Comparison of the Harappa and Vedic Civilizations
- The sources of information of the Harappan civilization are mainly archaeological, while the Vedic culture is mostly known from the literary sources.
- Harappans are said to have been the original inhabitants of India while the AryansMeaning of Veda यः समिधा य आहुती यो वेदेन ददाश मर्तो अग्नये | यो नमसा सवध्वरः || The above Shloka from Rig-Veda 8.19.5 was translated by many scholars. The first ..... are believed to have come to India from central Asia.
- The Harappan civilization was urban in nature, Vedic culture was rural and pastoral. At bestAn instruction from the client to the broker authorizing him to use his discretion so as to execute an order at the best possible market ..... the Rig Vedic Aryans lived in fortified places protected by mud walls; and these cannot be regarded as towns in the Harappan sense.
- In the Indus civilization trade, internal and external, crafts as well as industries were the main sources of economyeconomy, Vedic Economy was initially postoral and later became based upon agriculture and cattle rearing.
- The agricultural operations, including the ploughing of fields, were better known to the later-Vedic people.
- Indus people did not know the use of iron. It was purely a copper-bronze culture, while the Vedic culture in its later phase is replete with references to iron.
- The horse, which played a decisive role in the Aryan system of warfare, was not known to the Indus people. A few bones of horse and terracotta figure of a horse-like animal have been unearthed from surkotada.
- Indus people were basically peace loving. Their arms (swords, daggers, arrow-heads, spears) were primitive in nature. Aryans were warlike people and were conversant with all kinds of traditional arms and armour and had devised a full-fledged science of war.
- Aryans worshiped Varuna, Indra, aditi and a large number of other deities which stood for the principal phenomena of nature. They performed sacrifices and offered milk, ghee, etc. to their gods. The Harappans worshipped Pashupati, mother goddess, animals , snake and nature. The fire-altars were discovered from only one Harappan site at KalibanganThe location of Kalibangan is Pilibangān, between Suratgarh and Hanumāngarh in Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan. It was excavated by A Ghosh in 1953 and ......
- The Harappans practiced earth burials whereas the Aryans practiced cremation.
- Harappan pottery called black or red pottery was wheel made and very distinctive in nature. The distinctive Aryan pottery is known as PGW (painted grey ware).
- The Harappans were short statured, black in complexion, Aryans were tall, well-built and handsome.
- The Harappans ate all birds and animals including cow and calf. They ate wheat, barley and bread. The Aryans preferred Barley, milk and its products, specially ghee or butter and enjoyed Soma drink.
- Cotton was the basic fabric of the Harappans while the Aryans put on woollen garments too.
- Vedic Sanskrit is the mother of all non-Dravidian languages , Indus script still remains undeciphered.
- It was quite clear that Indus people were literate whereas the Vedic people were illiterate (In terms of writing) because there is not a single word for writing in any of the Vedic texts.
