Religious beliefs of vedic period
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Rig-Veda Period:
The Aryans were deeply impressed by the great phenomena of nature which they conceived as alive and usually represented in anthropomorphic form.
They believed in a complex and varied host of gods who were 33 in number.
Important rig vedic Gods were :
1. Indra
2. Agni
3. Varuna
4.Soma
The Vedic religion has predominantly male gods, the female divinities were very few. The most important female divinity were Ushas (the goddess of dawn) and Aditi (the great mother of gods). Other female deities were Prithvi (a personification of the earth), Ratri (the spirit of the night), Aranyani (the forest goddess), lla (the goddess of offerings), etc.
Mode of Worship:
The dominant mode of worshipping the gods was through the recitation of prayers and offering of sacrifices. Both collective and individual prayers were made. Offerings of vegetables, barley, etc. were made to gods. But in Rig Vedic times the process was not accompanied by any ritual or sacrificial formulae.
At this stage the magical power of the word was not considered as important as it came to be in later Vedic times. The Rig Vedic people did not worship gods for their spiritual uplift or for ending the miseries of existence. They asked mainly for Praja (children), Pashu (cattle), food, wealth, health, etc.
The Rig-Veda Aryans believed in the life after death. The dead were either buried or cremated, and according to some passages, dwelt in the realm of Yama, the king of the dead.
Later Vedic Period:
In this period, the upper doab developed to be the cradle of Aryan culture under brahmanical influence. The two outstanding Rig Vedic gods, Indra and Agni, lost their former importance and Prajapati, the creator, came to occupy the supreme position.
The sacrificial cult was elaborate and an extremely specialised activity assuring both public and domestic character. The earlier element of communal participation was gradually lost. Sacrifices involved the killing of animals on a large scale (Pasubandhu). The guest was known as goghna or one who was fed on cattle.
The Aryans were deeply impressed by the great phenomena of nature which they conceived as alive and usually represented in anthropomorphic form.
They believed in a complex and varied host of gods who were 33 in number.
Important rig vedic Gods were :
1. Indra
2. Agni
3. Varuna
4.Soma
The Vedic religion has predominantly male gods, the female divinities were very few. The most important female divinity were Ushas (the goddess of dawn) and Aditi (the great mother of gods). Other female deities were Prithvi (a personification of the earth), Ratri (the spirit of the night), Aranyani (the forest goddess), lla (the goddess of offerings), etc.
Mode of Worship:
The dominant mode of worshipping the gods was through the recitation of prayers and offering of sacrifices. Both collective and individual prayers were made. Offerings of vegetables, barley, etc. were made to gods. But in Rig Vedic times the process was not accompanied by any ritual or sacrificial formulae.
At this stage the magical power of the word was not considered as important as it came to be in later Vedic times. The Rig Vedic people did not worship gods for their spiritual uplift or for ending the miseries of existence. They asked mainly for Praja (children), Pashu (cattle), food, wealth, health, etc.
The Rig-Veda Aryans believed in the life after death. The dead were either buried or cremated, and according to some passages, dwelt in the realm of Yama, the king of the dead.
Later Vedic Period:
In this period, the upper doab developed to be the cradle of Aryan culture under brahmanical influence. The two outstanding Rig Vedic gods, Indra and Agni, lost their former importance and Prajapati, the creator, came to occupy the supreme position.
The sacrificial cult was elaborate and an extremely specialised activity assuring both public and domestic character. The earlier element of communal participation was gradually lost. Sacrifices involved the killing of animals on a large scale (Pasubandhu). The guest was known as goghna or one who was fed on cattle.
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Early Aryans performed yajnas and offered prayers and chanted hymns. During the Later Vedic period, the mode of worship became complex and complicated. The Early Vedic gods such as Indra, Agni, Varan, etc., lost their importance and were replaced by Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
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