HISTORY MYSTERY

                        VARNA SYSTEM INTRODUCTION V arna is a Sanskrit term, derived from ‘vr’ — to cover, to envelop, count, classify, consider, describe or choose.  The term is used to describe the social class divisions made in the Vedic period in the Brahminical books like the Manusmriti. It is important to note that the word caste is derived from the Portuguese word “Casta” which means breed or race. This word used interchangeably with Varna, which is contextually wrong.   Varna system is the social stratification based on the Varna, caste. Four basic categories are defined under this system -  Brahmins  (priests, teachers, intellectuals),  Kshatriyas  (warriors, kings, administrators),  Vaishyas  (agriculturalists, traders, farmers ) and  Shudras  (workers, labourers, artisans). ORIGIN AND MOTIVE OF THE VARNA SYSTEM Brahmins  are the teachers and wise men (sometimes ...

                                           VEDAS INTRODUCTION Vedas, meaning “knowledge,” were written in Vedic Sanskrit between 1500 and 500 BCE in the northwestern region the Indian Subcontinent. The Vedas were transmitted orally during the course of numerous subsequent generations before finally being archived in written form. Not much is known about the authors of the Vedas, as the focus is placed on the ideas found in Vedic tradition rather than those who originated the ideas. The oldest of the texts is the Rig Veda, and while it is not possible to establish precise dates for each of the ancient texts, it is believed the collection was completed by the end of the 2nd millennium BCE (Before Common Era).   There are four  Vedas : the Rig Veda contains hymns about their mythology; the Sama Veda consists mainly of hymns about religious rituals; t...

                                                                         VEDIC AGE  The Vedic period OR Vedic age (c. 1500 – c. 600 BCE) is the period in the history of the Indian subcontinent intervening between the end of the urban Indus Valley Civilization, and a second urbanisation which began in 600 BCE. It gets its name from the Vedas The Vedas were composed and orally transmitted by speakers of an Old Indo-Aryan language who had migrated into the north western regions of the Indian subcontinent early in this period. The associated Vedic culture was tribal and pastoral until c. 1200 or 1100 BCE, and centred in the Punjab. It then spread eastward to the Ganges Plain, becoming more agricultural and settled. The Vedic period saw the...

INTRODUCTION   Indus civilization , also called   Indus valley civilization   or   Harappan civilization , the earliest known   urban culture   of the Indian subcontinent. The nuclear dates of the civilization appear to be about 2500–1700   BCE , though the southern sites may have lasted later into the 2nd millennium   BCE . SITES The civilization was first identified in 1921 at  Harappa   in the Punjab region and then in 1922 at   Mohenjo-daro   (Mohenjodaro), near the   Indus River   in the Sindh (Sind) region. Both sites are in present-day   Pakistan , in   Punjab   and   Sindh   provinces, respectively. The ruins of Mohenjo-daro were designated a UNESCO   World Heritage site   in 1980. Subsequently, vestiges of the civilization were found as far apart as  Sutkagen Dor  in southwestern  Balochistan  province, Pakistan, near the shore of the  Arabian Sea , ...