Vedic Age practice question for Railways, SSC, UPSC. Select an option to check your answer, read the explanation and continue practicing.
73. Which institution of the Rigvedic period is considered to have performed religious, military and social functions?
Correct Answerसही उत्तर
A. Vidatha
Explanationव्याख्या
Vidatha is an important institution mentioned repeatedly in the Rigveda and is generally interpreted as an early collective assembly with a broad range of functions.
Scholars have associated it with religious ceremonies, distribution or organization of economic resources, military activities and social gatherings.
Its precise structure remains uncertain because Vedic texts provide references rather than a systematic institutional description.
Vidatha appears to have been an important communal institution in the relatively tribal organization of Early Vedic society.
Sabha and Samiti are the other better-known assemblies.
Sabha is often interpreted as a smaller or select gathering, while Samiti may have represented a broader tribal assembly.
Vidatha may be older or at least very prominent in early Rigvedic contexts.
The presence of these institutions suggests that political and social decisions were not necessarily concentrated entirely in the hands of the Rajan.
Collective participation remained significant in tribal life.
During the Later Vedic period, as kingship became more hereditary and territorial, the importance of such popular institutions appears to have declined.
This was part of the larger transformation from kin-based tribal society to territorial states.
Mahamatras belong prominently to the Mauryan administrative context, while terms such as Paura and Nigama are associated with urban or corporate settings of later periods.
Therefore, Vidatha is the correct Vedic association and is especially useful for higher-level exam questions.
'विदथ' ऋग्वेद में बार-बार उल्लिखित एक महत्वपूर्ण संस्था थी। विद्वान इसे प्रारंभिक वैदिक समाज की ऐसी सामुदायिक सभा मानते हैं जिसके कार्य केवल राजनीतिक नहीं बल्कि धार्मिक, सैन्य, आर्थिक और सामाजिक भी हो सकते थे। इसका सटीक संगठन स्पष्ट नहीं है क्योंकि वैदिक ग्रंथ इसकी आधुनिक संस्थाओं जैसी व्यवस्थित संरचना नहीं बताते। फिर भी इसके अनेक संदर्भ बताते हैं कि प्रारंभिक जनजातीय जीवन में इसका महत्वपूर्ण स्थान था। सभा और समिति अन्य प्रसिद्ध वैदिक संस्थाएं थीं। सामान्यतः सभा को अपेक्षाकृत छोटे या विशिष्ट समूह से और समिति को व्यापक जनजातीय सभा से जोड़ा जाता है। विदथ संभवतः प्रारंभिक ऋग्वैदिक समाज की अत्यंत पुरानी और व्यापक संस्था थी। इन संस्थाओं से संकेत मिलता है कि राजन् के हाथ में सारी शक्ति केंद्रित नहीं थी और सामुदायिक भागीदारी का महत्व था। उत्तर वैदिक काल में जब राजसत्ता अधिक वंशानुगत और क्षेत्रीय हुई, तब ऐसी जनजातीय संस्थाओं का प्रभाव कम होता गया। यह परिवर्तन जनजातीय समाज से क्षेत्रीय राज्य व्यवस्था की ओर विकास का हिस्सा था। 'महामात्र' विशेष रूप से मौर्य प्रशासन से संबंधित पद है। इसलिए वैदिक संदर्भ में धार्मिक, सैन्य और सामाजिक कार्यों वाली संस्था का सही उत्तर विदथ है।
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