Vedism is a polytheistic religion brought to India around 1500 B.C.E. by invading Aryan tribes who gradually conquered the earlier Indus Civilization (already in its decline). Vedism later developed into Hinduism. Early Vedism was a life and earth-affirming, positive faith appropriate to battle-loving tribes whose chieftains and gods/goddesses and heroes resemble divinities and characters. There are also parallels to Celtic and Teutonic mythology and rituals. Vedic sacrifices were conducted in any properly consecrated open place. Vedism stressed hope for an afterlife in heaven and lacked the concepts of karma and reincarnation which would come to dominate Hinduism. The term veda is linguistically linked to the Latin video (I see) and reflects a knowledge which is received through a form of vision/revelation and which in the form of sacred words mysteriously reenacts the process of creation. 

Scriptures: The Vedas (veda, literally "knowledge" from the Sanskrit root vid-, to know), a collection of hymns composed between 1500 and 900 B.C.E. and passed orally from teacher to student. There are four Vedas: the Rig-Veda (the oldest; 1028 sacred hymns to accompany sacrifices to the many gods), the Sama-Veda (verses arranged for ritual purposes), the Yahur-Veda (sacrificial formulae), and the Atharva-Veda (magical spells). Additional Vedic scriptures are the Brahmanas (theological treatises dealing with the details and symbolic significance of Vedic ritual).  An excellent new translation  of the Vedas (by Raimon Panikkar) is available on the Web. 

Gods: Early Vedic gods are similar to the gods of the Greek pantheon, gods of natural forces appropriate to a nomadic warrior people. Eventually we find literally hundreds of thousands of major and minor gods, spirits, and demons.

Indra: God of war, and rain storm, who at the dawn of time destroys the dragon Vritra with his thunderbolt, thus liberating the cosmic waters and making the creation possible. He "sets free the river's path; all riverbanks yield to his manly might. . . . The mother earth, now brown and bare, will soon wear a wedding gown of green." 

Varuna: Maintainer of cosmic and moral order (rta), the mighty Lord of knowledge and magic who controls the evolving universe. The heavenly bodies are his all-seeing eyes, observing the actions of humans on earth. He is often associated with the sun-god, Mitra, who establishes laws for humankind and ensures the wellbeing of society. Indra, Varuna, and Mitra (Persian Mithra) are children of the boundless Earth Mother Aditi (the roles of mother-daughter-wife and father-son-husband are often merged in mythology).

Vak: a goddess of sacred speech and reciting prayers and mantras.

Agni: God of fire, through whose power sacrifice rises to the heavens. The cult of fire profoundly affects the religion and mythology of Iran (Zoroastrianism, which is still practiced by a minority population called the Parsis in India who emigrated from Iran after that country’s Islamization).

Soma: God of the hallucinogenic soma (or hoama) juice. Soma, the god, coalesces with soma, the drink of the gods, which gives Indra the power to slay the dragon. As drink as well as god, Soma confers great strength, wisdom, and immortality. Soma also provides a form of union between the priest and the god.

Terms and Concepts:

Aryan: The term the invading Indo-Europeans applied to themselves (from arya--noble).

Sanskrit: Language of the Aryans and sacred language of Vedism and Hinduism. 

Rta: See Varuna. Cosmic order of natural and ethical significance, oneness underlying the multiplicity of events.

Varna: Classes of society (castes) which manifest the eternal law of rta. There are four major castes: the Brahmin or priestly caste, the Kshatriya or warrior/noble caste, the Vaisya or farmer and mercantile caste, and finally, the Sudra or peasant and laborer caste. Beneath the four castes are the Panchamas (Untouchables) whose occupations involve the handling of unclean objects (hides, corpses, garbage, and so forth). The Untouchables may originally have been assigned such lowly tasks because of their pre-Aryan origins.

Origin of the Universe: Among explanations are: 

(a)A golden embryo (R.V. 10. 121) hovers over the primal waters and fecundates them by entering them.

