Religious Practices during Later Vedic Period | UPSC History

Later Vedic Period was the time when the Varnas called Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Sudras played a major role in the development of the society. The Brahmins were integral and they introduced new divinities because of the decline in the worship of nature. 

1. The traditional divinities in the later Vedic period included Varuna, Agni, Indra, Maruta, and Sarswati were replaced by the new gods like Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the sustainer, and Maheshvara, the destroyer. 
2. The worship of Basudeva, Ganesh, and Durga was also started during this period. The worship was quite different than the early Vedic period. The Yajnas were no longer performed privately in every household. 
3. Many animals were sacrificed in the Yajna along with the usage of Somarasa(wine). Brahmins made sure that the rituals and the worship of the new divinities were not questioned, they made people believe that yajna was primary and gods were secondary. They strongly believed that the gods can be controlled by various types of yajnas. The hymns in the Vedas were regarded as means of hypnosis, and enslavement. 
4. The later Vedic society believed in the concept of Karma. The priests prepared a system of ritualistic conduct, and they discovered the path of redemption of the human soul. They also believed that Brahma is the root of all causes and manifestations.
5.  Various superstitions and sub-cultural practices gradually became a part of the people. They started believing in ghosts, supernatural elements, and bad negative works. 

The Later Vedic Period contributed to the patriarchal social system with a sense of spirituality the society. They brought up the Hindu civilization and it gave an unbroken continuity to Indian culture and the methods are still followed even in modern times.

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