes the famous battles. The Battle of the Ten Kings is especially often mentioned, in which Sudas, King of Tritzu, defeated Bharata and his 10 allies.

The clothes consisted of a lower woolen dress ( wasas or vastra ) and a cloak or cape (adhivasa, drapi). Women wore aprons. The beard was shaved (razor is mentioned).

The food consisted of: milk and dairy products, grains of bread plants, which were either fried or ground using two stones for baking something like bread. Different fruits also went to food. The meat - fried and boiled (not raw) - was rarely consumed. Fish is not at all mentioned as food. Drinks: catfish , prepared from milk and plant juice, with psychoactive properties, and sura .

There was no written language - in the Vedas there is no mention of a letter or written materials. Anthems were composed and transmitted from one generation to another orally. As you can see from them, lyric poetry was already highly developed and developed a number of sonorous and even elegant sizes (eight-syllable gayatri and anushtubh and eleven- complex trishtubh ). The rudiments of didactic and epic poetry are already noticeable - a description of the aforementioned battle of 10 kings can serve as an example of the latter.

Music enjoyed a lot of love. Of musical instruments, the kind of lute or other string instrument ( wine ), flute ( van, vani, tunava ), cymbals or castanets ( karkari ) are mentioned . Prayers to the gods were accompanied by music. In the war, drums ( dundubhi ) and wind instruments were played (a bagpipe variety, bakura, was probably used).

Vedic Indo-Arians undoubtedly dominated monotheism. Polygamy was rare (only among kings and nobles) and universal became much later. The head of the family is grhapati (the ruler of the house, the head of the family) - father, patriarch. The bride redeemed (?) With rich gifts for the future father-in-law. Marriage is considered an institution established by the gods. The wife is the mistress - grhapatni (mistress of the house, matriarch). A marriage between a brother and sister is considered criminal. The inheritance and rights of the father pass to the eldest son. Violence against defenseless girls and marital infidelity are among the most serious crimes. The burning of widows is not mentioned. Obviously, the custom of burning widows among some tribes was formed in the era of the formation of classical Hinduism and under the influence of the customs of the pre-Aryan peoples of Hindustan.

The afterlife awaited a man in the kingdom of Pit , sitting and drinking with the gods and ancestors under a shady tree. An unextinguished light shines there, eternal waters flow, all desires are fulfilled, joy and pleasure, fun and bliss dwell. The spirits of the ancestors ( pitaras ) enjoyed special honor - almost on a par with the gods - they were called to sacrifice and offered a special drink, a wedding . Sacrifices were made to the gods with an exclamation of “Matchmaker!” And to their ancestors with an exclamation of “Swadha!”

The religion of the Hindus in the era of the Rig Veda is a pronounced polytheism. The beginnings of monotheism slip from time to time and, having not reached development, in the later eras completely disappear.

The highest and purest deity in the Rig Veda is Varuna (the root of var is to dress, embrace). The name is probably one of the epithets of the god Dyaus . Varuna reigns over all life and light, is the omniscient father and creator of everything that exists.

Next to him are six of his brothers - the bright Adityas , that is, the sons of Aditi (infinity), which are of less importance than him. The most prominent of them is Mitra (primarily, probably, the sun god), invoked and praised always together with Varuna (there is even a straightforward compound word in the dual number of Mitravarunau ). The other is Bhaga (in the Avesta of Bagh , glories. God ). Less significant are the other Adityas : Aryaman , Daksha and Ansha . In general, Adityas are a repetition and development of the bright foundation of Varuna itself: Mitra = friend, Bhaga = kind, Daksha = clever, smart (cf. Greek δεξιός , senior glorious gum “right”), Ansha = bearer. Miter for the Hindus later became the “cursed bhag” for attempting to seize power. After Varuna, Indra Gromovik began to rule, as indicated by later sources. All other gods subordinate to Varuna can be divided into three groups ( Triloka ):

1. gods of visible heavenly light phenomena (sun, dawn, etc.);
2. gods of airspace, winds, etc.
3. gods abiding on earth.

