Daily Current Affairs Quiz: September 11, 2025

Statement 1 is correct: The Later Vedic period saw an increased emphasis on elaborate sacrifices, with the ‘Yajamana’ being central. Royal ceremonies like the Ashvamedha and Rajasuya were performed to legitimize and enhance the king’s power and authority.

Statement 2 is incorrect: The Ashvamedha was a major royal sacrifice performed by kings, not commoners, to assert their sovereignty and territorial control, and it was not primarily for agricultural fertility.

Statement 1 is correct: While cattle remained important, the increasing use of iron tools for agriculture and land reclamation led to land becoming a more significant measure of wealth in the Later Vedic period.

Statement 2 is correct: The Varna system became more stratified and hereditary, with occupations becoming more strictly associated with specific varnas, leading to reduced social mobility.

Statement 3 is correct: The political landscape evolved from smaller tribal Janapadas to larger territorial kingdoms (Janapadas), which further coalesced into the powerful Mahajanapadas mentioned in later texts.

Statement 4 is incorrect: Religious rituals became more elaborate and complex, involving elaborate sacrifices (yajnas) performed by Brahmanas, with philosophical inquiry developing primarily in the Upanishadic tradition, which emerged later in this period but the overall religious practice became more ritualistic.

Statement 5 is incorrect: New crafts and occupations flourished during the Later Vedic period due to increased trade, agriculture, and the development of new technologies, leading to a diversification of economic activities.

Statement I is correct: Later Vedic period saw the intensification of agriculture with the adoption of iron tools, leading to land reclamation and a more settled life, a marked departure from the predominantly pastoral life of the Rigvedic period.

Statement 2 is correct: It explains why this shift occurred and its consequences. The agricultural surplus generated due to better tools and techniques allowed for specialization of labor, supporting artisans and priests, and the growth of villages into towns, which in turn fostered the expansion of the varna system and the consolidation of political power.

Statement 1 is incorrect: While agriculture was present, pastoralism was the dominant economic activity in the early Vedic period.

Statement 2 is correct: Cattle wealth was paramount and central to their economy and social standing.

Statement 3 is incorrect: The primary deities in the Rigvedic period included Indra, Agni, Soma, and Varuna, not the later Puranic Trimurti.

Statement 4 is correct: Early Vedic society was tribal and the Varna system was not as rigid or birth-based as it became in the later Vedic period.

Statement I is incorrect: The ‘Purusha Sukta’ (Rigveda 10.90) is generally considered to be a later addition to the Rigveda, not part of its earliest layers, and its detailed articulation of the Varna system and its cosmic origin significantly influenced the Later Vedic societal structure, rather than dictating it from the Rigvedic outset.

Statement II is correct: The Later Vedic period witnessed advancements in agriculture and metallurgy, leading to the formation of larger kingdoms and a more stratified society.