Question

During the Vedic age, who was the head of ‘village’?
A) Kulapa
B) Gramani
C) Vispati
D) Gopati

Answer 1

Hint: During the Rig-Vedic era, the basic unit of power lay within a patriarchal family called Kula. The groups of the villages belonged to a clan called Vis and many clans made a community called Jana. There was no real state territory or structure or even a real King during this era.

Complete answer:
The Vedic time frame or Vedic age is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the historical backdrop of India when the Vedic writing, including the Vedas, was formed in the northern Indian subcontinent, between the finish of the Urban Indus Valley Civilization and second urbanization which started in the focal Indo-Gangetic Plain during 600 BCE.

Early Vedic Aryans were grouped into tribes rather than kingdoms. The territorial aspect of the state is thought to have appeared in the later Vedic age only. Initially, the various regions were known after the names of the tribes which controlled them and later they developed into various Janapadas.

The ancient name of 'the leader of the village' known to Panini and in Mahabharata was Gramani. In 1920, Louisiana had the highest population of Gramani families. Janas are the Aryans who were organised into several tribes. Each Jana had village groups known as Gramas. A Grama consisted of several families within its fold. Thus, the group of families called grama was controlled by the village headman called Gramani during the Rig-Vedic period.

Thus, option ‘B’ Gramani is correct. During the Vedic age, Gramani was the head of the ‘village’.

Note: The Chief of the tribe during the Rig-Vedic period, Jana was Rajana. Rajana was not a king in a real sense, but a protector of the tribe and the cattle wealth. Rajana fought wars on behalf of his Jana. These wars were for control of cattle wealth and not the possession of the territory. Thus, the concept of land territory was absent in the early Rig-Vedic period. This is the reason that while the term Jana appears many times in Rig-Veda, Janapada does not appear even once.