Lifestyle of the Vedic People

Based on a deep analysis of the Vedic literature, the book deals with aspects of everyday life of the Vedic people: their housing, mode of production and occupations, social organisation, education, food and drink, entertainment, dress and cosmetics, etc. Tracing the influence of Vedic learning on Upanishads and Såtra literature which have also been referred to here for details on the Vedic people and their traditions, this study focuses on the lifestyle of seers and the elite as well as that of the common people and stresses the importance of the ritualistic context in discussing aspects of daily life like preparing of food and food-eating habits, style of dressing, building of houses and so on. It deals with the Vedic people’s approach to life, covering points such as their attitude towards knowledge and their quest for Brahman, their view of death and their yearning for heaven. This publication also examines the growth of the Vedic tradition from one based on the minimum requirements of life to a tradition involving refinement of things — a system of writing and a complex religion based on deep philosophical study and explanations of cosmology. The book will be useful to all students and scholars of ancient Indian religion and culture.