The first group includes Ashvins (“horsemen”, horsemen), who appear first in the morning sky, at dawn, and leading daylight. Ashwins are twins riding in golden chariots drawn by horses, eagles or falcons. These are beneficial gods, gifted with wisdom and miraculous healing power, healing the blind and relaxed, restoring youth to the elders. Like the Dioscuri with whom they are identical, they save the lost on the sea. They are followed by the morning dawn of Ushas . Her sister, a night decorated with stars, the bearer of peace, is also glorified in the Rig Veda . The center of all light deities is the sun, bearing various names: Surya , following the morning dawn, as a young man after a girl, Savitar (life-giver, awakener), called more often than the previous one, stretching his golden hands (rays) across the sky, awakening all life and calming everyone in the evening. Pusan (the "feeder") has a completely different character - a shepherd, armed with a chariot, walking through the sky and giving herds growth and prosperity. One of the Adityas, Mithra, was also primarily a solar god. This is the primary character of the invisible god Vishnu in the Rig Veda, who later comes to the fore.

The strongest among the second group is the god of thunder and rain, Indra , who is also called often with Varuna; next to the gods of wind and storm: Vayu , or Vata, numerous Maruts and their father Rudra with the epithet Shiva (good), from which the great god Shiva subsequently develops; the rain god - Parjanya is found in the Rig Veda, but then comes into complete oblivion. Ribhu , supernatural beings who have received divine dignity for their art, also live in the airspace.

In the third group, the most important god is the god of fire - Agni (cf. lat. Ignis , senior glorious fire “fire”). He was obtained from heaven, as a gift from the gods, Atharvan or Matarishvan , corresponding to the Greek Prometheus . Agni is the guardian of the good, with his arrows he pierces the demons of the Rakshasas ; his main occupation is to serve as an ambassador or mediator between people and gods and to offer sacrificial gifts to heaven. The sacrifice must be performed in the open; the fire for her was "wiped" from two pieces of wood. The gifts consisted of oil or fat pouring into the fire. Agni is portrayed as a warrior in a chariot drawn by a flame. In heaven it appears in the form of the sun, in the air - lightning; he is the son of water (lightning from a rain cloud), into which he is saved from pursuit (disappears, goes out in the water).

A whole series of lower deities or demigods lives on earth. Rivers are enriched, even the furrow held by a plow; the house genius Vastoshpati (“master of the house”) lives in the house, in the forest - the forest nymph Aranyani ( aranya = forest), kind in nature and not offending anyone who does not touch her, eating forest fruits and then resting sweetly in the shade of the trees. The gods include two personifications, artificial (perhaps created by priests) and serving as a transitional link to the later period of the development of the Indian religion: the god Soma = an enriched sacred drink, and Brihaspati or Brahmanaspati (“Lord of Prayer”), which is an attempt to create a single a collective deity similar to the later Brahma , not yet found in the Rig Veda. The properties and exploits of other gods are transferred to him: he embraces everything (like Varuna), he split a cloud of rock with his vajra (like Indra ), made a sacrifice to the gods (like Agni ), etc. That original feature of Vedic mythology is already reflected in this image. , which made some ( Max Muller ) completely deny its polytheistic character. This is a tendency to monotheism ( genotheism ), which should not be confused with monotheism (monotheism).

Each of the gods can be the highest god, overshadowing the rest. When one god is called in the Vedas , everything that can be said about other gods is attributed to him. In connection with this shade of pantheism there are also glimpses of monotheism in some later hymns of the Rigveda. The Hindu’s tendency toward philosophical speculation, which had already manifested itself, strove to bring the order of unity into the formless, vague chaos of genotheism-pantheism; the fruit of this desire is the “creator of everything that exists” - Vishvakarman or Prajapati (the lord of creatures), which plays a prominent role in the next period, the literary monument of which is the prosaic parts of Yajurveda .

Around about 1200 BC. e. Indo-Aryans gradually move from Punjab further to the southeast and occupy the upper reaches of the Ganges and the Yamuna (Jumna) and the Sarasvati and Drishadvati rivers . Gradually, the shepherd’s life is replaced by a settled - agricultural and industrial. Big cities and capitals of famous dynasties appear. The people, formerly divided into small separate tribes, unite in large societies under the control of mighty princes.

