Which among the following was NOT a part of the three sections of the Rigvedic tribe?

Correct — D. The Rigvedic tribe, the jana, is described in three sections — the priests, the warriors or rajanya, and the vis, the ordinary people who made up the bulk of it.

Craftsmen appear constantly in the hymns — the chariot-maker, the smith, the weaver — but they are not one of the three sections. Craftsman is therefore the item that does not belong.

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Warriors — The warriors, the rajanya, are the second of the three sections — the raja and his kin, who led the tribe in cattle raids and in battle.
• (b)
  Priests — The priests are the first section, the brahmana who composed and recited the hymns and conducted the sacrifice.
• (c)
  Ordinary people — The ordinary people are the vis, the third and largest section — the herders and cultivators from whom tribute, bali, was taken.

The Rigvedic jana was described by function, not by a list of trades. Three sections are named: those who performed the sacrifice, those who fought, and the rest of the people.

Outside the scheme stood the dasas and dasyus, described as hostile groups the Vedic people fought and later absorbed.

The fourfold varna order — brahmana, rajanya, vaishya, shudra — appears in the Purusha Sukta of the tenth mandala, a late portion of the Rigveda. That is why the early picture has three sections and not four.

Key facts

• Rigvedic society is described in three sections — priests, warriors or rajanya, and the vis or ordinary people.
• Craftsmen such as the chariot-maker and the smith appear in the hymns but are not one of the three sections.
• The fourfold varna scheme appears in the Purusha Sukta, in the tenth mandala of the Rigveda.
• Dasas and dasyus stood outside the tribal scheme.

Common traps

• Applying the later four-varna order to the early Rigvedic tribe
• Assuming craftsmen must be a section because craft occupations are named in the hymns

No directly related past PYQ was found.