(b)Passionate desire (kama similar to the Greek eros), which proceeds from the undifferentiated ONE, acts on chaos to produce the cosmos (R.V. 10. 129, 4). 

(c) No explanation may be possible; even the gods may not know (R.V. 10. 129, 7). 

(d)One of the most fascinating myths of origin depicts the entire cosmos resulting from the Primeval Person (Purusa) sacrificing himself to himself in order to engender through his own dismemberment the various aspects of the cosmos, most particularly the four great castes (R.V. 10. 90). He is at once sacrificial victim and the divinity to whom the sacrifice is offered, and is also known as Prajapati, who replaces Varuna as arbiter of the cosmic order. By "heating" himself, Prajapati generates the universe through either his sweat or his semen, thus establishing through his self-sacrifice the order of things that is perpetuated through the rituals and sacrifices of the Brahmins.

Practice: Vedism was primarily a religion of sacrifice. Eventually this sacrifice came to be conceived as the reenactment of the above mentioned primal sacrifice, that is, the reenactment of creation, the renewal of the universe. The efficacy of the sacrifice depended on exact adherence to rules and gave immense power to the priests who alone were considered capable of performing the ritual correctly. By the end of the Vedic period (800-500 B.C.E.) ritual had become formalized and sterile. 

Development: Toward the end of the Vedic period theological speculation moved more and more in the direction of seeking unity among the gods. At first this took the form of a practice called kathenotheism (literally "one-god-at-a-time-ism") in which one god would be addressed as supreme within the context of a particular sacrifice or hymn. Since other gods continue to be recognized, this cannot be called genuine monotheism. Eventually, all personal gods were transcended as the Brahmins focused in on an absolute oneness, source and goal of all being, the essential reality beyond gods and cosmos. This process (which resulted in the establishment of Hinduism), however, was not completed until after the development of two major religions of essentially non-Aryan origin, Jainism and BuddhismII. VEDISM (BRAHMANISM)

Vedism is a polytheistic religion brought to India around 1500 B.C.E. by invading Aryan tribes who gradually conquered the earlier Indus Civilization (already in its decline). Vedism later developed into Hinduism. Early Vedism was a life and earth-affirming, positive faith appropriate to battle-loving tribes whose chieftains and gods/goddesses and heroes resemble divinities and characters. There are also parallels to Celtic and Teutonic mythology and rituals. Vedic sacrifices were conducted in any properly consecrated open place. Vedism stressed hope for an afterlife in heaven and lacked the concepts of karma and reincarnation which would come to dominate Hinduism. The term veda is linguistically linked to the Latin video (I see) and reflects a knowledge which is received through a form of vision/revelation and which in the form of sacred words mysteriously reenacts the process of creation. 

Scriptures: The Vedas (veda, literally "knowledge" from the Sanskrit root vid-, to know), a collection of hymns composed between 1500 and 900 B.C.E. and passed orally from teacher to student. There are four Vedas: the Rig-Veda (the oldest; 1028 sacred hymns to accompany sacrifices to the many gods), the Sama-Veda (verses arranged for ritual purposes), the Yahur-Veda (sacrificial formulae), and the Atharva-Veda (magical spells). Additional Vedic scriptures are the Brahmanas (theological treatises dealing with the details and symbolic significance of Vedic ritual).  An excellent new translation  of the Vedas (by Raimon Panikkar) is available on the Web. 

Gods: Early Vedic gods are similar to the gods of the Greek pantheon, gods of natural forces appropriate to a nomadic warrior people. Eventually we find literally hundreds of thousands of major and minor gods, spirits, and demons.

Indra: God of war, and rain storm, who at the dawn of time destroys the dragon Vritra with his thunderbolt, thus liberating the cosmic waters and making the creation possible. He "sets free the river's path; all riverbanks yield to his manly might. . . . The mother earth, now brown and bare, will soon wear a wedding gown of green." 