More and more separate estates are emerging, which are gradually transforming into classical Hindu castes. The pre-Aryan population of India is completely broken - it is either pushed farther south and southeast, or enslaved and became part of the lower castes. The value and power of the priests is enhanced. Asceticism and hermitage are developing, which are not even discussed in the Rig Veda. The Vedic doctrine of the transmigration of souls is transformed into the classical Hindu known to us. (According to Vedic doctrine, the human soul can again be embodied only in the human body and often (but not always) in the same varna (that is, for example, a ksatriya in the material world is most likely to be born again as a ksatriya.) In Hinduism, the human soul can be embodied as in higher and lower caste, or even in the body of an animal. Vedic and Hindu teachings on karma are different.) The external geographical and climatic conditions have changed completely. Hot, humid atmosphere of the river valley. The Ganges, with its lush tropical vegetation, which delivers everything to a person without difficulty, weakened and divided the vigorous, energetic Indoarius of the time of the Rigveda.

Physical inactivity caused by the hot climate and ease of life among the generous nature, gave room for self-contemplation and reflection. The literary monuments of this era (1200-800 BC) are the prosaic parts of the Yajurveda and the adjoining "Brahmins." In this era, the Indo-Aryans already have trade relations with other countries. Phoenician ships deliver to kings Giram and Solomon (c. 1000 BC) various products from Ophir (probably the people of Abhîra in the Lower Indus): ivory, sandalwood, monkeys, peacocks. In the religion of this period, new features are noticed: Asuras are already as evil demons, whereas earlier in the Rigveda, Asura was an epithet of the bright Varuna.

Only in Yajurveda is the antagonism between good virgins and evil asuras waging an eternal war among themselves. More begins to appear Vishnu , identified with the victim, which is particularly important. Shiva , completely invisible in the Rig Veda, is also becoming more visible. The great nymphs Apsaras, insignificant in the Rig Veda, also gain more importance. For the first time, the cult of serpent gods or enriched snakes is completely unknown in the Rig Veda. The king of all beings - Prajapati, which is found only in the later hymns of the Rig Veda, acquires more significance and is outlined brighter.

A characteristic feature of this period in religious terms is, however, not the indicated features, but a completely new attitude towards the gods, a new look at their worship, power and significance. Instead of the plastic, vivid mythological images of the Rig Veda, there are constant identifications of one concept with another and symbolization. Thus, the Vedic poetic dimensions of jagati and trishtubh are identified with heaven and airspace. The vault of heaven and even the artist of the gods Tvashtar - with a year, etc. To explain these or other terms used in a cult or ritual, they constantly resort to etymologization, very often ridiculous and arbitrary, but often quite true and promising in the future a remarkable flourishing grammatical science. It is a highly complex and intricate cult, which is associated with the separation of the priesthood, who received primacy in society. The center of all religious life is the sacrifice, through which the priests hold the gods themselves in their power. For the correct fulfillment of all types of it, a whole system of rules, prescriptions, liturgical formulas is created, which presses down any free human movement and feeling.

The whole life of a believer is spent in sacrifices, of which others last whole days, weeks, months, even years. As a counterweight to this soulless formalism, is hermitism, austerity, mortification of the flesh in the name of the development of the spirit. Such a state of mind set the stage for the perception of a joyless Hindu version of the dogma of the transmigration of souls - only through an endlessly long journey through countless bodies can a believer finally achieve his desired goal.

Brahmins (priests) declare themselves gods, forming a special class of gods. In Maitrayani Samhita and some other monuments, this is affirmed in expressions that do not allow doubt (later in the laws of Manu, this is further strengthened: the brahman is already a deity by virtue of his birth). The ratio of brahmanas during this period of time to other classes is often extremely self-serving. The sacrificer is all in the hands of the priest. The latter can, having omitted some feature of the ritual or mixed up the rites, destroy him - or deliver him everything by making a sacrifice according to canonical rules.

The estates in "Yajurveda" are already completely worked out:

1. brahmanas - the priestly estate;
2. rajanya (royal) and kshatriya (dominant, noble);
3. vaishya — free peasant landowners (“popular”);
4. pure sudra - sudra-aryans (court servants, artisans, merchants).
5. other (unclean) sudra (also “black” sudra) - other non-Aryan or mixed population.

