NCERT Book Class 6 Social Science (History) Chapter 4 What Books And Burials Tell Us

CHAPTER 4
WHAT BOOKS AND BURIALS TELL US

Mary in the library
As the bell rang, the teacher asked the students to follow
him, because they were going to the library for the first
time. When Mary stepped inside, she found that the library
was much larger than their classroom. And there were
so many shelves, all full of books. In one corner was a
cupboard filled with large, old volumes. Seeing her trying
to open the cupboard, the teacher said, “That cupboard
has very special books on different religions. Did you know
that we have a set of the Vedas?”
What are the Vedas? Mary wondered. Let us find out.

One of the oldest literary sources in the world
You may have heard about the Vedas. There are
four of them – the Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda
and Atharvaveda. The oldest Veda is the Rigveda,
composed about 3500 years ago. The Rigveda
includes more than a thousand hymns, called
sukta or “well-said”. These hymns are in praise
of various gods and goddesses. Three gods are
especially important: Agni, the god of fire; Indra,
a warrior god; and Soma, a plant from which a
special drink was prepared.
These hymns were composed by sages (rishis).
Priests taught students to recite and memorise
each syllable, word, and sentence, bit by bit, with
great care. Most of the hymns were composed,
taught and learnt by men. A few were composed
by women. The Rigveda is in old or Vedic Sanskrit,
which is different from the Sanskrit you learn in
school these days.

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what books and
burials tell us

Chapter 3-4.indd 33 22 April 2022 03:22:09