Vedic Civilization and Later Vedic Period

There are four Vedas - Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda. The first three Vedas are collectively known as 'Trayi' or 'Trio'. Each Veda is further divided into Samhitas.

Statement 1 is incorrect: Vedangas were composed in the later Vedic period, not in the Vedic period.
Statement 2 is correct. Vedangas were regarded as less authoritative than Shruti or Vedas.

During the later Vedic period, the society had been divided into four main caste divisions - Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. The first three castes were called Dvija, i.e. twice born, but Shudras were deprived of it.

During the Vedic period, rice and wheat became chief crops. Other agricultural products were barley, cotton and various pulses. In Vedic texts, rice is also called as Vrihi.

Statement 1 is incorrect: With the increase in royal power, the sabha and samiti lost importance. They came under the influence of chiefs and rich nobles.
Statement 2 is correct: In the later Vedic period, position of women declined. They were given a lower position in the society. They were considered inferior and subordinate to men. Women could not participate in the political assemblies like sabha and samiti.
Statement 3 is incorrect: Capital punishments became prevalent. Theft, robbery, adultery, abduction, killing of man, treachery and drinking intoxicating liquor were offences punishable with death.

Agriculture was the chief means of livelihood of the later Vedic people. Cattle rearing was second important occupation of the Aryans. They domesticated camel, cow, ox, elephant, sheep, horse, goat, donkey and dog. The number of animals represented the wealth of the people.

In lieu of the services provided to the people, the king used to collect taxes, namely - Bali, Sulka and Bhaga, through his officials. These taxes were roughly 1/6th of the income of his subjects.

The most important contribution of the later Vedic period is the composition of Vedangas. They are six in number:

1. Siksha (phonetics)
2. Kalpa (ritual)
3. Vyakaran (grammar)
4. Nirukta (etymology)
5. Chhand (metrics)
6. Jyotish (astronomy)

Statement 1 is incorrect: The standard unit of value in Vedic period was a cow, but necklets <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight:" bold;="">necklace<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight:" normal;=""> of gold (nishka) also served as a means of exchange.Statement 2 is also incorrect: Ramayana and Mahabharata were the two great epics of the early Vedic period.

An important characteristic of Vedic mythology is the pre-dominance of the male element. Thus, Vedic civilisation presents a contrast to the prehistoric culture of Indus Valley, where the mother goddess is coequal with her male partner.
Sacrifices occupied a prominent place in Vedic rituals. These included offerings of milk, grain, ghee and juice of the Soma plant.

Statement 1 is incorrect: The Vedas consist of four different classes of literary compositions: Mantra, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads.
Statement 2 is correct: The Mantra constitutes the oldest division of Vedic literature and is distributed in four Samhitas or collections known as the Rig, Sama, Yajur and the Atharva.

Explanation: Kingship was a normal feature of the society. Though most of the times the office was hereditary, but there were also the references about the election of the kings. The king was the head of the state and was above law but he was not a despotic ruler. He was dependent upon his ministers who were referred to as Ratnins.

Henotheism was coined to describe the theology of Rigvedic religion. The Rigveda was the basis for Max Müller's description of henotheism in the sense of a polytheistic tradition striving towards a formulation of the One (ekam) Divinity aimed at by the worship of different cosmic principles. 

Kuru is the western most mahajanapada and its capital was Indraprastha / Hastinapur / Isukara. It covered the modern Haryana and Delhi-Meerut-Ghaziabad region. Its eastern border was River Yamuna.
Panchala is the second western mahajanapada east of Kuru, its capitals were Ahichhtra (Western Panchal) and Kampilya (eastern Panchala). It covered the modern day Rohilkhand division and Upper Gangetic Plains of today’s Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Koshala was east of Panchala, Its capital was Shravasti. Kosala was located in the Eastern Uttar Pradesh. It covers today’s districts Faizabad, Gonda, Bhahraich, etc. and was bordered by River Gomti on the West, River Sadaniva in the east, Nepal hills in the North and River Syandika in the South.
Videha was the easternmost mahajanpada and it comes in the Vajji mahajanapada. Mithila (modern Janakpur in district of Tirhut) was the capital of Videha and became the predominant centre of the political and cultural activities of northern India. It was in the time of king Janaka that Videha came into prominence.

A rudimentary administrative system was prevalent during the Vedic period. The tribal kingdom (rashtra) contained tribes (jana), tribal units (vish) and villages (grama).