Varuna: Maintainer of cosmic and moral order (rta), the mighty Lord of knowledge and magic who controls the evolving universe. The heavenly bodies are his all-seeing eyes, observing the actions of humans on earth. He is often associated with the sun-god, Mitra, who establishes laws for humankind and ensures the wellbeing of society. Indra, Varuna, and Mitra (Persian Mithra) are children of the boundless Earth Mother Aditi (the roles of mother-daughter-wife and father-son-husband are often merged in mythology).

Vak: a goddess of sacred speech and reciting prayers and mantras.

Agni: God of fire, through whose power sacrifice rises to the heavens. The cult of fire profoundly affects the religion and mythology of Iran (Zoroastrianism, which is still practiced by a minority population called the Parsis in India who emigrated from Iran after that country’s Islamization).

Soma: God of the hallucinogenic soma (or hoama) juice. Soma, the god, coalesces with soma, the drink of the gods, which gives Indra the power to slay the dragon. As drink as well as god, Soma confers great strength, wisdom, and immortality. Soma also provides a form of union between the priest and the god.

Terms and Concepts:

Aryan: The term the invading Indo-Europeans applied to themselves (from arya--noble).

Sanskrit: Language of the Aryans and sacred language of Vedism and Hinduism. 

Rta: See Varuna. Cosmic order of natural and ethical significance, oneness underlying the multiplicity of events.

Varna: Classes of society (castes) which manifest the eternal law of rta. There are four major castes: the Brahmin or priestly caste, the Kshatriya or warrior/noble caste, the Vaisya or farmer and mercantile caste, and finally, the Sudra or peasant and laborer caste. Beneath the four castes are the Panchamas (Untouchables) whose occupations involve the handling of unclean objects (hides, corpses, garbage, and so forth). The Untouchables may originally have been assigned such lowly tasks because of their pre-Aryan origins.

Origin of the Universe: Among explanations are: 

(a)A golden embryo (R.V. 10. 121) hovers over the primal waters and fecundates them by entering them.

(b)Passionate desire (kama similar to the Greek eros), which proceeds from the undifferentiated ONE, acts on chaos to produce the cosmos (R.V. 10. 129, 4). 

(c) No explanation may be possible; even the gods may not know (R.V. 10. 129, 7). 

(d)One of the most fascinating myths of origin depicts the entire cosmos resulting from the Primeval Person (Purusa) sacrificing himself to himself in order to engender through his own dismemberment the various aspects of the cosmos, most particularly the four great castes (R.V. 10. 90). He is at once sacrificial victim and the divinity to whom the sacrifice is offered, and is also known as Prajapati, who replaces Varuna as arbiter of the cosmic order. By "heating" himself, Prajapati generates the universe through either his sweat or his semen, thus establishing through his self-sacrifice the order of things that is perpetuated through the rituals and sacrifices of the Brahmins.

Practice: Vedism was primarily a religion of sacrifice. Eventually this sacrifice came to be conceived as the reenactment of the above mentioned primal sacrifice, that is, the reenactment of creation, the renewal of the universe. The efficacy of the sacrifice depended on exact adherence to rules and gave immense power to the priests who alone were considered capable of performing the ritual correctly. By the end of the Vedic period (800-500 B.C.E.) ritual had become formalized and sterile. 

Development: Toward the end of the Vedic period theological speculation moved more and more in the direction of seeking unity among the gods. At first this took the form of a practice called kathenotheism (literally "one-god-at-a-time-ism") in which one god would be addressed as supreme within the context of a particular sacrifice or hymn. Since other gods continue to be recognized, this cannot be called genuine monotheism. Eventually, all personal gods were transcended as the Brahmins focused in on an absolute oneness, source and goal of all being, the essential reality beyond gods and cosmos. This process (which resulted in the establishment of Hinduism), however, was not completed until after the development of two major religions of essentially non-Aryan origin, Jainism and Buddhism

©  1997 Ingrid H. Shafer
Last revised 6 January 2002