Question

Consider the following statements about the Vedic period:

1. Grihastha Ashram was the feeder of all other Ashrams

2. The village officer was called ‘Gramani’

3. The merchant class was called ‘Vish’

Which of the statements given above is/are true?

1. Only 1
2. 1, 2
3. 1, 3
4. 1, 2, 3

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 2 : 1, 2

Vedic Period:

• There are four Ashramas or stages in life, viz., Brahmacharya or the period of studentship, Grihastha or the stage of the householder, Vanaprastha or the stage of the forest-dweller or hermit, and Sannyasa or the life of renunciation or asceticism.
• Each stage has its own duties. These stages help the evolution of man.
•  Grihastha:
  • The second stage is that of the Grihastha or householder.
  • The household stage is entered at marriage when the student has completed his studentship and is ready to take up the duties and responsibilities of householder life.
  • Of all the Asramas, this is the most important, because it supports all the others.
  • As all creatures live supported by the air, so the other Orders exist supported by the householder.
  • As all streams and rivers flow to rest in the ocean, so all the Asramas flow to rest in the householder.
  • The Grihastha is the very heart of Aryan life. Everything depends on him.
• During the Rig-Vedic era, the basic unit of power lied within a patriarchal family (Kula).
  • The head of the family was a Kulapa.
  • A group of such families called grama, which was controlled by a village headman Gramini. 
  • The groups of the villages belonged to a clan (Vis) and many clans made a community called Jana.

Thus, we can conclude that statements 1 and 2 are correct regarding the Vedic period.

The family was the basic unit of the Rigvedic society.

• It was patriarchal in nature Monogamy was the usual norm of marriage but the chiefs at times practiced polygamy.
• Marriages took place after attaining maturity.
• After marriage, the wife went to her husband’s house.
• The family was part of a larger grouping called vis or clan. One or more than one clan made Jana or tribe.