The Vedas and Vedic Culture

Class 6 Social Science · Chapter 7: India's Cultural Roots · NCERT Exploring Society: India and Beyond section 7.1

Learn

Early one morning, Isha hears her neighbour, an old teacher, chanting verses in a steady rhythm. "These words are more than three thousand years old," he tells her, "and they have been passed on by memory, from teacher to student, all this time."

Indian culture has many roots, like a great tree. One of the oldest roots is the Vedas, a vast collection of hymns and teachings in an early form of Sanskrit. There are four Vedas: the Rigveda (the oldest), the Samaveda, the Yajurveda and the Atharvaveda.

The hymns were composed by rishis (sages or seers), both men and women. They praise nature and speak of truth, harmony and living well together. One famous idea is that truth is one, though the wise call it by many names. Vedic chanting is so precise that UNESCO has recognised it as part of the world's cultural heritage.

Later texts called the Upanishads asked deep questions: *Who am I? What is the self (atman)? What is the reality behind everything?* They teach through dialogues. In one, the learned woman Gargi questions the sage Yajnavalkya in a royal assembly. In another, a father uses salt dissolved in water to show his son that the truth is present everywhere even when unseen.

Explore: sort the four Vedas and the Upanishads.

1. Sort each card.

Remember

• The four Vedas (Rig, Sama, Yajur, Atharva) are among the oldest roots of Indian culture.
• The Upanishads explore questions about the self and reality through dialogues.

Quick check

Which is the oldest Veda?

1. Rigveda
2. Atharvaveda
3. Samaveda
4. Yajurveda

Think about it

How could such long texts survive for centuries without being written down?

Practice

Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.