Literature In Vedic Literature

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This paper aims to highlight the agrarian Aryan society as represented in the Vedic literature. The society of the times had agriculture as its main occupation and that is why the literature of the times reflects the practice of agriculture. The main aspects of agriculture have been described in the Vedas, their Samhitas, Aranyakas , the Brahmanas and the Upanishads. Vedic society was an advanced society with good knowledge of various agricultural practices and their significance. This was the reason that different practices were performed in particular ways, and at times ceremoniously. Citing references from the Vedic literature the paper highlights the terminology and the significance of various agricultural practices as described in the …show more content…

The word Karisa occurring in the Satapatha Brahmana denoted dry cowdung . The Atharvaveda provides the reference in mentioning cowdung as a useful manure for Sāli , a variety of rice . In Rigveda, Ribhus are shown as extracting the sakrit (dung) from the sheds. In Satapatha Brahmana it is described that dry cow dung karira was used for making the fields more productive .In Atharvaveda cows are said to be feeders of people as providing manure to their crops. In another mantra of Atharvaveda a maid- servant is shown as throwing cow-dung in the fields.
Irrigation
Several mantras in Vedic literature deal with the importance of rain for good crops. Rig-Veda mentions four kinds of water used for irrigation purposes. They are : a. Divyāh (Rain water) b. Khanitrimāh (Water of wells) c. Svayamjāh(Spring water ) d. Samudrārthāh (The water of the rivers falling into sea)
The Yajurveda and Taittiriya Samhita too mention various means of irrigation like wells, canals, fountains, tanks, rivers, and reservoirs. References in the Vedic Texts reveal that the irrigational works were usually carried out by two systems - natural and artificial. Rain-water and streams were known as natural sources of irrigation while wells, tanks, canals were considered artificial sources in the Vedic

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