The later, inexorable, soulless nature of these differences of estates do not yet have. Nevertheless, the whole structure of life is already being brought into contact with them. Brahmins sacrifice in the spring (their patron gods are Brihaspati, Mitra or Mitra and Varuna, as well as Agni, Soma, Savitar, etc.). Kshatriyas donate in the summer (their patron god Indra). In the Vaishya - Maruta, etc. An impure sudra, like a non-Aryan and a Gentile, is completely excluded from those who sacrifice. He cannot milk a cow at the sacrifice. Even a bucket for sacrificial milk cannot be made by him. (For comparison: a pure sudra - a Sudra-Aryan - can naturally milk a cow and make a bucket for sacrificial milk.) But all these conditions cannot be called difficult, although they indicate that a non-Arian sudra was considered unclean. A woman is not yet considered unclean and is allowed to sacrifice. The owner and mistress of the house perform famous ceremonies together, and some - separately. Nevertheless, a dismissive and slightly negative look at the woman is already slipping in places. A woman cannot inherit. Girls can be left to their own devices, but boys cannot. In this era (about 1200-1000 BC), the Indo-Aryans occupied the so-called Madhyadesha (middle country) - an area bounded in the north by the Himalayas, in the south by the Vindhya mountains, in the west of Vinashan, in the east by the confluence of the Ganges with the Yamuna (Jamna) .

The main cultural center is the land of the Kuru and Panchala tribes, often signified by the complex name Kurupanchala (western part of Madhyades). The land of kuru (Kurukshetra) is surrounded by a special halo, like a “holy” land, and is constantly mentioned in Yajurveda, Brahmanas, Upanishads and other Vedic monuments. It is the cradle of later Brahmanism and its culture, from where they spread throughout India. She is also the birthplace of the Indian epic.

As you know, the main plot of the Mahabharata is the struggle of the Panchala and Matsya clans with the Kuru (Bharata). The poems themselves in the final edition date back to the later times, the so-called Middle Ages of history. In the later era, the famous cities of Gastinapura, Indraprastha, Kausambi appear in Kurukshetra.

The neighboring tribes are Matsya and Surasena ( Çûrasena ), with the cities of Mathura and Krishnapura. Other tribes moved further east: mowed to the north-east of the Ganges (Ch. Mountains. - their famous Ayodhyâ , now Aud ); further east of the videha , with the main city of Mithila ; here, at the court of the learned king Janaka, the famous sage Yajnavalkya acted and disputes of learned brahmanas took place, in which the king himself participated. On the lower reaches of the Ganges after its merger with the Yamuna, the kingdom of Kashi formed, with the city of Kashi, or Varanasi , and even further to the east the Anga tribe sat with the city of Champa. Finally, to the south of the Lower Ganges lay the kingdom of Magadha with the capital Rajagriha. In these eastern regions, Buddhism arises, the birthplace of which is precisely Magadha.

Valuable material for the cultural history of this era is provided by the brahmanas (prosaic commentaries associated with various Vedas) , aranyakas (treatises for hermits) , Upanishads (philosophical works) and sutras (collections of rules of personal and social life, which are already part of the Buddhist era) . The so-called Grhhyasutra (home rules) are especially detailed in their everyday life and customs: home worship, ceremonies during matchmaking and weddings, raising and educating children, building a house, etc. The importance of priests in this period (1000-600) increases more and more. ; estate borders are becoming harder and harder. A judge must always decide in favor of a brahmana, even if his opponent (nebrahman) was right. The killing of a non-brahman is almost not considered a murder. The material welfare of the priests and their greed are increasing. With a sacrifice to Soma, priests must not be given less than 100 cows. The brahmana who performed the rite of initiation to the kings receives gold, 1000 cows and a piece of land. But the position of the sudras is getting worse; the brahmanas teach that a sudra is a servant of all other classes, and he can be killed with impunity. Public morality is low. So, for serious misconduct against chastity, sudras prescribe relatively light penances. Buddha later complains of the terrible licentiousness of the brahmanas. Morality and the ever-increasing regulation of personal life does not help: the study of sacred books is zealously prescribed; every arya should know the Vedas, which, therefore, do not constitute the privileges of the brahmanas alone. Sudras alone lack this knowledge.

