Rg-Veda and Vedic religious tradition
Rg-Veda :
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oldest of four ancient Vedas (Rg-, Sama-, Yajur-, Atharva- Vedas)
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compiled about 1500/1200 - 1000 BCE
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consisting of some 1000 hymns to different deities
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containing about 10.000 verses
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material might date back to as early as 1800 BCE (or earlier).
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Transmitted orally, not written down before 600 BCE
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earliest surviving texts date from about 1200 CE
texts of the Vedas are claimed to have been revealed to sages
of old, texts known as sruti, i.e.: that which is revealed, whereas
later sacred texts receive secondary status as smriti, i.e. that
which is heard (i.e.: human tradition)
Later layers of sacred texts, oftentimes explanatory in
nature, are added to the scriptural corpus: Samhitas (Vedas proper), Brahmanas,
Aranyakas, and Upanishads (dating from 1000 BCE - 1500 CE)
The "caste"-system:
"Caste" derives from a Portugese word, casta, meaning:
"animal breed, lineage."
Vedic texts speak of four different varna, literally:
color.
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Brahmins = Priests
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Kshatriya = warrior princes, chieftains
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Vaishya = agriculturalists, merchants, traders
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Shudra = laborers, servants to other three varnas