As a compromise between these external requirements and the desire for inner, moral satisfaction in the knowledge of truth, which carried the deeper natures into the solitude of forests and hermitism, four stages of personal life, the so-called ashrams, are developed. Of these, a brahmana must go through all four, a ksatriya - three, a vaisya - two. Each boy aged 7 to 12 years (a brahmana on the 8-10th, a kshatriya on the 11th, a vaisya on the 12th) is given to a brahmana teacher to teach the Vedas. This stage is called brahmachari (disciple), the following: grhastha (householder), in which the student of the Vedas can marry and have his own home; vanaprastha , when he brought up his children goes into the forest and becomes a "forest hermit", and, finally, a sannyasi , "renounced the world." Only after passing the first two stages, required by the conditions of social life, could a person surrender to personal aspirations for saving his soul and thinking. The aspirations for a contemplative and speculative life of the spirit finally poured out in the Upanishads - philosophical treatises dating back to the later (than the Brahmins) era and prepared by the intense mental work of entire generations on the fruitless and unusually complex rules of the ritual and their explanation.

Here we find an attempt to solve world issues and doubts that arose from the deeper natures of this era. How to know the soul of the world - the great Atman-creator of everything that exists - Prajapati , who created everything by himself and from himself Brahman - the essence of all holiness and spiritual height? These questions concern not only the brahmanas, but also other classes that previously stood far from them.

The kings arrange philosophical disputes in which the wisest brahmanas compete, even take part in them themselves, like King Varanasi Ajatasra, who teaches the proud brahmana Balaki Gargya regarding the essence of brahmana. King Janaka also instructs the sage Yajnavalku. Apparently, the kshatriyas (kings and warriors) took a considerable part in the compilation of the Upanishads. Women are also interested in philosophical issues and often appear in the Upanishads as interlocutors of the sages. This philosophical movement ends with the ancient Vedic period of the history of India. The Upanishads are the Vedanta (end of the Vedas). You cannot go further in wisdom. But in this movement there are many elements that unfolded in full force only in the next major historical period - the era of the so-called Middle Ages of India (from 600 BC), when there was a new mental and religious movement - Buddhism . The desire for austerity, the renunciation of the perishable blessings of this world and its ephemeral joys, the foundation of numerous monastic communities are phenomena that still preceded Buddhism.

In the transitional period between the Vedic period and the upcoming “Middle Ages” of India, some new religious ideas and concepts are being developed. They include the representation of the supreme deity, the creator of the material world - Brahma . An impersonal and abstract concept of Brahman appears (primarily the concept of “prayer”, then the sacred essence of prayer, sacrifice and priest, the substrate of all shrine and holiness). This Brahman ("holy", "spiritual"), identified with the soul of the world - the Atman , was at the end of the Vedic era the highest religious idea requiring higher veneration. From an abstract idea, the people made a personal, masculine supreme deity Brahma. In the same era, dogmas on the transmigration of souls, the primary heritage of theologians, and then, from the time of the Buddha, a common belief are developed of paramount importance. A hopeless, mortal labyrinth of prescriptions of a complex ritual, insignificant evasion of which threatened death, the absence of sharp differences between concepts, brought up by the desire to find in all kinds of things a common grain, vague pantheism, which represented all existing emanations of one supreme being - all these elements in a certain transformation and combination entered into a new dogma or prepared it.

First, the idea arises that death constantly pursues a person, and it is impossible to get rid of it without gifts. This persecution continues in the afterlife. The idea of ​​wandering through various beings, ending in repeated death, is already in the bud. Only after going through a whole series of bodies, dying and reborn again, the soul can finally merge with the Atman, the soul of the world. The Atman-Brahman develops from itself all separate existences, of which some are closer to him, others further. The degree of proximity to the Atman increases gradually. In accordance with this and with its properties, each soul must go a more or less long way to merge with the Atman. The lower souls pass into solid objects (wood, stones), higher souls again fall into some mother’s womb, just and noble ones - into the blissful world of the moon, from where they return to the earth again after a certain time, and only those who “know” reach Brahman. The order of passage through various existences is developed more systematically over time. Especially important in this regard is the doctrine of karma ( pocket ), that is, of the “acts” of a person that determine one or another order of travel. This teaching explained the injustice of the fate of individuals and closely linked the dogma of the transmigration of souls with the requirements of morality. The resettlement of souls was in perfect harmony with the inexorable character, which was adopted in later eras by the caste demarcation, which was developed gradually.

• India // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• A forgotten world arises // Knowledge is power. 1978. No. 4.
• Indo-Aryans and civilization in the Ganges Valley